Baron Francis van Aarssens or Baron François van Aerssen (27 September 1572 - 27 December 1641), from 1611 on lord of Sommelsdijk, was a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and statesman of the United Provinces.

Biography

He was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, the son of

Cornelis van Aarsens Cornelis van Aerssen (also ''Aerssen'', ''Aersen'', ''Aarsens'') (1545 - 22 March 1627) was a statesman in Holland. Van Aerssen was born in Antwerp. From 1611 he was ''Heer van Spijk'' (Lord of Spijk, sometimes spelt Spyck) and was the father ...

, also a statesman. His talents commended him to the notice of Advocate

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for indepen ...

, who sent him, at the age of 26 years, as a diplomatic agent of the states-general to the court of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He took a considerable part in the negotiations of the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign ...

in 1609. His conduct of affairs having displeased the French king, he was recalled from his post by Oldenbarneveldt in 1614, after the French ambassador

Benjamin Aubery du Maurier Benjamin Aubery du Maurier ( La Fontaine-Saint-Martin, August 1566 — La Fontaine-Saint-Martin 1636) was a French huguenot statesman and ambassador of his country to the States General of the Dutch Republic during the "Truce Quarrels". He trie ...

had demanded Aarsens recall. Such was the hatred he henceforth conceived against his former benefactor, that he did his very utmost to effect Oldebarneveldt's ruin. However, he was not a member of the court that convicted Oldenbarnevelt in the

Trial of Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius and Hogerbeets The Trial of Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius and Hogerbeets was the trial for treason of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Land's Advocate of Holland, Hugo Grotius, pensionary of Dordrecht, Rombout Hogerbeets, pensionary of Leiden, and their co-defendant Gilles ...

as Chisholm mistakenly reports. He afterwards became the confidential counselor of

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

, and afterwards of

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

, in their conduct of the foreign affairs of the republic. He was sent on special embassies to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and displayed so much diplomatic skill and finesse that

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

ranked him among the three greatest politicians of his time. He died, aged 69, in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Van Aerssen family archive inventory
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aarssens, Francis Van 1572 births 1641 deaths 17th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Politicians from Brussels Landlords