Jacob de Witt, '' heer van Manezee, Melissant and Comstryen''http://www.herenvanholland.nl/eigenaar.cfm?eigenaarnummer=1701 www.herenvanholland.nl (7 February 1589 – 10 January 1674) was a

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...

of Dordrecht and the son of a timber merchant. De Witt was an influential member of the

Dutch States Party The Dutch States Party ( nl, Staatsgezinde partij) was a political faction of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. This republican faction is usually (negatively) defined as the opponents of the Orangist, or faction, who supported the mona ...

, and was in opposition to the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

. He was also a younger brother of Andries de Witt and the father of

Johan Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a man ...

and

Cornelis de Witt Cornelis de Witt (; 15 June 1623 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch politician and naval commendant of the Golden Age. During the First Stadtholderless Period De Witt was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, and was in opposition to t ...

Career

Jacob was born in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after ...

and was a member of the patrician De Witt family. He studied law at Leiden University and obtained a law degree there. In 1618, he became treasurer of the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The ...

, where he held several positions in public service, serving as

six times. He also served as emissary to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

along with Andries Bicker. He was a member of the States of Holland and an opponent of William II, Prince of Orange, stadtholder of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and four other provinces. Together with the republican-minded brothers

Cornelis Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

and Andries de Graeff and their cousins Cornelis and Andries Bicker, De Witt supported the Peace of Münster. In May 1650 they proposed to reduce the size of the army, which was opposed by William as commander of the army. This dispute led to a coup by William, who tried to seize

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. On 30 June 1650, William arrested De Witt and the burgomasters of Delft, Hoorn, Medemblik, Haarlem, and

(all prominent members of the States of Holland) at the Binnenhof 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 ...

. They were imprisoned in Castle Loevestein. On 17 August they were released after having reversed the reduction of the army size.

Death

In 1657 he moved to

, but after the murder of his sons on 20 August 1672, on which he was brought to safety, he avoided

, then spent a short time in Dordrecht where he died on 10 January 1674.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Witt, Jacob De 1589 births 1674 deaths Mayors of Dordrecht Participants in the Synod of Dort People from Dordrecht Dutch States Party politicians De Witt family