Rampjaar
Encyclopedia
The rampjaar was the year 1672 in Dutch history
. In that year,
the Republic of the Seven United Provinces
was after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War
and the Third Anglo-Dutch War
attacked by England, France, and the prince-elector
s Bernhard von Galen
, bishop of Münster
and Maximilian Henry of Bavaria
, the bishop of Cologne. The invading armies very quickly defeated the Dutch States Army
and conquered a large part of the Republic.
As a result the cities of the remaining coastal provinces of Holland, Zealand
and Frisia
panicked and the city governments were taken over by Orangists
, opposed to the republican regime of the Grand Pensionary
Johan de Witt
. This signified the end of the First Stadtholderless Period
in Dutch history.
A famous Dutch saying describes the condition of the Dutch population at that moment as redeloos (irrational), its government radeloos (desperate) and the country itself reddeloos (beyond rescue).
During the Eighty Years' War there had been tensions in the provinces between adherers of a government ruled by
the burgher
oligarchy, called regents, and those who favoured a government led by the Prince of Orange. These tensions had escalated in 1650 when William II, Prince of Orange
had tried to conquer Amsterdam
, the main bastion of the Regents of the De Graeff
- and Bicker
- clan. After negotiations he succeeded in removing a number of his adversaries from their offices.
When William died from smallpox later that year, the republican party came back in power. In the Act of Seclusion
, it was declared that they would not appoint his son, William III of Orange
, or anybody else to the office of Stadholder stating that a supreme head of government would be harmful to the 'True Freedom'. Johan de Witt
was appointed Grand Pensionary
of Holland and led the States of Holland, the most important province within the Union.
The takeover by the regents did not go without protest from the Orangists, but with the economy booming and peace on the Union's borders they had little opportunity to remove the government from office. To appease the Orangists and because of their own business interests, the Dutch Regents tried to keep the peace within Europe.
, the Republic had made peace with Austria and Spain. France had only made peace with Austria and continued fighting Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees
in 1659. A condition of that peace was that
Louis XIV would marry Maria Theresa
, daughter of Philip IV of Spain
. Maria Theresa would renounce her share of the inheritance in trade of a large amount of money as dowry. The dowry was never paid by the Spanish.
During the 1650s and 1660s the existing tensions between Dutch trade interests and English trade interests grew. The First Anglo-Dutch War
was fought between the republics, resulting in a victory for the English. In a secret annex to the Treaty of Westminster
, the Act of Seclusion
, Holland declared that it abolished the office of Stadholder and would never allow that the States-General of the Netherlands
appoint a member of the House of Orange to the office of Captain-General. Oliver Cromwell
, who was head of State in England at that time, insisted on this condition because William II had assisted Charles I
during the English Civil War
. While the Dutch Regent partisans would favour diminishing the influence of the House of Orange, by agreeing with the English conditions they mingled internal and foreign affairs and infuriated Dutch partisans of the Oranges.
When during the English Restoration
Charles II
was crowned king of England in 1660, the Act of Seclusion was declared void, but to the dismay of Holland, Charles affirmed those clauses of the peace which negatively impacted Dutch trade interests.
An English attempt to take over Dutch trade and colonies led to the Second Anglo-Dutch War
. After the previous war Johan de Witt had supervised the expansion and improvement of the Dutch navy at the cost of neglecting the Dutch army. With the new fleet and the help of France, with whom they had allied again, the Dutch ultimately defeated the English at sea through the Raid on the Medway
and put pressure on the English ally Münster
. First Münster and then England were forced to make peace. While France had helped to put pressure on England and Münster they had not committed a major part of their army or fleet. After the death of Philip IV, Louis XIV claimed part of the inheritance for his wife. According to local law in parts of the Spanish Netherlands daughters of an earlier marriage took precedence before the sons of a later marriage. The way Louis XIV explained this, Maria Theresa, daughter of the first marriage of Philip IV, should inherit the Spanish Netherlands because Philip's son, Charles II
was from Philip's second marriage. This went against the interest of the Dutch Republic who preferred having a weak state as their neighbour.
Because of this Johan de Witt allied with the defeated English, and Sweden who had an army nearby in Germany, in the Triple Alliance. In secret clauses of the treaty they agreed to use force if Louis XIV would not come to terms with Spain.
In 1670, after mediation of Charles' sister Henrietta Anne Stuart, wife of the brother of Louis, France and England signed the secret Treaty of Dover.
The Dutch were aware that negotiations between England and France were going on but specific details were not known. Johan de Witt counted on the unpopularity to the English public of a war with a fellow Protestant nation and tried to improve relations with the French. The discussion on the issue of the Spanish Netherlands, however, yielded no consensus between the two countries. France saw the Rhine as its natural border and between France and the Rhine lay the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Generality Lands
. This made the Dutch feel threatened by the French ambitions. According to the French ambassador the Dutch acted from the motto: Gallicus amicus, non vicinus, or "The Frenchman is a good friend, but a bad neighbour". The Dutch brought their fleet again up to strength but made insufficient preparations with their army. Reasons for this were the shortage of money and the Regents' distrust of the army, which had often been an instrument of the Orange party. With the likelihood of a war growing, pressure increased on the Dutch government to appoint William III, who had not yet come of age, to the office of Stadtholder and Captain-General. At last in February 1672 Johan de Witt agreed to appoint William to Captain-General for the duration of one war campaign.
declared war in April. By moving through the possessions of Münster and Cologne and a few other French allies, the army of Louis XIV, led by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
and Turenne was able to pass through the Spanish Netherlands and by-pass the Dutch defence in the south and invade the Dutch from the east in June.
At the IJssel
it came to a short battle that was easily won by the French. Now the whole of the Republic lay open for the French and also Groenlo
was taken. In the cities of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht panic took root. Lower and middle class people stood up against the government, demanded appointment of the Prince and punishment of those responsible for the war and the state of the army. The government of the regents fell, Johan de Witt and others resigned and partisans of Williams III took over. One of the first acts of William III was to strike out the word 'honourably' in the resignation of Johan de Witt.
The angry mob remained unsatisfied and their frustrations with the hopeless military situation led them to search for scapegoats. In August Cornelis de Witt
, the less gifted and more unpopular brother of Johan de Witt
, was put in prison in The Hague
on suspicion of treason and plotting to assassinate William. When Johan de Witt went there to visit his brother, the small cavalry security force present was sent away on the pretence of having to stop a group of marauding peasants, which were never found.
Around the prison a crowd had gathered, demanding the punishment of the brothers. The prison was stormed — according to some contemporary accounts, after Orangist Cornelis Tromp
, an enemy of Johan de Witt, had given the sign — by civil militia, the brothers were taken out, murdered by the militia members and their bodies mutilated and partly eaten by the crowd. The names of a few of the murderers became known but they were protected, and in some cases even rewarded by prince William. Most modern historians suspect that the murder of the brothers were the result of a conspiracy involving, among others, William.
. There negotiations started. Louis XIV and Charles II of England
had intended that William became Sovereign Prince as head of a Hollandic rump state
principality
, a joint protectorate
(with the British occupying key Hollandic cities and the isle of Walcheren
) and Louis halted his army to allow the Orangists to take over Holland and come to an arrangement with him. He offered the Dutch peace in exchange for either the southern fortresses, religious freedom for Catholics and six million guilders or his keeping his present conquests and sixteen million guilders. These demands, especially the financial part of them, led to a public outrage and the Dutch mood abruptly changed from defeatism to a dogged determination to resist the French.
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While the negotiations took place, the French had failed to prevent the Dutch from starting to inundate the Dutch Water Line
and for Williams III's small army to withdraw behind it. Before they came to understand the nature and importance of this defence system their further advance was blocked by an impassable water and mud barrier. This small success for the Dutch was followed by others. The Dutch fleet under admiral Michiel de Ruyter
had already defeated the Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of Solebay
and on 28 August 1672 the German Bishop of Münster, Bernhard von Galen
, withdrew from the siege of Groningen
. is still celebrated annually in Groningen.
On the diplomatic front the Holy Roman Empire and Spain took the side of the Netherlands. In 1673 Bonn fell to a Dutch army. This made the French retreat from most of the Republic. England, Münster and Cologne made peace in 1674, the French fought on until 1678. (For the rest of the war, see Franco-Dutch War
)
(The Glorious Revolution) - a decision which involved a major gamble whose magnitude is not fully appreciated since it paid off. It was considered worthwhile since after the Rampjaar the possibility of a Catholic- and French-dominated Britain was regarded as a mortal threat to the Netherlands. In England the public opinion was already turning against the French but the war of 1672 accelerated this. While Charles II and his successor James II of England
still had French sympathies they had to take into account the distrust of the English public of France.
The Dutch economy suffered a severe crisis and never fully recovered - though the Dutch Golden Age
is usually said to have continued until the end of the century. The art market was as severely affected as other trades - a famous comment by Jan Vermeer's widow described how he was unable to sell work thereafter. The leading marine artists, Willem van de Velde the Elder
and his son Willem II
, both emigrated to London, never to return.
History of the Netherlands
The history of the Netherlands is the history of a maritime people thriving on a watery lowland river delta at the edge of northwestern Europe. When the Romans and written history arrived in 57 BC, the country was sparsely populated by various tribal groups at the periphery of the empire...
. In that year,
the Republic of the Seven United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
was after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
and the Third Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
attacked by England, France, and the prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
s Bernhard von Galen
Bernhard von Galen
Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen was prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family....
, bishop of Münster
Bishopric of Münster
The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony...
and Maximilian Henry of Bavaria
Maximilian Henry of Bavaria
thumb|154 px|Maximilian Heinrich of BavariaMaximilian Henry of Bavaria was the third son and fourth child of Albert VI, landgrave of Leuchtenberg and his wife, Mechthilde von Leuchtenberg. In 1650, he was named Archbishop of Cologne, Bishop of Hildesheim and Bishop of Liège succeeding his uncle,...
, the bishop of Cologne. The invading armies very quickly defeated the Dutch States Army
Dutch States Army
The Dutch States Army was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic...
and conquered a large part of the Republic.
As a result the cities of the remaining coastal provinces of Holland, Zealand
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
and Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
panicked and the city governments were taken over by Orangists
Orangism (Netherlands)
Orangism is a monarchist political support for the House of Orange-Nassau as monarchy of the Netherlands. It played a significant role in the political history of the Netherlands since the Dutch revolt...
, opposed to the republican regime of the Grand Pensionary
Grand Pensionary
The Grand Pensionary was the most important Dutch official during the time of the United Provinces. In theory he was only a civil servant of the Estates of the dominant province among the Seven United Provinces: the county of Holland...
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt, heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere was a key figure in Dutch politics in the mid 17th century, when its flourishing sea trade in a period of globalization made the United Provinces a leading European power during the Dutch Golden Age...
. This signified the end of the First Stadtholderless Period
First Stadtholderless Period
The First Stadtholderless Period or Era is the period in the history of the Dutch Republic in which the office of a Stadtholder was absent in five of the seven Dutch provinces...
in Dutch history.
A famous Dutch saying describes the condition of the Dutch population at that moment as redeloos (irrational), its government radeloos (desperate) and the country itself reddeloos (beyond rescue).
Situation in the Republic
the burgher
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
oligarchy, called regents, and those who favoured a government led by the Prince of Orange. These tensions had escalated in 1650 when William II, Prince of Orange
William II, Prince of Orange
William II, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three years later.-Biography:...
had tried to conquer Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the main bastion of the Regents of the De Graeff
De Graeff
De Graeff is an old Dutch patrician family. The family have played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the centre of Amsterdam public life and oligarchy from 1578 until 1672...
- and Bicker
Bicker
Bicker may refer to*Bicker, Lincolnshire*Bicker, a practice in the eating clubs at Princeton University and Mount Olive College*Bicker , a Dutch Golden Age family, headed by Andries Bicker...
- clan. After negotiations he succeeded in removing a number of his adversaries from their offices.
When William died from smallpox later that year, the republican party came back in power. In the Act of Seclusion
Act of Seclusion
The Act of Seclusion is a secret annex in the Treaty of Westminster between the United Provinces and the Commonwealth of England in which William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the office of Stadtholder...
, it was declared that they would not appoint his son, William III of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, or anybody else to the office of Stadholder stating that a supreme head of government would be harmful to the 'True Freedom'. Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt, heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere was a key figure in Dutch politics in the mid 17th century, when its flourishing sea trade in a period of globalization made the United Provinces a leading European power during the Dutch Golden Age...
was appointed Grand Pensionary
Grand Pensionary
The Grand Pensionary was the most important Dutch official during the time of the United Provinces. In theory he was only a civil servant of the Estates of the dominant province among the Seven United Provinces: the county of Holland...
of Holland and led the States of Holland, the most important province within the Union.
The takeover by the regents did not go without protest from the Orangists, but with the economy booming and peace on the Union's borders they had little opportunity to remove the government from office. To appease the Orangists and because of their own business interests, the Dutch Regents tried to keep the peace within Europe.
Foreign affairs
When the Republic had been fighting for its independence from Spain, it had allied with France and England. In 1648, as part of the Peace of WestphaliaPeace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
, the Republic had made peace with Austria and Spain. France had only made peace with Austria and continued fighting Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
in 1659. A condition of that peace was that
Louis XIV would marry Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
, daughter of Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
. Maria Theresa would renounce her share of the inheritance in trade of a large amount of money as dowry. The dowry was never paid by the Spanish.
During the 1650s and 1660s the existing tensions between Dutch trade interests and English trade interests grew. The First Anglo-Dutch War
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo–Dutch War was the first of the four Anglo–Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but...
was fought between the republics, resulting in a victory for the English. In a secret annex to the Treaty of Westminster
Treaty of Westminster (1654)
The Treaty of Westminster was signed on 8 May 1654, which ended the First Anglo-Dutch War . Based on the terms of the accord, the United Provinces recognized Oliver Cromwell's Navigation Acts, which required that imports to the Commonwealth of England must be carried in English ships, or ships from...
, the Act of Seclusion
Act of Seclusion
The Act of Seclusion is a secret annex in the Treaty of Westminster between the United Provinces and the Commonwealth of England in which William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the office of Stadtholder...
, Holland declared that it abolished the office of Stadholder and would never allow that the States-General of the Netherlands
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
appoint a member of the House of Orange to the office of Captain-General. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, who was head of State in England at that time, insisted on this condition because William II had assisted Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. While the Dutch Regent partisans would favour diminishing the influence of the House of Orange, by agreeing with the English conditions they mingled internal and foreign affairs and infuriated Dutch partisans of the Oranges.
When during the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
was crowned king of England in 1660, the Act of Seclusion was declared void, but to the dismay of Holland, Charles affirmed those clauses of the peace which negatively impacted Dutch trade interests.
An English attempt to take over Dutch trade and colonies led to the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....
. After the previous war Johan de Witt had supervised the expansion and improvement of the Dutch navy at the cost of neglecting the Dutch army. With the new fleet and the help of France, with whom they had allied again, the Dutch ultimately defeated the English at sea through the Raid on the Medway
Raid on the Medway
The Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of the Medway, Raid on Chatham or the Battle of Chatham, was a successful Dutch attack on the largest English naval ships, laid up in the dockyards of their main naval base Chatham, that took place in June 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War...
and put pressure on the English ally Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
. First Münster and then England were forced to make peace. While France had helped to put pressure on England and Münster they had not committed a major part of their army or fleet. After the death of Philip IV, Louis XIV claimed part of the inheritance for his wife. According to local law in parts of the Spanish Netherlands daughters of an earlier marriage took precedence before the sons of a later marriage. The way Louis XIV explained this, Maria Theresa, daughter of the first marriage of Philip IV, should inherit the Spanish Netherlands because Philip's son, Charles II
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
was from Philip's second marriage. This went against the interest of the Dutch Republic who preferred having a weak state as their neighbour.
Because of this Johan de Witt allied with the defeated English, and Sweden who had an army nearby in Germany, in the Triple Alliance. In secret clauses of the treaty they agreed to use force if Louis XIV would not come to terms with Spain.
Renversement des Alliances
France made peace with Spain but because the secret clauses of the Triple Alliance were soon made public, Louis XIV felt insulted by the "perfid" Dutch, who according to him had broken their faith. Immediately after the peace agreement, France made steps to isolate the Republic. Sweden and Münster were quickly bribed but the English public distrusted Louis XIV. The king on the other hand saw war with the Dutch as being in his best interests. A defeat of the Republic probably would lead to the fall of the republican government so that Charles's nephew, William III of Orange, could take power. And a war would be a good opportunity to crush the Dutch competition in trade and colonies. Additionally, Louis promised Charles a notable sum of money, so he could rule without having to consult the English parliament.In 1670, after mediation of Charles' sister Henrietta Anne Stuart, wife of the brother of Louis, France and England signed the secret Treaty of Dover.
To war
Generality Lands
The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General...
. This made the Dutch feel threatened by the French ambitions. According to the French ambassador the Dutch acted from the motto: Gallicus amicus, non vicinus, or "The Frenchman is a good friend, but a bad neighbour". The Dutch brought their fleet again up to strength but made insufficient preparations with their army. Reasons for this were the shortage of money and the Regents' distrust of the army, which had often been an instrument of the Orange party. With the likelihood of a war growing, pressure increased on the Dutch government to appoint William III, who had not yet come of age, to the office of Stadtholder and Captain-General. At last in February 1672 Johan de Witt agreed to appoint William to Captain-General for the duration of one war campaign.
War
On 12 March 1672 Robert Holmes attacked a Dutch trade convoy, the Smyrna fleet. France, the Electorate of Cologne and the Bishopric of MünsterBishopric of Münster
The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony...
declared war in April. By moving through the possessions of Münster and Cologne and a few other French allies, the army of Louis XIV, led by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duc d'Enghien...
and Turenne was able to pass through the Spanish Netherlands and by-pass the Dutch defence in the south and invade the Dutch from the east in June.
At the IJssel
IJssel
River IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel...
it came to a short battle that was easily won by the French. Now the whole of the Republic lay open for the French and also Groenlo
Siege of Groenlo (1672)
The Siege of Groenlo was a 10-day siege of the Dutch town of Groenlo from 1 to 10 June 1672 by the combined forces of France, the Elector of Cologne and the Prince-Bishop of Münster during the Franco-Dutch War...
was taken. In the cities of Holland, Zealand and Utrecht panic took root. Lower and middle class people stood up against the government, demanded appointment of the Prince and punishment of those responsible for the war and the state of the army. The government of the regents fell, Johan de Witt and others resigned and partisans of Williams III took over. One of the first acts of William III was to strike out the word 'honourably' in the resignation of Johan de Witt.
Lynching of the De Witt brothers
Cornelis de Witt
Cornelis de Witt was a Dutch politician.-Biography:Cornelis de Witt was a member of the old Dutch patrician family De Witt. He was born on 15 June 1623 in Dordrecht, Holland, Dutch Republic...
, the less gifted and more unpopular brother of Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt, heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere was a key figure in Dutch politics in the mid 17th century, when its flourishing sea trade in a period of globalization made the United Provinces a leading European power during the Dutch Golden Age...
, was put in prison in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
on suspicion of treason and plotting to assassinate William. When Johan de Witt went there to visit his brother, the small cavalry security force present was sent away on the pretence of having to stop a group of marauding peasants, which were never found.
Around the prison a crowd had gathered, demanding the punishment of the brothers. The prison was stormed — according to some contemporary accounts, after Orangist Cornelis Tromp
Cornelis Tromp
Sir Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, 1st Baronet was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy...
, an enemy of Johan de Witt, had given the sign — by civil militia, the brothers were taken out, murdered by the militia members and their bodies mutilated and partly eaten by the crowd. The names of a few of the murderers became known but they were protected, and in some cases even rewarded by prince William. Most modern historians suspect that the murder of the brothers were the result of a conspiracy involving, among others, William.
The Waterline
The French had advanced from the IJssel to UtrechtUtrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. There negotiations started. Louis XIV and Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
had intended that William became Sovereign Prince as head of a Hollandic rump state
Rump state
A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion, military occupation, secession or partial overthrowing of a government. In the last case, a government stops short of going in exile because it still controls part of its...
principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
, a joint protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
(with the British occupying key Hollandic cities and the isle of Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
) and Louis halted his army to allow the Orangists to take over Holland and come to an arrangement with him. He offered the Dutch peace in exchange for either the southern fortresses, religious freedom for Catholics and six million guilders or his keeping his present conquests and sixteen million guilders. These demands, especially the financial part of them, led to a public outrage and the Dutch mood abruptly changed from defeatism to a dogged determination to resist the French.
Dutch Water Line
The Dutch Water Line was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry...
and for Williams III's small army to withdraw behind it. Before they came to understand the nature and importance of this defence system their further advance was blocked by an impassable water and mud barrier. This small success for the Dutch was followed by others. The Dutch fleet under admiral Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
had already defeated the Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of Solebay
Battle of Solebay
The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.-The battle:...
and on 28 August 1672 the German Bishop of Münster, Bernhard von Galen
Bernhard von Galen
Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen was prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family....
, withdrew from the siege of Groningen
Siege of Groningen
The Siege of Groningen was a battle that took place in 1672 during the Franco-Dutch war. It was a Dutch victory that ended all hope of the Bishop of Münster to push deeper into the Netherlands. The Münster army was so weakened by the defeat that the Dutch army successfully reconquered much of the...
. is still celebrated annually in Groningen.
On the diplomatic front the Holy Roman Empire and Spain took the side of the Netherlands. In 1673 Bonn fell to a Dutch army. This made the French retreat from most of the Republic. England, Münster and Cologne made peace in 1674, the French fought on until 1678. (For the rest of the war, see Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
)
Impacts
The experience of the Rampjaar had a considerable influence on the direction of Dutch foreign policy. William III saw it as his life work to defend the Republic and Europe against French hegemony. In all the wars of Louis XIV the Dutch would support his adversaries. In 1688, when faced with an English king who again seemed to side with the French, the Dutch mobilised their full resources in order to invade Britain and overthrow the Catholic Stuart DynastyHouse of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
(The Glorious Revolution) - a decision which involved a major gamble whose magnitude is not fully appreciated since it paid off. It was considered worthwhile since after the Rampjaar the possibility of a Catholic- and French-dominated Britain was regarded as a mortal threat to the Netherlands. In England the public opinion was already turning against the French but the war of 1672 accelerated this. While Charles II and his successor James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
still had French sympathies they had to take into account the distrust of the English public of France.
The Dutch economy suffered a severe crisis and never fully recovered - though the Dutch Golden Age
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
is usually said to have continued until the end of the century. The art market was as severely affected as other trades - a famous comment by Jan Vermeer's widow described how he was unable to sell work thereafter. The leading marine artists, Willem van de Velde the Elder
Willem van de Velde the Elder
Willem van de Velde the Elder was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter.-Biographical Outline:Willem van de Velde, known as the Elder, a marine draughtsman and painter, was born in Leiden, the son of a Flemish skipper, Willem Willemsz. van de Velde, and is commonly said to have been bred to the sea...
and his son Willem II
Willem van de Velde the Younger
Willem van de Velde the Younger was a Dutch marine painter.-Biography:Willem van de Velde was baptised on 18 December 1633 in Leiden, Holland, Dutch Republic....
, both emigrated to London, never to return.