A stadtholder (, ), literally place holder (in modern Dutch "stad" means "city", but the older meaning of "stad" - also "stede" - was "place", and it is a cognate of English "stead", as "in stead of"), was a term for a "steward" or "lieutenant". In the Low Countries, the stadtholder was a medieval function, which during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries developed into a rare type of de facto hereditary head of state of the thus crowned republic of the Netherlands. It is comparable with the French title Lieutenant and England's 16th century Lord Lieutenant. Additionally, this position was tasked with maintaining peace and provincial order in the early Dutch Republic. The Dutch Monarchy is a cognatic descendant of the first Stadtholder of the young Republic, William of Orange. He was the leader of the successful Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Empire.