Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain. He is generally considered as one of the greatest and most important political figures in the history of The Netherlands.

The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, excessive taxation, and the rights and privileges of the Dutch nobility and cities.