Republicans and the House of Orange
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He was adviser in political and economical affairs during the first part
of the 80 years war against Spain. He aided
William I the Silent in the struggle
for Dutch independence from Spain and opposed the dictatorial policy set by
Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, chosen by the States-General as governor-general
in 1586. After Leicester's departure (1587) he helped to concentrate military
power in the hands of Maurice of Nassau. He was made permanent advocate of Holland
in 1586, Oldenbarneveldt controlled the civil affairs of the "Seven United Provinces"
(in which Holland was prominent).
He represented the patrician manufacturing and commercial oligarchies that
ruled the states of Holland and during his administration Dutch commerce expanded
spectacularly, and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded. He negotiated
(1609) a 12-year truce with Spain, despite the objections of Maurice of Nassau,
and thus secured virtual recognition of Dutch independence.
The House of Orange against Republicans.
It is notable that in the period of Maurice of Orange the "Seven United Provinces"
of Holland and the most important cities (Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Delft,
Gouda and Amsterdam), had a, more or less, independent relation with the Orange
family and Johan van Oldenbarneveldt was a powerful Statesman and one of the
first Republicans of Holland. The States of Holland became more and more aware
that the power of the Orange family, even in religion matters, was to strong
and the Republicans became more and more powerful.
Maurice was against the 12-years truce
with Spain, negotiated by van Oldenbarneveldt, because it weakened his power
over the Lowlands as "War Lord". Maurice was a charlatan and he loved woman
and specially virgins, by whom he often made bastard children.
As leader of the party favoring control of state affairs by the States-General,
Oldenbarneveldt was increasingly opposed by the house of Orange. This conflict
was aggravated by the fierce struggle of the
Remonstrants and the strict Calvinists. In this quarrel, Oldenbarneveldt
and Maurice of Nassau found themselves in opposing camps.
Maurice took part of the Calvinists and determined to crush the Remonstrants.
In 1618 he compelled the summoning of the Synod of Dort (Dordrecht),
which condemned their doctrine. Oldenbarneveldt, as leader of the Remonstrants,
was arrested, by order of Maurice, and after a highly irregular trial for treason,
was sentenced to death in 1619.
His execution was a judicial murder brought about by his personal enemies,
no incriminating evidence has ever been found against van Oldenbarneveldt, who
was one of the ablest and most patriotic statesmen in the history of the Dutch.
The Execution of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt in 1619
was the beginning of the disaster that happened 60 years later when the brothers
Johan and Cornelis de Witt in the, so called, "Year of disaster" 1672, were
murdered (see later).
The power of the Orange-Nassau family began to weaken after the dead of Maurice
(1625), due to the execution of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, and the Republicans
became more and more powerful during the rule of
Frederick Henry (1625-1647) but they
had to wait until the 80 years war was ended in 1648.
Frederick Henry proved himself almost as good a general as his
brother Maurice, and a far more capable statesman and politician.
For twenty-two years he remained at the head of government in
the United Provinces, and in his time the power of the stadtholder
reached its highest point. It was marked by great military and
naval triumphs, by world-wide maritime and commercial expansion.
The chief military exploits of Frederick Henry were the sieges
and captures of 's Hertogenbosch in 1629, of Maastricht in 1632,
of Breda in 1637, of Sas van Gent in 1644, and of Hulst in 1645.
During the greater part of his administration the alliance with
France against Spain had been the pivot of Frederick Henry's
foreign policy, but in his last years he sacrificed the French
alliance for the sake of concluding a separate peace with Spain,
by which the United Provinces obtained from that power all the
advantages they had been seeking for eighty years.
On Frederick Henry's death, he was buried with great pomp
beside his father and brother at Delft. The treaty of Munster,
ending the long struggle between the Dutch and the Spaniards,
was not actually signed until 30 January 1648, the illness and
death of the Stadtholder having caused a delay in the negotiations.
After the treaty of Munster in 1648 the Republicans became stronger and stronger.
The Orange family tried to return to their former power and were again responsible
for the several political murders during the rule of
William II who luckily died soon after
his succession of Frederick Henry.
William II married on 2 May 1641
Mary Henrietta Stuart, the Princess Royal, the eldest daughter
of
King Charles I of England, in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall
Palace, London. Because of this marriage he became involved
in the quarrels of the English throne, this with the opposition
of the United Provinces.
William II became involved in a bitter quarrel with the province
of Holland and the powerful merchants of Amsterdam resulting
in William putting many of them in prison. In 1648 he opposed
acceptance of the Treaty of Münster (the treaty that his father
Frederick Henry was forced to made with Spain, despite the fact
that it recognized the independence of the Netherlands. Secretly,
William opened his own negotiations with France with the goal
of extending his own territory under a centralized government.
In addition, he worked for the restoration of his brother-in-law,
Charles II, to the throne of England.
After ruling for only three years (1647-1650, he died suddenly
of smallpox in 1650. Following his death, no Stadtholder was
appointed in Holland and four other provinces for more than
20 years. His son, born shortly after William’s death, would
become
William III of England.
The son of Willem II, Willem III,
was too young to rule anyway and when the 80 years War with Spain was ended
in 1648 the Staten General of Holland no longer needed a "War Lord". The States
of Holland made "The Eternal Edict" (1654) in which was stated the William III
of Orange-Nassau never could became Stadtholder again.
The Story of Johan and Cornelius de Witt
Cornelis de Witt was born 15 June 1623 at Dordrecht. He was the eldest son
of Jacob de Witt and Anna van den Corput. Two years later on 24 September 1625
was born his brother Johan de Witt. Their father was for a period of thirty
years a member of the municipality of Dordrecht and
several times burgomaster.
The family de Witt were the first liberal republicans of Holland and became
the leaders of the opposition against the House of Orange in the States of Holland
and the States General.
They continued the lifework of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, the expansion of
trade with the East (VOC) and the West (WIC) and Holland became a powerful and
very rich Country. The youthful prince of Orange, William II with the support
of the States General and the army, seized five of the leaders of the states-right
party and imprisoned them in Loevestein Castle in 1650 among these was Jacob
de Witt, their father.
The most important cities including Dordrecht and Amsterdam were more or
less independent from the "Orange dynasty" who seated in The Hague. These cities
had only one thing in common namely the expansion of trade all over the World.
All cities had a representative in "The States of Holland" to accomplish this
endeavor and to make decisions of national importance.
Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam and others were, so called Remonstrants
cities and The Hague was an Orthodox Calvinistic city, due to the Orange family
in the person of Prince Maurice.
Cornelis de Witt 1623-1672
Cornelis was bailiff (baljuw) of Beierland, dike count (dijkgraaf) of Mijnsherenland
and ruwaard of the island of Putten. When his brother became Grand Pensionary
of Holland he was appointed burgomaster of Dordrecht in 1667 and deputy in the
States of Holland in 1668.
During the second English war (1665-1667) Cornelis de Witt was send by his
brother as deputy of the States General of Holland on board of the "Zeven Provincien"
of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. During an attack on the British Fleet base at
Chatham, near London, the warship "Royal Charles" was plundered.
After he returned ill from England in June 1672 a murder attack was
committed, a short time later also to his brother. Johan was able to find the
perpetrator, Jacob van der Graeff, the son of one of the magistrates of the
Court "Hof of Holland" and he was sentenced to dead.
This was the beginning of an ambush made by William III of Orange, the Orangists
and the orthodox Calvinists in The Hague to make an end to the Staddtholderless
era and the Republican brothers de Witt
In July 1672 Cornelis was arrested (24 July) on a charge of conspiring against
the Prince William III and imprisoned in the "Gevangepoort" at The Hague, Cornelis
was put to the torture and on 19 August acquitted but nevertheless sentenced
to deprivation of his offices and banishment. On 20 August Johan came to visit
him in the "Gevangenpoort" at The Hague. A vast crowd of Orangists hearing this,
collected outside and finally burst in, seized the two brothers, and outside
on "de plaats" (the place) tore them to pieces. Thus perished one of the greatest
regent families of their age and of Dutch history. What was left over of their
bodies was in silence buried in The New Church at The Hague.
On August 4 Johan de Witt resigned the post of councilor pensionary.
His brother
Earlier Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, who was
also a republican, was killed by order of Stadtholder Prince Maurice, the son
of William I the Silent of Orange in 1619, also in The Hague.
Johan de Witt, 1625-1672
In the Encyclopedia Britannica we can read :
Witt, Johan de, born. Sept. 24, 1625, Dordrecht, Neth. died. Aug. 20,
1672, The Hague
Johan de Witt, detail of a painting by Jacobus de Baen,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
One of the foremost European statesmen of the 17th century who as councilor
pensionary (the political leader) of Holland (1653-1672) guided the United Provinces
in the First and Second Anglo-Dutch wars (1652-1654 and 1665-1667) and consolidated
the nation's naval and commercial power.
De Witt was a member of one of the old burgher-regent families of his native
town of Dordrecht (Dort). His father, Jacob,
was six times burgomaster and for many years sat for the town in the States
of Holland. He was a strenuous adherent of the republican or oligarchical states-right
party in opposition to the princes of the House of Orange, who represented the
federal principle and had the support of the masses of the people. De Witt was
educated at Leiden and early displayed remarkable talents, especially in mathematics
and jurisprudence. His Elementa curvarum linearum (written before 1650, but
published 1659-1661) was one of the first textbooks in analytic geometry. Further
he wrote "The Worth of Life Annuities Compared to Redemption Bonds" which applied
probability to questions of state finance. He later also applied his mathematical
knowledge to the financial and budgetary problems of the republic. In 1645 he
and his elder brother Cornelius visited France, Italy, Switzerland, and England,
and on his return he lived at The Hague as an advocate.
In 1650 he was appointed Pensionary of Dordrecht, which made him the leader
of the town's deputation in the States of Holland. In this year the States of
Holland found themselves engaged in a struggle for provincial supremacy, on
the question of the disbanding of troops. The youthful prince of Orange, William
II, with the support of the States General and the army, seized five of the
leaders of the states-right party and imprisoned them in Loevestein Castle;
among these was Jacob de Witt, his father. The sudden death of
William II, at the moment when he had crushed
opposition, led to a reaction. He left only a posthumous child, afterwards
William III of Orange; the principles advocated
by Jacob de Witt triumphed, and the authority of the States became predominant
in the republic.
It was his father's position that gave Johan his opportunity, but his own
eloquence, wisdom, and business ability caused him to be appointed councilor
pensionary (Raadpensionaris) of Holland on 23 July 1653, at the age of 28. He
was reelected in 1658, 1663, and 1668 and held office until just before his
death in 1672.
He found in 1653 his Country brought to the brink of ruin through the war
with England, and he resolved to bring about peace. He rejected Cromwell's suggestion
of the union of England and Holland, but in 1654 the Treaty of Westminster was
concluded, by which the Dutch made large concessions and agreed to the striking
of the flag to English ships in the narrow seas. The treaty included a secret
article, which the States General refused to entertain, but which de Witt induced
the States of Holland to accept, by which the provinces of Holland pledged themselves
not to elect a Stadtholder or a captain general. This "Act of Seclusion" was
aimed at the young Prince of Orange, whose close relationship to the Stuarts
made him an object of suspicion to Cromwell.
The orthodox Calvinists ministers and regents of The Hague were against "The
Act of Seclusion" and incited the people to revolt against the Republicans.
Johan de Witt made a concession to the "Orangists" and called out (1668), that
the young William III would be "Child of State" and Johan de Witt promised that
William III would be educated in "State Business". A little later (1669) however
The States of Holland made a new Act, "The Eternal Edict" in which was stated
that there never should be a Stadtholder of the Orange family again. But history
should go in another way.
Johan de Witt became the most powerful man in the Republic. During his reign
Holland was superior on the world seas with admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp
and Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter. Johan de Witt was also an important opponent
to the France king Lodewijk XIV.
The policy of de Witt after the peace of 1654 was eminently successful. He
restored the finances of the Country and extended its commercial supremacy in
the East Indies. In 1658-1659 he sustained Denmark against Sweden, and in 1662
concluded an advantageous peace with Portugal. The accession of Charles II to
the English throne led to the rescinding of the Act of Seclusion; nevertheless
de Witt steadily refused to allow the Prince of Orange to be appointed Stadtholder
or captain general. This led to ill will between the English and Dutch governments,
and to a renewal of old grievances about maritime and commercial rights, and
war broke out in 1665.
The councilor pensionary himself went to sea with the fleet, and it was owing
to his exertions as an organizer and a diplomat quite as much as to the brilliant
seamanship of Admiral de Ruyter that the Treaty of Breda (July 31, 1667), maintaining
the status quo, was so honorable to the United Provinces. In 1667 he promulgated
his "Eternal Edict" for the republican administration of Holland. A still greater
triumph of diplomatic skill was the conclusion of the Triple Alliance (Jan.
17, 1668) between the Dutch Republic, England, and Sweden, which checked the
attempt of Louis XIV of France to take possession of the Spanish Netherlands
in the name of his wife, the infant Maria Theresa.
1672, the "year of Disaster in Holland
Because of all these former wars and the blockade of some trade routes, the
economic situation in the Netherlands wasn't so good and the Golden Age was
ended and the Country was at war with two German Kingdoms, and again with England
and France. In 1672 Louis XIV suddenly declared war and invaded the United Provinces
at the head of a splendid army. The voice of the people called William
III to the head of affairs, and there were violent demonstrations against Johan
de Witt. He was, according to historians, a wise man, but he had the bad luck
to be Republican in a bad period of time. The republic was rich but small and
suddenly it found itself at war with 4 mighty European nations and of course
this wasn't good for the Economy of the major cities. Hunger came to the people
and under the leadership of the Calvinists ministers and the Orangists, including
Caspar Fagel (1634 - 1688, the next State-Pensionary) the anger against the
Brothers De Witt escalated.
His brother Cornelis was arrested (24 July) on a charge of conspiring against
the Prince. On 4 August Johan de Witt resigned the post of councilor pensionary
of Holland. Cornelius was put to the torture and on 19 August sentenced to deprivation
of his offices and banishment.
The "Gevangenpoort" in The Hague where Cornelis de
Witt was imprisoned, a sinister detail is that it is situated opposite to the
Binnenhof, the Castle of the Orange family and at present time the Government
buildings of The Netherlands.
His brother came to visit him ( 20 August) in the "Gevangenpoort" at
The Hague. A vast crowd, hearing this, collected outside and finally burst in,
seized the two brothers, and tore them to pieces, they were slaughtered as beasts.
The inside of their bodies was eaten by dogs.. Thus perished one of the greatest
statesmen of his age and of Dutch history.
In the wax museum of "Madame Tussod" at Amsterdam you can still see how the
two brothers looked like after this cruel event.
It's one of the sad chapters in Dutch history. (1672 is still called "Rampjaar"
(year of disaster).
As mentioned above, Johan de Witt, was Councilor of
State of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of Holland, and as such
a formidable opponent to the aspirations to royal power of the young Prince
of Orange, William III, whom, in 1689, the English received as their king William
II.
If you have ever wondered why Dutch sports' fans paint
their faces orange, or wear ludicrous hats of that dye at all, in spite of the
national colors of the Netherlands being red-white-blue, and also you maybe
wondered why the orangists in Northern Ireland still ware an orange ribbon ?,
you have the answer now ! The color Orange used by the Monarchists in The Netherlands
and the beginning of all troubles in Northern Ireland was the political situation
in The Netherlands and specially in Dordrecht and Amsterdam at that time.
Shortly after this cruel event the Orange Family came back to power and no
other family ever tried to take control over the Country like the "De Witt's"
had done. The Heir of Orange-Nassau, William III, reclaimed the position of
his family and became Stadtholder in the same year (1672), but not only that.
He later on also became King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1689.
William III of Orange-Nassau never punished the murderers of the Brothers
the Witt, in spite of that he give them a job (Caspar Fagel, former friend of
Johan de Witt, and others) and, so called "year- money" as a reward for their
deeds.
The hometown of the Brothers de Witt and oldest city of Holland, Dordrecht,
never forgot this cruel event and was a long time, against the Orange family.
Dordrecht should later on try again to settle the Republic with Simon van Slingelandt
1664 - 1736 (Secretary of State 1690-1725) but again without success.
It took more then 250 years (1918) before Johan the Witt was honored for
his work and a statue was established (revealed by Queen Wilhelmina) on the
exact spot where Johan and his brother Cornelius where slaughtered.
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The statue of Johan de Witt on the Plaats (the place)
in The Hague (again a sinister detail, the statue is faced directly to the Binnenhof,
the Government buildings of The Netherlands).
On foot of the statue you can read the following inscription
States-Pensionary (Minister of State) of Holland, 24
September 1625, Dordrecht, slaughtered 20 August 1672, The Hague.
"Leader and servant of the Republic, Former of the
most powerful fleets, Defender of the free sea, Keeper of the Country's finances,
Mathematician, A perfect Dutchman".
click the image to enlarge
Dordrecht honored their famous citizens with a great statue on the Visbrug.
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It lasted until the end of the 19th century (18 August1897) before Dordrecht
was visited again by a member of the Orange family, Queen-Regentes Emma and
Princes Wilhelmina (Queen 1898-1962) came to Dordrecht and the local government
took extra precautions for the safety of the Oranges, nevertheless a lot of
citizens were not glad with this "royal" visit.
Simon van Slingerlandt was in fact the third Republican after Johan van Oldenbarneveldt
and Johan de Witt who was councilor pensionary of Holland from 1727 until his
dead in 1736. He was a politician who made the role of The United Provinces
dominant again in Europe for a short period and was responsible for the political
reorganization of the republic within the Staten General, the most important
council at that time. He was, even as Johan de Witt a citizen of Dordrecht,
and also against the dominance of the House of Orange who had no Stadtholder
of Holland at that time (The second Stadtholder-less era 1711-1747). He was
also secretary of the Council of State (Raad van State) 1690-1725.
Johan de Witt (see above) appointed his father Govert van Slingerlandt as
pensionary of Dordrecht in 1653 and in 1664 he was appointed as secretary of
the Council of State by Johan de Witt and should stay there until his dead in
1690. He had in the last period often struggles with Prince Willem III of Orange.
His son Simon took the seat from his father in the same year.
His sister married in 1693 with Franqois Fagel (1659-1746) who was registrar
of the Staten General. Franqois's father was Casper Fagel, the successor of
Johan de Witt in 1672 and most likely the one who betrayed his former friend
Johan de Witt.
During the second Stadtholder-less era (1711-1747) he wrote the pre-advises
for the second great council of the Seven United Provinces of 1716-1717 regarding
the extension of the power of this council and reducing the power of the Orange
family. At the end of this council the States of the Seven United Provinces
declared that the existing situation should be vindicated. Simon van Sligerlandt
was grieved about this decision.
There is an old saying that still stand today and seems
to be derived from this period : "The lords drank a glass, did a pee and all
stayed as it was".
In 1725 he was appointed to Thesaurus-General and in 1727 to Councilor Pensionary
but before he was forced to promise not to reform the states system. He agreed
with the appointment of Willem-Friso
(Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen) to Captain-General but stayed against
the appointment of Willem Friso to Stadtholder of Holland.
In foreign affairs he was very successful. He meditated between England and
Austria in 1732 which resulted in the treaty of Wenen (Vienna). He also meditated
in the peace treaty between France and Austria shortly before his death in 1736.
He wrote also four books regarding his thoughts for the reformation of State,
they were finally published in 1784-1785. The most important conclusions in
these books were that van Slingerlandt was patron of a free people and a free
Government without automatic succession of the Nassau-Dietz family.
So he was also a patriot and republican like Johan de Witt and Johan van
Oldenbarneveldt.
Table of the Stadtholders 1581-1795, The House of Orange-Nassau, Republicans
and Nassau-Dietz.
