During our morning walk, Q pointed out the former convent of St. Agatha, called Prinsenhof. William of Orange took refuge here after the king of Spain put a bounty on his head in 1580 for his role in the revolt of the Netherlands. Figuring the convent was a safe place in a safe city, William hid here for four years until an assassin finally killed him. (Q said the bullet holes are still visible on an inside wall).
There's a statue honoring William in the old herb garden; he was considered the founder of the Netherlands--like our George Washington. When the provinces broke away from Spain, they also broke from the Roman Catholic Church. The Dutch became "reformed" and dissolved the Catholic convents and monasteries. Although they had declared their freedom in 1579, a treaty ending the war for Dutch independence didn't come until 1648.
In the courtyard, there are three blue-and-white lampposts which were made in Delft's Chinese sister city and are reminders of the 400-year relationship between porcelain makers in China and Delft. The only color that could survive the extremely hot fire of the Chinese porcelain technique was blue, and that's the color of Delftware.
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