Cornelis van Aerssen (also ''Aerssen'', ''Aersen'', ''Aarsens'') (1545 - 22 March 1627) was a statesman in
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 ...
.
Van Aerssen was born in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. From 1611 he was ''Heer van Spijk'' (Lord of Spijk, sometimes spelt Spyck) and was the father of
Frans van Aarsens. For many years, he was ''registrat'' to the
States-General. He died in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
.
He was almost certainly the son of an Antwerp courtier, who was favoured by the court at Brussels. Von Aerssen himself in 1574 entered office as a city secretary of Brussels. In the following year he was appointed the pensioner of the city. Although in religious matters he was known as a tolerant man, he was against a reconciliation with Philip II of Spain.
Von Aerssen travelled often, and on the day of the murder of William the Silent, he was also in Den Haag.
In 1584 he was sent with other delegates to France. The goal of this delegation was to negotiate with the French king Henry IV over the sovereignty of Dutch Republic. Cornelis van Aerssen was in the same year appointed an official of the Dutch Estates-General, but continued to live in Brussels, which raised the suspicion that he was plotting with the Spanish. He played a leading role in the Orange-reformed party. When the Spanish general
Francisco de Mendoza was in Woerden and Den Haag as a Dutch prisoner after the
Battle of Nieuwpoort
The Battle of Nieuwpoort (also known as the Battle of the Dunes) was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. A Dutch army met a Spanish force head-on which, although their left f ...
, and wanted to start peace negotiations, Van Aerssen was named a Dutch representative alongside the
Land's Advocate of Holland
The Lands' Advocate () of Holland acted as a legal adviser and secretary to the Estates of Holland. They also acted as leader and spokesman of the Holland deputies in the States-General, and negotiated with foreign ambassadors. The office started ...
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (; 14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619), Lord of the manor, 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 rev ...
and the Franciscan Johan Meyen sent by Archduke Albrecht. Van Aerssen negotiated with the Spanish envoy, and on 4 May 1602 agreed an 8-month cease-fire. Oldenbarnevelt, at the head of the party aiming for peace, welcomed this, as he feared the growing power of the Dutch Stadtholder
Maurice, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Lordship of Frisia, Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became P ...
.
''This article incorporates content fro
Joseph Thomas's Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology a text in the public domain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:van Aarsens, Cornelis
1545 births
1627 deaths
16th-century Dutch politicians
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)
Politicians from Antwerp