1.
Cornelis Tromp
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Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp and he became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy. He fought in the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars and in the Scanian War, Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp was born on 9 September 1629 in Rotterdam, in the county of Holland, the historically dominant province of the Dutch Republic. He was the son of Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp and Dina Cornelisdochter de Haas. His name Maartenszoon, sometimes abbreviated to Maartensz. is a patronymic and he had two full brothers, Harper and Johan. In 1633, when he was four years old, his mother died. His father remarried in 1634 and again in 1640, the two marriages together brought Tromp four half brothers and five half sisters. His father had made career as an officer for the Admiralty of the Maze, after a conflict with Lieutenant-Admiral Philips van Dorp in 1634 Maarten Tromp left the fleet starting to work as a deacon. After Van Dorp was removed from his position in 1637, his father became Lieutenant Admiral, in 1642, Cornelis Tromp was sent to Harfleur in France to learn to speak French from a Calvinist preacher. On 1 September 1643, he joined his father on his flagship the Aemilia, in September 1645, he was appointed as lieutenant. On 22 August 1649, he was made a full captain, in 1656, he participated in the relief of Gdańsk. In 1658, it was discovered he had used his ships to trade in goods, as a result he was fined. During this war, his flagship was the Gouden Leeuw, of 82 cannon and he was closely involved in the murder of Johan de Witt and Cornelis de Witt in 1672. In 1675 he was created an English baronet and a Dutch erfridder by Charles II of England, on 8 May 1676, he became Admiral-General of the Danish navy and Knight in the Order of the Elephant, in 1677 Count of Sølvesborg. He defeated the Swedish navy in the Battle of Öland, his victory as a fleet commander. On 6 February 1679, he became Lieutenant-Admiral-General of the Republic but never fought in that capacity, having become a liability to the new regime of William III. He died in Amsterdam in 1691, his mind broken by abuse and remorse, still officially commander of the Dutch fleet. Tromp was a very aggressive squadron commander who personally relished the fight, as a result, he had to change ships often, four times at the Four Days Battle, three times at Schooneveld and two times at Texel
2.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
3.
Prince of Orange
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Prince of Orange is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. Under the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, Frederick William I of Prussia ceded the Principality of Orange to King Louis XIV of France, the title is traditionally borne by the heir apparent of the Dutch monarch. The title descends via absolute primogeniture since 1983, meaning that its holder can be either Prince or Princess of Orange, the Dutch royal dynasty, the House of Orange-Nassau, is not the only family to claim the title. Rival claims to the title have been made by German emperors and kings of the House of Hohenzollern, the current users of the title are Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange suo jure, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, and Guy, Marquis de Mailly-Nesle. The Principality originated as the County of Orange, a fief in the Holy Roman Empire and his Occitan name is Guilhem, however, as a Frankish lord, he probably knew himself by the old Germanic version of Wilhelm. William also ruled as count of Toulouse, duke of Aquitaine, the chanson appears to incorporate material relating to William of Gellones battle at the Orbieu or Orbiel river near Carcassonne in 793 as well as to his seizure of the town of Orange. As the Empires boundaries retreated from those of the principality, the prince acceded to the rights that the Emperor formerly exercised. Orange ceased to exist as a realm, de facto. Although no longer descended from Louis-Charles, a branch of the Mailly family still claim the title today, in 1714 Louis XIV bestowed the usufruct of the principality on his kinsman, Louis Armand of Bourbon, Prince de Conti. After his death in 1727 the principality was deemed merged in the Crown by 1731, in this way, the territory of the principality lost its feudal and secular privileges and became a part of France. The Treaty of Utrecht allowed the King of Prussia to erect part of the duchy of Gelderland into a new Principality of Orange, the kings of Prussia and the German emperors styled themselves Princes of Orange till 1918. Several of his descendants became stadtholders and they claim the principality of Orange on the basis of agnatic inheritance, similar to that of William the Silent, who had inherited Orange from his cousin René of Châlon. They did however have a claim, albeit distant, to the principality itself due to John William Frisos descent from Louise de Coligny, who was a descendant of the original Princes of Orange. They could also claim descent from the del Balzo, an Italian branch of the des Baux family, via the marriage of Princess Anne to William IV, Prince of Orange. Anne was the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain, Elizabeth Woodwilles grandmother was Margherita del Balzo, another descendant of Tiburge dOrange. They also claimed on the basis of the testament of Philip William, Maurice, finally, they claimed on the basis that Orange was an independent state whose sovereign had the right to assign his succession according to his will. France never recognized any of this, nor allowed the Orange-Nassaus or the Hohenzollerns to obtain anything of the principality itself, the Oranje-Nassaus nevertheless assumed the title and also erected several of their lordships into a new principality of Orange. They maintain the tradition of William the Silent and the house of Orange-Nassau, only the direct line of descent to Raimond V is shown here
4.
Stadtholder
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In the Low Countries, stadtholder, literally steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. For the last half century of its existence, it became a hereditary role. His son, Prince William V, was the last stadtholder of the republic, whose own son, King William I, became the first king of the Netherlands. The Dutch Monarchy is thus descended from the first stadtholder of the young Republic, William of Orange, the title stadtholder is roughly comparable to Englands historic title Lord Lieutenant. Its component parts literally translate as place holder, or as a cognate, stead holder. Note, however, that is not the word for the rank of lieutenant. Stadtholders in the Middle Ages were appointed by feudal lords to represent them in their absence, if a lord had several dominions, some of these could be ruled by a permanent stadtholder, to whom was delegated the full authority of the lord. A stadtholder was thus more powerful than a governor, who had limited authority. The local rulers of the independent provinces of the Low Countries made extensive use of stadtholders, in the 15th century the Dukes of Burgundy acquired most of the Low Countries, and these Burgundian Netherlands mostly each had their own stadtholder. Only the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and two smaller territories remained outside his domains, stadtholders continued to be appointed to represent Charles and King Philip II, his son and successor in Spain and the Low Countries. Due to the centralist and absolutist policies of Philip, the power of the stadtholders strongly diminished. The stadtholder no longer represented the lord but became the highest executive official, although each province could assign its own stadtholder, most stadtholders held appointments from several provinces at the same time. As these councils themselves appointed most members of the states, the stadtholder could very indirectly influence the general policy, in the army, he could appoint officers by himself, in the navy only affirm appointments of the five admiralty councils. Legal powers of the stadtholder were thus limited, and by law he was a mere official. His real powers, however, were greater, especially given the martial law atmosphere of the permanent Eighty Years War. Maurice of Orange after 1618 ruled as a dictator. The leader of the Dutch Revolt was William the Silent, he had been appointed stadtholder in 1572 by the first province to rebel and his personal influence and reputation was subsequently associated with the office and transferred to members of his house. Maurice in 1618 and William III of Orange from 1672 replaced entire city councils with their partisans to increase their power, by intimidation, the stadtholders tried to extend their right of affirmation
5.
House of Orange-Nassau
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Several members of the house served during this war and after as governor or stadtholder during the Dutch Republic. However, in 1815, after a period as a republic. The dynasty was established as a result of the marriage of Henry III of Nassau-Breda from Germany and their son René inherited in 1530 the independent and sovereign Principality of Orange from his mothers brother, Philibert of Châlon. As the first Nassau to be the Prince of Orange, René could have used Orange-Nassau as his new family name, however, his uncle, in his will, had stipulated that René should continue the use of the name Châlon-Orange. History knows him therefore as René of Châlon, after the death of René in 1544 his cousin William of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited all his lands. This William I of Orange, in English better known as William the Silent, the Castle of Nassau was founded around 1100 by Count Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg, the founder of the House of Nassau. In 1120, Dudo-Henrys sons and successors, Counts Robert I and Arnold I of Laurenburg and they renovated and extended the castle complex in 1124. The first man to be called the count of Nassau was Robert I of Nassau, the Nassau family married into the family of the neighboring Counts of Arnstein. His sons Walram and Otto split the Nassau possessions, the descendants of Walram became known as the Walram Line, which became Dukes of Nassau, and in 1890, the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. This line also included Adolph of Nassau, who was elected King of the Romans in 1292, the descendants of Otto became known as the Ottonian Line, which inherited parts of Nassau County, and properties in France and the Netherlands. The House of Orange-Nassau stems from the younger Ottonian Line, the first of this line to establish himself in the Netherlands was John I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, who married Margareta of the Marck. The real founder of the Nassau fortunes in the Netherlands was Johns son and he became counsellor to the Burgundian Dukes of Brabant, first to Anton of Burgundy, and later to his son Jan IV of Brabant. He also would later serve Philip the Good, in 1403 he married the Dutch noblewoman Johanna van Polanen, and so inherited lands in the Netherlands, with the Barony of Breda as the core of the Dutch possessions and the family fortune. A nobles power was based on his ownership of vast tracts of land. It also helped that much of the lands that the House of Orange and Nassau controlled sat under one of the commercial and mercantile centers of the world (see below under Lands and Titles. The importance of the Nassaus grew throughout the 15th and 16th centuries as they became councilors, generals, Engelbert II of Nassau served Charles the Bold and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, who had married Charless daughter Mary of Burgundy. In 1496 he was appointed stadtholder of Flanders and by 1498 he had been named President of the Grand Conseil, in 1501, Maximilian named him Lieutenant-General of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. From that point forward, Engelbert was the representative of the Habsburg Empire to the region
6.
Regenten
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In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the regenten were the rulers of the Dutch Republic, the leaders of the Dutch cities or the heads of organisations. Though not formally a hereditary class, they were de facto patricians, since the late Middle Ages Dutch cities had been run by the richer merchant families, who gradually formed a closed group. From the latter part of the 17th century the regent families were able to reserve government offices to themselves via quasi-formal contractual arrangements, in practice they could only be dislodged by political upheavals, like the Orangist revolution of 1747 and the Patriot revolt of 1785. The regenten as the ruling class originated in the 13th century. The nobilitys and rulers incomes were often not enough to pay their mercenaries or their own army and they therefore needed financial assistance from the up-and-coming merchant class in the growing towns. This class could thus induce the sovereigns to grant municipal charters and city rights and this newly acquired autonomy brought into being a new group of managers next to the sovereigns deputy, the schout, to run the city. These city councillors were often recruited from the wealthiest citizens, medieval city-dwellers were of the opinion that the vroedschap, from which the magistrates were chosen, had to consist of de weisten, treffelijksten en rijksten van de stadsbevolking. Men of wealth were deemed to be the people most able to guarantee the prosperity of the city, to keep the peace was in their personal interest, and because they were already rich, one could hope that they would not plunder the city coffers. In the first half of the 15th century, the Burgundian dukes tightened their grip on the cities in the county of Holland. Philip the Good promoted the situation in which the regenten could exert a greater control over the city and her inhabitants, the vroedschappen were given the power to co-opt members, instead of using a more open electoral process. Members of a vroedschap were usually appointed for life, or during good behavior, similar developments took place in the other provinces. The vroedschap was the body that nominated candidates for burgemeesters and schepenen in annual or biannual elections and these nominees were usually members of the vroedschap, though this was not a formal requirement for office. Members of the vroedschap were usually also the representatives of the cities that voted in the states of the provinces and these arrangements remained basically in place after the Dutch Revolt. From then on, the regenten were the de facto. Formally, little changed in the arrangements of the republic. Equally, the same 18 cities made up the states held the vote before. What changed after the revolt was the makeup of these institutions. In most cities the old regenten were purged, and replaced with adherents to the new political order, in general, Catholic regenten were replaced with supporters of the New Religion
7.
Twelve Years' Truce
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The Twelve Years Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years War, marking the point from which the independence of the United Provinces received formal recognition by outside powers. The Archdukes Albert and Isabella used the years of the Truce to consolidate Habsburg rule, the war in the Low Countries reached a stalemate in the 1590s. In the following years the Army of Flanders was entirely on the defensive, unable to sustain the cost of a war on three fronts, Philip II was forced to declare a suspension of payments in 1596. Spains predicament was adroitly used by Stadtholder Maurice, in a series of campaigns, the Republics army surprised Breda in 1590, took Deventer, Hulst and Nijmegen the following year and captured Groningen in 1594. By that stage the Army of Flanders had lost almost all its positions north of the great rivers. After the accession of Philip III in Spain and of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella in the Habsburg Netherlands in 1598, the Army of Flanders tried to regain the offensive against the Dutch Republic. While it met with a defeat in the Battle of Nieuwpoort on 2 July 1600. The lengthy Siege of Ostend amply demonstrated the balance of power, both sides poured enormous resources into the besieging or defending a town that was reduced to rubble. Ambrogio Spinola, who had succeeded Archduke Albert as commander in the field, eventually captured the town on 22 September 1604, the following year, Spinola seized the initiative, bringing the war north of the great rivers for the first time since 1594. Suddenly the Dutch Republic had the enemy threatening its heartland, by 1606, the Spanish army had captured Oldenzaal, Lochem, Lingen, Rijnberk and Groenlo despite the efforts of Maurice of Nassau. Meanwhile, Habsburg diplomacy had managed to disengage from two fronts, in 1598 Henry IV and Philip II had ended the Franco-Spanish War with the Peace of Vervins. Six years later, James I, Philip III and the Archdukes concluded the Anglo-Spanish War with the Treaty of London, together, these treaties allowed the Habsburgs to concentrate their resources on the war against the Dutch. They did not, however, keep the Republics allies from continuing their material support, moreover, Habsburg successes in the Low Countries came at a heavy price. In 1605 the Dutch East India Company made serious inroads into the Portuguese spice trade and these advances signaled a serious threat that the conflict might spread further in the Spanish overseas empire. The scale of Spinolas campaigns had, furthermore, exhausted the Spanish treasury, on 9 November 1607 Philip III announced a suspension of payments. The balance of power had led to a balance of exhaustion, after decades of war, both sides were finally prepared to open negotiations. The two opposing sides started putting out discrete overtures early in the season of 1606
8.
Remonstrants
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The Remonstrants are Dutch Protestants who, after the death of Jacobus Arminius, maintained the views associated with his name. There is also a congregation in Friedrichstadt in northern Germany. Their adversaries, inspired by Franciscus Gomarus, became known as Gomarists or Counter-Remonstrants, although the States-General issued an edict tolerating both parties and forbidding further dispute, the conflict continued and became linked to political conflicts in the Dutch Republic. The Remonstrants were assailed both by personal enemies and by the weapons of Maurice of Orange. Their foremost ally, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, was executed, in 1618–19 the Synod of Dordrecht, after expelling the thirteen Arminian pastors headed by Simon Episcopius, established the victory of the Calvinist school. It drew up ninety-three canonical rules, and confirmed the authority of the Belgic Confession, the judgement of the synod was enforced through the deposition and in some cases banishment of Remonstrant ministers. An exile community was founded in Antwerp in 1619, in 1621 they were allowed to settle in Schleswig, where they built the town of Friedrichstadt. The doctrine of the Remonstrants was embodied in 1621 in a written by Episcopius, their major theologian, while Jan Uytenbogaert gave them a catechism. Their seminary in Amsterdam had distinguished pupils, including Curcellaeus, Limborch, Wetstein and their school of theology, which grew more liberal and even rationalistic, forcefully debated the official Dutch Reformed state church and other Christian denominations. After the death of Maurice of Orange in 1625 some exiles returned, the government became convinced that they posed no danger to the state, and in 1630 they were formally allowed to reside again in all parts of the Republic. They were not, however, officially allowed to build churches until the establishment of the Batavian Republic in 1795, until then they held their services in so-called Schuilkerken. The Remonstrant Brotherhood continues as part of the churches in the Netherlands. It has its origins in the theology of Arminius and the signing of the Five articles of Remonstrance against a form of Calvinism by 44 ministers. The Remonstrants proclaimed the responsibility of man, pre-ordination through foreknowledge of faith, in line with the progressive views on religion, Remonstrants have been blessing same-sex partnerships on an equal footing as different sex weddings from 1986 onwards. In this the Remonstrants were the first Christian church in the world to bless same-sex relationships similar to other relations, the Remonstrants first received official recognition in 1795. Their chief congregation has been in Rotterdam, today, the Remonstrant Brotherhood has some 5,780 members and friends, in 46 congregations in the Netherlands, and one congregation in Friedrichstadt, in northern Germany. It keeps fellowship with the European Liberal Protestant Network, Remonstrants place big emphasis on personal faith and are not in agreement with one another on questions of faith and social issues. They consider that the message of the Gospel can not be separated from true choices in the struggle to live together, in addition to Statement of Principle, most contemporary Remonstrants write their own declaration or profession of faith when they become a member of the community
9.
Franciscus Gomarus
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Franciscus Gomarus was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius, whose theological disputes were addressed at the Synod of Dort. He remained there three years, and then went in 1580 to Neustadt, from which the professors of Heidelberg had been driven by the elector-palatine because they were not Lutherans, here his teachers in theology were Zacharius Ursinus, Hieronymus Zanchius, and Daniel Tossanus. Crossing to England towards the end of 1582, he attended the lectures of John Rainolds at Oxford, and he graduated from Cambridge in 1584, and then went to Heidelberg, where the faculty had been re-established by this time. He was pastor of a Dutch Reformed Church in Frankfurt from 1587 until 1593, in 1594 he was appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden, and before going there received the degree of doctor from the University of Heidelberg. Gomarus immediately set himself earnestly to oppose these beliefs in his classes at college, bogermann, who afterwards became professor of theology at Franeker. Arminius sought to make election dependent upon faith, whilst they sought to enforce absolute predestination as the rule of faith, Gomarus then became the leader of the opponents of Arminius, who came to be known as Gomarists. On the death of Arminius shortly after this time, Konrad Vorstius, Gomarus, despite his position as a professor of Hebrew, urged that restrictions be placed on the Jews. He took a part in the Synod of Dordrecht, assembled in 1618 to judge of the doctrines of Arminius. He was a man of ability, enthusiasm and learning, a considerable Oriental scholar and he took part in revising the Dutch translation of the Old Testament in 1633. After his death, the Lyra Davidis was published, in which he sought to explain the principles of Hebrew metre, and his works were collected and published in a one volume folio, in Amsterdam in 1645. He was succeeded at Groningen in 1643 by his pupil Samuel Maresius and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Works by Franciscus Gomarus at Post-Reformation Digital Library Treatise, Of Gods Predestination in English translation, article on his life, ministry and controversy with Arminius. Treatise, An Examination of the Controversy Regarding Christs Genealogy in the original Latin, davids Harp, a work on the poetical portions of Old Testament Scripture, in the original Latin. An alternative copy is also available, accoort Vande Recht-sinnige Leere der Voorsienicheyt Gods
10.
Predestination
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Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, in this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism, and usually predeterminism. There is some disagreement among scholars regarding the views on predestination of first-century AD Judaism, josephus wrote during the first century that the three main Jewish sects differed on this question. He argued that the Essenes and Pharisees argued that Gods providence orders all human events and he wrote that the Sadducees did not have a doctrine of providence. Biblical scholar N. T. Wright asserts that Essenes were content to wait for God to liberate Israel while Pharisees believed Jews needed to act in cooperation with God, in the New Testament, Romans 8–11 presents a statement on predestination. In Romans 8, 28–30, Paul writes, We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Biblical scholars have interpreted this passage in several ways, many say this only has to do with service, those he chose of service and is not about salvation. Catholic biblical commentator Brendan Byrne wrote that the mentioned in this passage should be interpreted as applied to the Christian community corporately rather than individuals. Another Catholic commentator, Joseph Fitzmyer, wrote that this teaches that God has predestined the salvation of all humans. Douglas Moo, a Protestant biblical interpreter, reads the passage as teaching that God has predestined a certain set of people to salvation, similarly, N. T. Instead, Wright asserts that Gods will works through that of humans to accomplish salvation. Origen, writing in the century, taught that Gods providence extends to every individual. He believed Gods predestination was based on Gods foreknowledge of every individuals merits, later in the fourth and fifth centuries, Augustine of Hippo also taught that God orders all things while preserving human freedom. Prior to 396, Augustine believed that predestination was based on Gods foreknowledge of whether individuals would believe, scholars are divided over whether Augustines teaching implies double predestination, or the belief that God chooses some people for damnation as well as some for salvation. Catholic scholars tend to deny that he held such a view while some Protestants, julian, bishop of Eclanum, expressed the view that Augustine was bringing Manichean thoughts into the church. For Vincent of Lérins, this was a disturbing innovation and this new tension eventually became obvious with the confrontation between Augustine and Pelagius culminating in condemnation of Pelagianism at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Pelagius denied Augustines view of predestination in order to affirm that salvation is achieved by an act of free will, the Second Council of Orange in 529 also condemned the position that some have been truly predestined to evil by divine power. Damascene teaches that peoples actions are done in cooperation with God
11.
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
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Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Lord of Berkel en Rodenrijs, Gunterstein and Bakkum was a Dutch statesman who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain. Van Oldenbarnevelt was born in Amersfoort and he studied law at Leuven, Bourges, Heidelberg and Padua, and traveled in France and Italy before settling in The Hague. He supported William the Silent in his revolt against Spain, in his later years he was a supporter of the Arminians, in the religious-political controversy which split the young Dutch Republic. Van Oldenbarnevelt served as a volunteer for the relief of Haarlem and he was married in 1575 to Maria van Utrecht. In 1576 he obtained the important post of pensionary of Rotterdam, in this capacity his industry, singular grasp of affairs, and persuasive powers of speech speedily gained for him a position of influence. He was active in promoting the Union of Utrecht and the offer of the countship of Holland and Zeeland to William the Silent. He was an opponent of the policies of the Earl of Leicester, the governor‐general at the time, and instead favoured Maurice of Nassau. Leicester left in 1587, leaving the power in the Netherlands to Maurice. During the governorship of Leicester, Van Oldenbarnevelt was the leader of the opposition offered by the States of Holland to the centralizing policy of the governor. On 16 March 1586, Van Oldenbarnevelt, in succession to Paulus Buys, became Lands Advocate of Holland for the States of Holland and this great office, given to a man of commanding ability and industry, offered unbounded influence in a multi-headed republic without any central executive authority. Though nominally the servant of the States of Holland, Van Oldenbarnevelt made himself the political personification of the province which bore more than half the charge of the union. As mouthpiece of the States-General, he dominated the assembly. In a brief period, he entrusted with such large and far-reaching authority in all details of administration. During the two years following the withdrawal of Leicester, the Advocates statesmanship kept the United Provinces from collapsing under their own inherent separatist tendencies. This prevented the United Provinces from becoming an easy conquest for the army of Alexander of Parma. Also of good fortune for the Netherlands, the attention of Philip II of Spain was at its greatest weakness, spains lack of attention coupled with the United Provinces lack of central, organized government allowed Van Oldenbarnevelt to gain control of administrative affairs. His task was made easier by receiving whole-hearted support from Maurice of Nassau and he was also Captain-General and Admiral of the Union. The interests and ambitions of Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice did not clash, indeed, Maurices thoughts were centered on training and leading armies, and he had no special capacity as a statesman or desire for politics
12.
Hugo Grotius
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Hugo Grotius, also known as Huig de Groot or Hugo de Groot, was a Dutch jurist. Along with the works of Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili, Grotius laid the foundations for international law. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was imprisoned for his involvement in the intra-Calvinist disputes of the Dutch Republic and he wrote most of his major works in exile in France. Because of his theological underpinning of free trade, he is considered an economic theologist. Born in Delft during the Dutch Revolt, Hugo was the first child of Jan de Groot, a prodigious learner, Hugo entered the University of Leiden when he was just eleven years old. There he studied some of the most acclaimed intellectuals in northern Europe, including Franciscus Junius, Joseph Justus Scaliger. Omnes, & emendati, & Notis, siue Februis Hug, in Holland, Grotius earned an appointment as advocate to The Hague in 1599 and then as official historiographer for the States of Holland in 1601. The Dutch were at war with Spain and Portugal when the merchant ship Santa Catarina. The scandal led to a judicial hearing and a wider campaign to sway public opinion. It was in this context that representatives of the Company called upon Grotius to draft a polemical defence of the seizure. The result of Grotius efforts in 1604/05 was a long, theory-laden treatise that he provisionally entitled De Indis, Grotius sought to ground his defense of the seizure in terms of the natural principles of justice. In this, he had cast a net much wider than the case at hand, his interest was in the source, the treatise was never published in full during Grotius lifetime, perhaps because the court ruling in favor of the Company preempted the need to garner public support. In The Free Sea Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory, Grotius, by claiming free seas, provided suitable ideological justification for the Dutch breaking up of various trade monopolies through its formidable naval power. In 1608 he married Maria van Reigersbergen, with whom he would have eight children and who would be invaluable in helping him and the family to weather the storm to come. The domestic dissension resulting over Arminius professorship was overshadowed by the war with Spain. The new peace would move the focus to the controversy. The controversy expanded when the Remonstrant theologian Conrad Vorstius was appointed to replace Jacobus Arminius as the chair at Leiden. Vorstius was soon seen by Counter-Remonstrants as moving beyond the teachings of Arminius into Socinianism, leading the call for Vorstius removal was theology professor Sibrandus Lubbertus
13.
Maurice, Prince of Orange
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Maurice of Orange was stadtholder of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upon the death of his eldest half-brother Philip William in 1618, Maurice spent his youth in Dillenburg in Nassau, and studied in Heidelberg and Leiden. He succeeded his father William the Silent as stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, and became stadtholder of Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel in 1590, and of Groningen in 1620. As Captain-General and Admiral of the Union, Maurice organised the Dutch rebellion against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt, Maurice set out to revive and revise the classical doctrines of Vegetius and pioneered the new European forms of armament and drill. During the Twelve Years Truce, a dispute broke out in the Republic. After the Truce, Maurice failed to achieve more military victories and he died without legitimate children in The Hague in 1625, and was succeeded by his younger half-brother Frederick Henry. Maurice was a son of William the Silent and Princess Anna of Saxony and was born at the castle of Dillenburg and he was named after his maternal grandfather, the Elector Maurice of Saxony, who was also a noted general. Maurice never married but was the father of children by Margaretha van Mechelen. He was raised in Dillenburg by his uncle Johan of Nassau, together with his cousin Willem Lodewijk he studied in Heidelberg and later in Leiden where he met Simon Stevin. The States of Holland and Zeeland paid for his studies, as their father had run into problems after spending his entire fortune in the early stages of the Dutch revolt. Only 16 when his father was murdered in Delft in 1584, he took over as stadtholder. The monarchs of England and France had been requested to accept sovereignty and this had left Maurice as the only acceptable candidate for the position of Stadtholder. He became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, of Guelders, Overijssel and Utrecht in 1590 and of Groningen, protestant Maurice was preceded as Prince of Orange by his Roman Catholic eldest half-brother Philip William, Prince of Orange, deceased 1618. However, Philip William was in the custody of Spain, remaining so until 1596 and he was appointed captain-general of the army in 1587, bypassing the Earl of Leicester, who returned to England on hearing this news. Maurice organised the rebellion against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt, the Eighty Years War was a challenge to his style, so he could prove himself a good leader by taking several Spanish Outposts. In 1597 he went on an offensive and took Rheinberg, Meurs, Groenlo, Bredevoort, Enschede, Ootmarsum, Oldenzaal. These victories rounded out the borders to the Dutch Republic, solidifying the revolt and they also established Maurice as the foremost general of his time. Many of the generals of the succeeding generation, including his brother Frederick Henry
14.
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
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Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch, was the sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647. His strategy was the neutralization of the threat of inundation of the area around s-Hertogenbosch. Frederick Henry was born on 29 January 1584 in Delft, Holland and he was the youngest child of William the Silent and Louise de Coligny. His father William was stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and his mother Louise was daughter of the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny, and was the fourth wife of his father. He was thus the brother of his predecessor Maurice of Orange. Frederick Henry was born six months before his fathers assassination on 10 July 1584, the boy was trained to arms by his elder brother Maurice, one of the finest generals of his age. After Maurice threatened to legimitize his illegitimate children if he did not marry and his illegitimate son by Margaretha Catharina Bruyns, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein was born in 1624 before his marriage. This son later became the governor of the young William III of England for seven years, Frederick Henry proved himself almost as good a general as his brother, and a far more capable statesman and politician. For twenty-two years he remained at the head of government in the United Provinces, the Period of Frederick Henry, as it is usually styled by Dutch writers, is generally accounted the golden age of the republic. It was marked by military and naval triumphs, by worldwide maritime and commercial expansion. Frederick Henry built the country houses Huis Honselaarsdijk, Huis ter Nieuwburg, and for his wife Huis ten Bosch, Huis Honselaarsdijk and Huis ter Nieuwburg are now demolished. Frederick Henry died on 14 March 1647 in The Hague, Holland and he left his wife Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, his son William II, Prince of Orange, four of his daughters, and his illegitimate son Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein. On Frederick Henrys death, he was buried with great pomp beside his father and brother at Delft, Frederick Henry left an account of his campaigns in his Mémoires de Frédéric Henri. His widow commissioned a mausoleum in the Oranjezaal, a panoramic painted ballroom with scenes from his life. Frederick Henry and his wife Amalia of Solms-Braunfels had nine children, the Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806 excerpt and text search pp 506–45 Frederik Hendrik. Een biografisch drieluik, a biography by J. J
15.
First Stadtholderless Period
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The First Stadtholderless Period or Era is the period in the history of the Dutch Republic in which the office of a Stadtholder was absent in five of the seven Dutch provinces. It happened to coincide with the period when it reached the zenith of its economic, military, the term has acquired a negative connotation in 19th-century Orangist Dutch historiography, but whether such a negative view is justified is debatable. A convenient war with Portugal enabled the Dutch East India Company to take over the remnants of the Portuguese empire in Ceylon, Dutch industry, especially textiles, was as yet not hindered by protectionism. As a consequence, the Republics economy enjoyed its last great economic boom, the office of Stadtholder of a province predated the Republic. William the Silent had been such a stadtholder in Holland and Zeeland under the Habsburg regime, until he was removed from office in 1567. After the Dutch Revolt broke out, he simply reassumed that office in 1572 with the connivance of the rebel States of Holland, however, in the circumstances of the ongoing war with Spain, the Captain-general was indispensable. And the office of stadtholder remained an important power-base, enabling its holder to exert an influence far beyond its formal powers, Maurice stopped this with a coup détat and subsequently asserted a federal sovereignty that superseded the provincial one. His brother, and successor as stadtholder, Frederick Henry held on to this ascendancy, due to a policy of divide-and conquer. When Frederick Henry died in March,1647, his son William II was appointed stadtholder in Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelderland. William was opposed to the peace with Spain, but he was ignored by the politicians in the States General. In the years following the peace a number of conflicts erupted between the stadtholder and especially the States of Holland about policy. William keenly supported the Calvinist die-hards in their attempts to force the Protestant religion on the Catholic inhabitants of the recently acquired Generality Lands and this was, however, just political posturing on Williams part, cynically exploiting certain prejudices in an attempt to gain ascendancy over the regents. More important as a matter of principle was the conflict over the reduction of the army that arose during 1649 and 1650. The regents understandably did not quite see the need for an expensive, large, though the parties came close to an agreement on a total of about 29,000 men, the final difference of a few hundred men proved to be insurmountable. The policy conflict had become a test of wills, and it soon grew into a constitutional conflict, reminiscent of the crisis of 1618. The implication of this was, of course, that the dissolution of the Union was a possibility, like his uncle Maurice, William now felt he needed to save the Union, if need be by force. On July 30,1650, William had six leading Holland regents arrested in The Hague, the States of Holland then capitulated and rescinded its order to disband the troops. The theory of provincial supremacy was disavowed also, however, William was stricken with smallpox in his hour of triumph
16.
Rampjaar
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In Dutch history, the year 1672 was known as the rampjaar, the disaster year. The invading armies quickly defeated the Dutch States Army and conquered part of the Republic, a famous Dutch saying coined that year describes the Dutch people redeloos, its government radeloos, and the country reddeloos, irrational, desperate, and beyond rescue, respectively. Despite the initial shock and successful invasion of the eastern Dutch Republic, the English were defeated by the navy under Michiel de Ruyter in 1674, resulting in the Treaty of Westminster and eventually leading to the Glorious Revolution. The French were pushed back with the help of the Spanish forces in the Spanish Netherlands, the conflict eventually ended with the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678-9. These tensions had escalated in 1650 when William II, Prince of Orange had tried to conquer Amsterdam, after negotiations he succeeded in removing a number of his adversaries from office. When William died from smallpox later that year, the party came back into power. Johan de Witt was appointed Grand Pensionary of Holland and led the States of Holland, to appease the Orangists, and because of their own business interests, the Dutch Regents tried to keep the peace within Europe. When the Republic fought for its independence from Spain, it had allied with France, in 1648, as part of the Peace of Westphalia, the Republic made peace with Austria and Spain. France had only made peace with Austria and continued fighting Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, a condition of that peace was that Louis XIV would marry Maria Theresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain. Maria Theresa would also renounce her share of the inheritance in exchange for a large dowry, the dowry, however, was never paid by the Spanish. During the 1650s and 1660s the existing tensions between Dutch trade interests and English trade interests grew, the First Anglo-Dutch War was fought between the republics, resulting in a victory for the English. Oliver Cromwell, who was Lord Protector of England at that time, an English attempt to take over Dutch trade and colonies led to the Second Anglo-Dutch War. After the previous war Johan de Witt had supervised the expansion, First Münster and then England were forced to make peace. While France had helped to put pressure on England and Münster they had not committed a major part of their army or fleet, after the death of Philip IV, Louis XIV claimed part of the inheritance for his wife. According to local law in parts of the Spanish Netherlands daughters of a marriage took precedence before the sons of a later marriage. The way Louis XIV explained this, Maria Theresa, daughter of the first marriage of Philip IV, should inherit the Spanish Netherlands because Philips son and this went against the interests of the Dutch Republic, who preferred having a weak state as their neighbour to the south. Because of this, Johan de Witt allied with the defeated English and Sweden, in secret clauses of the treaty they agreed to use force if Louis XIV would not come to terms with Spain. France made peace with Spain, but because the secret clauses of the Triple Alliance were soon made public, Louis XIV felt insulted by the perfidious Dutch, immediately after the peace agreement, France took steps to isolate the Republic
17.
Vice admiral
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Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to an admiral and junior to an admiral. The rank insignia for a vice admiral often involves three stars, but this is not always the case, in the navy of Iraq, vice admiral insignia involves one star. Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force, in the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of vice-admiral is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. A vice-admiral is an officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general, two rows of gold oak leaves are located on the black visor of the white service cap. Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name, thereafter by subordinates as Sir or Maam, vice-admirals are normally entitled to a staff car, the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two. A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff, charles, Prince of Wales holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, the rank of vice-amiral descadre equals a NATO OF-8 rank. In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791, the office of Vice-Admiral of France was the highest rank, the supreme office of Admiral of France being purely ceremonial. Distinct offices were, 1669-1791 Vice-admiral of the West, 1778-1791 Vice-admiral of the Asian and American Seas. 1784-1788 Vice-admiral of the Indian Seas, vizeadmiral is an OF-8 three-star rank equivalent to the German Heer and Luftwaffe rank of Generalleutnant. In India, vice admiral is a three star admiral, in Italy, the equivalent to vice admiral is the ammiraglio di squadra or squadron admiral. In the Philippines, the vice admiral is the highest-ranking official of the Philippine Navy. He is recognized as the flag officer in-charge of the Navy, the rank vice-admiral in the Philippines, has the same ranking in the U. S Navy. In Vietnam, the equivalent to vice admiral is the phó đô đốc
18.
Johan Evertsen
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Johan Evertsen was a Dutch admiral during the 17th century. Evertsen and his five brothers started their career in the military by being given the rank of lieutenant after the death of their father and he quickly moved through the ranks through battles with corsairs and protecting Dutch ships from other privateers. Evertsen was eventually promoted to admiral during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, with Evertsens successes and influence in the Dutch Navy, he was considered controversial due to him being known as a coward. Born in Vlissingen, Johan was the eldest surviving son of Johan Evertsen, known as Captain Jan, as gratitude for his services rendered, all five sons of Captain Jan were named lieutenants by the Admiralty of Zeeland. Johan is already at the age of 18 reported as captain of a ship and he fights near La Rochelle in 1625 under Willem de Zoete and in 1626 and 1627 in a campaign against the Barbary Coast under Laurens Reael. Between 1628 and 1636, he distinguished himself fighting the Dunkirk corsairs. His greatest successes were in 1628 preventing the interception by the Dunkirkers of the treasure fleet of Piet Heyn. He also played an important part in the Dutch victory in the Battle of the Slaak against the Spanish. In 1637 he becomes Vice-Admiral and commands in 1639 a squadron in the Battle of the Downs in which he destroys the Portuguese Admiralship Santa Teresa, killing 800 of the 1000 men crew. In the wake of this battle, he gets into conflict with Witte Corneliszoon de With, in those years he develops a friendship with stadtholders Frederick Henry and William II. At the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War, Johan Evertsen was still left aside by Witte de With and he then fought in 1653 in the lost Battle of Portland and Battle of the Gabbard. The final Battle of Scheveningen was also lost and Tromp was killed in battle, Evertsens ship was so badly damaged that he had to withdraw and leave the command to Witte de With. Evertsen was again blamed by de With to be a coward, despite his age, Johan Evertsen became third in command of the fleet that faced the English in the Battle of Lowestoft. The battle went horribly wrong for the Dutch, and the first and second in command, Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, Evertsen now took command, but the confusion in the Dutch fleet was so great, that Cornelius Tromp did the same. By the evening the Dutch fleet was in full flight, Johan Evertsen was summoned to The Hague. When he travelled there, he was dragged from his carriage by an mob, mistreated. He saved himself by clinging on to the stem of a ship and he had to be escorted for his protection by an armed detachment to Den Helder, where he would be trailed for cowardice. When his brother Cornelis Evertsen the Elder was killed in the Four Days Battle, Johan joined as yet the fleet and he was killed on the first day of the St Jamess Day Battle
19.
William III of England
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It is a coincidence that his regnal number was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II and he is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as King Billy. William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II and his mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, a Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith, in 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. Jamess reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham, James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch, Williams reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. Williams victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order and his reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover. William III was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic on 4 November 1650, baptised William Henry, he was the only child of stadtholder William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, eight days before William was born, his father died of smallpox, thus William was the Sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth. Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother the Princess Royal and William IIs mother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William or Willem to bolster his prospects of becoming stadtholder. William II had appointed his wife as his sons guardian in his will, however, Williams mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. Williams education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard, from April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for William was described in Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince dOrange, in these lessons, the prince was taught that he was predestined to become an instrument of Divine Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the House of Orange. From early 1659, William spent seven years at the University of Leiden for a formal education, under the guidance of ethics professor Hendrik Bornius. While residing in the Prinsenhof at Delft, William had a personal retinue including Hans Willem Bentinck, and a new governor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein
20.
William II, Prince of Orange
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William II was sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three years later. His only child, also named William, would go on to reign as William III of England and Ireland, William II, Prince of Orange, was the son of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. Frederick Henry was the youngest son of William the Silent, his half brother Maurits of Nassau was stadtholder. On 2 May 1641, William married Mary, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, the Netherlands at this time was engaged in the Eighty Years War against Spain for its independence. Under Frederick Henry, the Netherlands had largely won the war, a separate peace furthermore violated the alliance with France formed in 1635. However, the States of six provinces voted to accept it, secretly, William opened his own negotiations with France with the goal of extending his own territory under a more centralized government. In addition, he worked for the restoration of his exiled brother-in-law, Charles II, in 1650 William II became involved in a bitter quarrel with the province of Holland and the powerful Regents of Amsterdam, Andries Bicker and his cousin Cornelis de Graeff. With the Peace of Münster, the Regents wanted to reduce the army and that would also diminish Williams authority. William imprisoned eight members of the States of Holland in the castle of Loevestein, in addition, he sent his cousin, Willem Frederik of Nassau-Dietz with an army of 10,000 men to seize Amsterdam by force. Bad weather foiled this campaign, but Amsterdam did give in, William served as stadtholder for only three years, until he died of smallpox in 1650. His only son William was born one week after his death and this was the beginning of the First Stadtholderless Period. His son succeeded him in 1672 as stadtholder and later, in 1689, also became King of England. William II used the arms during his time as prince of Orange, Stadholder or Holland, etc. and Captain-General, Herbert H. Rowen, The princes of Orange. Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press,1988, Herbert H. Rowen, The princes of Orange, the stadholders in the Dutch Republic. Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press,2003, Herbert H. Rowen, John de Witt, Grand Pensionary of Holland, 1625-1672. Herbert H. Rowen, John de Witt, Statesman of the True Freedom, petrus Johannes Blok, History of the people of the Netherlands. New York, G. P. Putnams sons,1898, pieter Geyl, Orange and Stuart, 1641-1672. Israel, The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477–1806 Oxford University Press,1995
21.
Johan de Witt
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As a republican he opposed the House of Orange. He was also strongly liberal, preferring lesser power to the central government, however, his negligence of the Dutch land army proved disastrous when the Dutch Republic suffered numerous early defeats in the Rampjaar. The rioters were never prosecuted, and historians have argued that William of Orange may have incited them, Johan de Witt was a member of the old Dutch patrician family De Witt. Johan and Cornelis both attended the Latin school in Dordrecht, which imbued both brothers with the values of the Roman Republic, after having attended the Latin school in Dordrecht, he studied at the University of Leiden, where he excelled at mathematics and law. He received his doctorate from the University of Angers in 1645 and he practiced law as an attorney in The Hague as an associate with the firm of Frans van Schooten. In 1650 he was appointed leader of the deputation of Dordrecht to the States of Holland, in December 1650, De Witt became the pensionary of Dordrecht. Once during the year 1652 in the city of Flushing, Johan De Witt found himself faced with a mob of angry demonstrators of sailors, however, even at the young age of 27 years, it was Johans coolheadedness that calmed the situation. Many people older than Johan began to see greatness in Johan dating from that experience, Johan de Witt married on 16 February 1655 Wendela Bicker, the daughter of Jan Bicker, an influential patrician from Amsterdam, and Agneta de Graeff van Polsbroek. Jan Bicker served as mayor of Amsterdam in 1653, De Witt became a relative to the strong republican-minded brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff, and to Andries Bicker. Heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard and IJsselveere, married to Wilhelmina de Witt and he was secretary of the city of Dordrecht After De Witts death, his brother in law Pieter de Graeff became a guardian over his children. In 1653, the States of Holland elected De Witt councilor pensionary, the raadpensionaris of Holland was often referred to as the Grand Pensionary by foreigners as he represented the preponderant province in the Union of the Dutch Republic. He was a servant who lead the States of province by his experience, tenure, familiarity with the issues and he was in no manner equivalent to a modern Prime Minister. · Representing the province of Holland, Johan De Witt tended to identify with the interests of the shipping and trading interests in the United Provinces. These interests were largely concentrated in the province of Holland, not surprisingly, Johan de Witt also held views of toleration of religious beliefs. De Witts power base was the merchant class into which he was born. This class broadly coincided politically with the States faction, stressing Protestant religious moderation, William II of Orange was a prime example of this tendency among the leaders of the House of Orange to support Calvinism. William II was elected Stadholder in 1647 and continued to serve until his death in November,1650, eight days after his death, William IIs wife delivered a male heir--William III of Orange. Many citizens of the United Provinces urged the election of the infant William III as stadholder under a regency until he came of age, however, the Provinces, under the dominance of the province of Holland did not fill the office of Stadholder
