
The Perpetual Edict (Dutch: ''Eeuwig Edict'') was a resolution 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 ...
passed on 5 August 1667 which abolished the office of
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 ...
in the province 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 ...
. At approximately the same time, a majority of provinces in the
States General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate () and the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of R ...
agreed to declare the office of stadtholder (in any of the provinces) incompatible with the office of
Captain general of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
.
The edict was intended to prevent
William III,
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...
from claiming the office of Stadtholder in the province of Holland for himself. The previous
Act of Seclusion
The Act of Seclusion was an Act of the States of Holland, required by a secret annex in the Treaty of Westminster (1654) between the United Provinces and the Commonwealth of England in which William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the ...
(1654) was intended to exclude all members of 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 ...
from being appointed to the office, but this act had been revoked in 1660.
Background
During the
First Stadtholderless Period
The First Stadtholderless Period (1650–72; ) was the period in the history of the Dutch Republic in which the office of Stadtholder was vacant in five of the seven Dutch provinces (the provinces of Friesland and Groningen (province), Groningen, ...
, the
States-Party faction of the Dutch
Regents
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
, led by
Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt (24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch statesman and mathematician who was a major political figure during the First Stadtholderless Period, when flourishing global trade in a period of rapid European colonial exp ...
and his uncle
Cornelis de Graeff
Cornelis de Graeff (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664), often named ''Polsbroek'' or ''de heer van (lord) Polsbroek'' during his lifetime, was an influential regenten, regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam, statesman and diplomat of Holland an ...
, tried to prevent the elevation of young
William III,
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...
to the office of Stadtholder in the province of Holland. After the
Treaty of Westminster (1654)
The Treaty of Westminster, concluded between the Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, and the States General of the Netherlands, States General of the Dutch Republic, United Netherlands, was signed on Old Style and New St ...
they enacted the
Act of Seclusion
The Act of Seclusion was an Act of the States of Holland, required by a secret annex in the Treaty of Westminster (1654) between the United Provinces and the Commonwealth of England in which William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the ...
, which would prevent a member of 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 ...
being appointed to the office, without abolishing the office itself. This Act was revoked in 1660, after
the Restoration of William's uncle
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
. Since then there had been increasing agitation by the
Orangist adherents of the Prince to give him a high office, like a seat in the ''Raad van State''.
Chronology
In July 1667, just before the
Treaty of Breda (1667)
The Peace of Breda, or Treaty of Breda was signed in the Dutch city of Breda, on 31 July 1667. It consisted of three separate treaties between England and each of its opponents in the Second Anglo-Dutch War: the Dutch Republic, France, and Denma ...
ended the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...
De Witt presented a political compromise to the States of Holland in which he proposed that William would be assigned a seat in the ''Raad van State'', and would be appointed Captain-general, but only on reaching the age of majority: 23, not 18, as the Orangists wanted. All of this on condition that William would be excluded from the stadtholderate in every province (In
Friesland
Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
and
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
William's cousin
Henry Casimir II, Count of Nassau-Dietz was already stadtholder).
[Israel, p. 791]
To this proposal an addendum was added by
Gaspar Fagel, then
Pensionary of
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 ...
,
Gillis Valckenier and
Andries de Graeff, two prominent Amsterdam regents, which abolished the stadtholderate in Holland "for ever."
The new law, entitled "Perpetual Edict ... for the Preserving of Freedom" was enacted on 5 August 1667. The three main points were abolition of the stadtholderate, permanent separation of the offices of captain-general of the Union and stadtholder (in all provinces), and the formal transfer of the prerogatives of the Stadtholder of Holland to the provincial States (confirming the transfer that had provisionally been made in December 1650, after the death of
William II of Orange).
A new oath of office was introduced for magistrates in Holland who were now required to swear to uphold the Perpetual Edict. This met with much resistance of some of the Orangist city governments, because those opposed the doctrine of provincial supremacy espoused by the De Witt regime. The city of
Leiden
Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
(a hotbed of Orangism), for instance, asserted that ultimately the city governments were sovereign, so that the States could not prescribe such an oath to its magistrates.
By January 1668 the provinces of
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
,
Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
, and
Overijssel
Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...
agreed to accept the political compromise, and it was enacted with four votes against three (
Zeeland
Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
, Friesland and Groningen) by the
States-General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The States General originated i ...
. This caused much Orangist unrest in the provinces that had voted in favor. Meanwhile, the Orangists manoeuvred to strengthen the position of the Prince. In October 1668, the Prince's grandmother
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (31 August 1602 – 8 September 1675) was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent ...
resigned her guardianship to signify that he had come of age. Already in September 1668, the States of Zeeland had reinstated him as the First Noble of the province. Holland refused to recognize these steps, and blocked his appointment to the ''Raad van State'' throughout 1669.
Aftermath
However, with the deteriorating relations with France and the threat of war, De Witt's position weakened. He managed to have the Valckenier-faction purged from the Amsterdam ''
vroedschap
The ''vroedschap'' () was the name for the (all male) city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vadere ...
'' in February 1671, which brought the extreme States-Party faction of
Andries de Graeff to power there, but this was not enough to bolster De Witt's position in the States of Holland. More and more cities urged appointment of the Prince as captain-general. Seeing that he could not prevent this, De Witt temporized by proposing appointment for only one year. This the Prince refused. After more haggling Holland eventually gave in, and William was appointed captain-general on 24 February 1672 by the States-General.
On 8 April 1672, France declared war, shortly thereafter followed by England, the
Prince-Bishopric of Münster
The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...
and the
Electorate of Cologne
The Electorate of Cologne (), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift—the temporal posses ...
. The war developed disastrously for the Republic. As a consequence popular demand for the retraction of the Perpetual Edict became irresistible. On 2 July 1672 the States of Zeeland (not signatories of the Edict) appointed William stadtholder in their province. The next day the States of Holland set aside the Edict and also appointed William Stadtholder. De Witt resigned as Grand Pensionary on 4 August, to be replaced by Gaspar Fagel.
[Israel, pp. 796-802] He was murdered, together with his brother
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 ...
on 20 August by an Orangist mob.
References
Sources
* (1995), ''The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477-1806'', Oxford University Press, hardback, {{ISBN, 0-19-820734-4 paperback
1667 in law
1667 in the Dutch Republic
1667 documents
1667 in politics
William III of England