Johan De Witt

Johan De Witt (born Sept. 24, 1625, Dordrecht, Neth.—died Aug. 20, 1672, The Hague) was one of the foremost European statesmen of the 17th century who as councillor pensionary (the political leader) of Holland (1653–72) guided the United Provinces in the First and Second Anglo-Dutch wars (1652–54, 1665–67) 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 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 1659–61) was one of the first textbooks in analytic geometry. (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 party and imprisoned them in Loevestein Castle; among these was Jacob De Witt. The sudden death of William, 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 councillor pensionary (raadpensionaris) of Holland on July 23, 1653, at 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 province of Holland pledged itself not to elect a stadtholder or a captain general from the House of Orange. 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 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 1658–59 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 councillor 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 honourable 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 infanta Maria Theresa.

In 1672 Louis XIV suddenly declared war and invaded the United Provinces. The voice of the people called William III to the head of affairs, and there were violent demonstrations against Johan De Witt. His brother Cornelius was arrested (July 24) on a charge of conspiring against the Prince. On August 4 Johan De Witt resigned the post of councillor pensionary. Cornelius was put to the torture and on August 19 sentenced to deprivation of his offices and banishment. His brother came to visit him 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. Thus perished one of the greatest statesmen of his age and of Dutch history.