Jacob de Witt, '' heer van Manezee, Melissant and Comstryen'' (7 February 1589 – 10 January 1674) was a

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

of Dordrecht and the son of a

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

merchant. De Witt was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, and was in opposition to the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

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

Cornelis de Witt Cornelis de Witt (15 June 1623 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch States Navy officer and statesman. During the First Stadtholderless Period, De Witt was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, and was in opposition to the House of Oran ...

Career

Jacob was born in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

and was a member of the patrician De Witt family. He studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

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 a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

, 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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

along with Andries Bicker; Jacob de Witt left after the

Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645) The Second Treaty of Brömsebro (or the Peace of Brömsebro) was signed on 13 August 1645, and ended the Torstenson War, a local conflict that began in 1643 (and was part of the larger Thirty Years' War) between Sweden and Denmark–Norway. Ne ...

.Johan de Witt in Zweden
/ref> He was a member of the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia () were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a count, but only his "lieutenant" (the stad ...

and an opponent of

William II, Prince of Orange William II (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Willem II''; 27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrecht, Guelders, Lordship of Ove ...

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

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 language, Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius (name), Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees (given name), Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) an ...

and Andries de Graeff and their cousins Cornelis and Andries Bicker, De Witt supported the

Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster, signed on 30 January 1648, was a treaty between Philip IV of Spain and the States-General of the Netherlands, Lords States General of the Dutch Republic. Negotiated in parallel to, but not part of, the Peace of Westphalia, ...

. 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 ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. On 30 June 1650, William arrested De Witt and the burgomasters of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

, Medemblik,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, and

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

Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...

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 ...

. 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 Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)