ABSTRACT

The conversion of an individual within the Orange-Nassau network was a highly significant event, one which could dramatically alter one’s position within the Nassau dynastic hierarchy. In this chapter we explore the individuals who converted and the contexts in which they did so. In what way was conversion linked to one’s place, identity and concomitant power within the family? Moreover, how were such decisions managed by individuals, from direct family to those with more farflung connections to the House of Orange-Nassau? We analyse the nature and success of the emotional labour that family members applied to prevent conversions and that individuals employed to renew familial affiliation and support. Finally, we examine how new connections emerged for individuals within the broader Nassau dynasty through the act of conversion. The Nassau dynasty were situated politically and geographically in the centre of the Thirty Years’ War. Thus, they were operating at the heart of conflicts around confessional change which also makes them a good case study of understanding the implications of conversion within the dynasty and House of Orange-Nassau in particular.