3.1 a Republic of Regenten

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AGE 6. The Time of Regents and Monarchs

3.1 a Republic of Regenten

the Time of Regents and Monarchs

1600 - 1700

During the seventeenth century the Republic of the 7 United Netherlands became one of the wealthiest countries in the world. 

How could a small republic become so wealthy? 

Why is this age called the Golden Age? 

And how can a Dutch artist's work, made almost four centuries ago,still be world famous today?

Typical Aspects:

-the Dutch Golden Age

-the beginnings of a world economy

-the Scientific Revolution

-the power of absolute monarchs

The 17th Century / the Golden Age

What is this lesson about?

In the Republic, each province was ruled by a council called "Provincial States". Representatives of the Provincial States discussed larger political issues in the States General. As grand pensionary, Johan van Oldenbarneveldt was the political leader of the Republic. The stadtholder was the military leader. In 1648, the Eighty Years' War with Spain ended and the Republic was officially recognised as a sovereign state.

people in this lesson

Maurice of Orange

Frederick Henry of Orange

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

Piet Hein

Main Questions

1. How was the Dutch Republic governed?
2. Why was the grand pensionary the most powerful man in the Republic?
3. What caused the power struggle between the grand pensionary and the stadtholder?
4. Why did the Twelve Years' Truce end without solution?
5. Why did Spain start peace negotiations in 1646?

Important dates in this lesson:

1588: the 7 northern provinces declare themselves the Dutch Republic

1609 - 1621: the Twelve Years' Truce (Twaalfjarig Bestand)

1619: van Oldenbarnevelt executed

1621: WIC established

1628: Piet Hein conquers a Spanish silver fleet

1648: Treaty of Münster

On our own...

In chapter 2, you have learned that the seven provinces that stood up against 
Philip II formed a Republic, after unsuccessful attempts of finding a new                  monarch. 
This was unique in the world. No king? Who was going to protect us?

Word Duty

Provincial States: the daily government of a province in the Republic led by regenten

States General: the government of the Republic, with representatives from the Provincial States (today: Eerste en Tweede kamer)

Regenten: rich men who had a lot of influence in the daily politics of the Republic

Grand pensionary: the political advisor of the States General

Twelve Years’ Truce: a truce of twelve years in which the Dutch Republic and Spain tried to negotiate peace

Embargo: measures taken by a government to restrict the trade of another country

Peace of Münster: a treaty signed by the Dutch Republic and Spain, ending the Eighty Years’ War

Sovereign state: a state with borders, where a government makes laws and where people abide by those laws

Key words

Power struggle in the Republic

This video shows most of this lesson's subjects.

Watching it will make the lesson easier to understand.

But you may also choose to skip the video and continue with the lesson.

Watch this 15 min. video 

Ruling the Republic

Each province was ruled in its own way by the Provincial States. This assembly of a small group of rich men, called regenten, formed the daily government of their province and made all the political decisions.

For certain larger political issues, it was better for the provinces to work together. 

For example: what to do about the war with Spain? 

For these kinds of decisions, every province would send one or more regenten as representatives to the States General in The Hague. 

a meeting of the Provincial States of the province of Holland

The States General

• Each of the seven provinces had its own administration: the Provincial States.
• They made decisions that mainly affected their own province.
• Decisions for the entire Republic were made in the States General, the assembly of all the provincial states together. 
• The leader of the States General was the grand pensionary.

Another important function in the Republic was the Stadtholder. These were always the Princes of Orange since William of Orange. In the Republic, his son Maurice became the first stadtholder

The stadtholder had high military positions: he was the general of the army and admiral of the navy.

Officially, the stadtholder was in the service of the States General, but who was the boss was not always clear.

Regenten

• Contrary to many other countries, rich citizens  in the Republic had much more power and influence than aristocrats (nobles).
• Many of these citizens had had gained a fortune through trade (in the cities).
• This group of rich citizens was called regenten.
• Almost all important jobs were taken by regenten. 

From father to son

• Many regenten families tried to keep all the good jobs within their own families. 
• Children would inherit titles at a very young age, or they were given good jobs before anyone else, based on their last name. 

Gerard Bicker was a son of Andries Bicker, one of the most powerful merchants from Amsterdam. Gerard had a good life. Because of the power and wealth of his father, he did not have to work really hard. He would have weighed 220 kilograms and was commonly referred to as "the thick bicker".

1a) What is the definition of a republic?

1. a form of government with a king, but ruled by nobles
2. a form of government without a king
3. a form of government ruled by an emperor
4. a form of government ruled by the pope

1b) Which empire was also a republic for a while?

1. The Holy Roman Empire
2. The Byzantine Empire
3. The Ottoman Empire
4. The Roman Empire

1c) Which of these is an example of
- centralised government -
?

1. Provincial States
2. States General

1d) Which of these is an example of
- decentralised government -
?

1. Provincial States
2. States General

Money equals power! 

You might think that the meetings of the States General would take very long, because the representatives had to travel back and forth to their provinces to confer. 

In practice however, this was hardly the case.

Representatives from Holland dominated the States General. Holland was the richest province in the Dutch Republic and therefore paid most of the taxes that were needed to finance the war against Spain. Because of this, the province of Holland had a bigger say in the meetings of the States General. 

Leo Belgicus is the Latin name for the Dutch Lion. Since 1583 the Netherlands were often depicted on maps as a lion. The lion was a widely used symbol in the Netherlands. The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands also used him as a weapon of war, the so-called Generality Lion. This lion is also the forerunner of the weapon of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

2. "Every province in the Republic had an equal say in the assembly of the States General"
Is this statement true or false? explain your answer.

In 1586, the representative of Holland,

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619), became grand pensionary of the States General. In this function he would advise the States General about all sorts of matters like finances and laws. Because Holland had the most power, Van Oldenbarnevelt could decide about the policy of the Republic, such as taxes and foreign affairs, on his own. As grand pensionary, Van Oldenbarnevelt was the most powerful person of the Dutch Republic.

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619), by workshop of Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, painted in 1616

There was actually an eight province in the Republic: the province of Drenthe. However, this area was so poor it was exempt from paying taxes and therefore was not allowed to send representatives to the States General.

3. Why did the representative of the province of Holland become Grand Pensionary?

1. Holland was the richest and most important province
2. Holland had the best army
3. The Hague, the city where the States General met, is in Holland
4. Holland had been the birthplace of the Republic

Grand pensionary 

versus stadtholder

 In 1585, the son of William of Orange, Maurice of Orange (1567-1625), was appointed stadtholder for Holland and Zeeland. At first, Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt worked closely together. 

Van Oldenbarnevelt looked after the financial and foreign affairs, while Maurice looked after the army and led many successful battles against Spain. Because of this, he gained a lot of popularity.

Maurice at the battle of Nieuwpoort (1600), painted by Hendrick Ambrosius Pacx (early 17th century)

The Twelve Years' Truce (1609 - 1621)

Due to financial problems, the Spanish wanted to start peace negotiations in 1609. Although Spain and the Republic could not agree on the conditions of the peace, they decided to sign a Twelve Years' Truce to halt the war. 

During this truce, a political conflict between Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt arose. Van Oldenbarnevelt wanted to end the war with Spain as soon as possible for financial reasons. The war was expensive and affected the trade: ships with goods were destroyed or captured. This resulted in a loss of income for the Republic. 

Maurice however wanted to continue fighting, because he was convinced that the Spanish fleet was at its weakest.

Prince Maurice welcomes Spinola in Rijswijk, January 1608. The meeting is part of a series of negotiations that eventually lead to a truce between the Netherlands and Spain after 40 years of war. Picture attributed to Willem Luytsz of Kittensteyn (1613) Atlas van Stolk, Rotterdam.

4a) Look up the meaning of the word "truce" and write it down.
Also write down 2 synonyms for this word.

4b) Why was the Twelve Years' Truce signed?

1. Maurice could not afford a mercenary army
2. Van Oldenbarnevelt hoped that a Truce might lead to victory
3. the Spanish fleet was at its weakest at the time
4. Both countries felt that war was very expensive

4c) Explain why this truce led to a conflict between
Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice.

Maurice becomes more powerful 

Besides the difference in opinion about whether or not to continue the war against Spain, there was also a religious conflict between the two men: Van Oldenbarnevelt supported the liberal Calvinists, whilst Maurice took sides with the strict Calvinists. The conflict nearly led to a civil war between Holland and the army led by Maurice. Maurice used his influence in the States General to arrest Van Oldenbarnevelt in 1618 on account of high treason. In the meantime, the States General had organised a national church meeting. There it was decided that the principles of the liberal Calvinists were false. Van Oldenbarnevelt was tried in May 1619 and sentenced to death.

Van oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death by beheading. His final words were: " keep it short, keep it short!".

This however he did not say to the executioner, but to his servant who came to say goodbye.

This is assumed to be the actual sword that killed Van Oldenbarnevelt . (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

The title page of an Antwerp-printed pamphlet from 1619, which reports on the execution.

5. As you can see in the picture, Van Oldenbarnevelt
did not feel that he was a traitor. What action or
opinion of him gave Maurice reason to accuse
him of treason?

name:

title:

his job:

religion:

other facts:

liberal Calvinist

son of William of Orange

executed in 1619

Prince Maurice

leader of the Dutch army

Van Oldenbarnevelt

Grand Pensionary

strict Calvinist

political leader of the Republic

Stadtholder

6. Look at this source. the heading says:
"justice of Van Oldenbarnevelt is done".
Does the artist approve of Van Oldenbarnevelt's execution?
Explain your answer.

To war again! 

In 1621, negotiations about a definite peace ended without a solution. Spain posed demands that the Republic was unwilling to meet, and vice versa. The war with Spain was resumed under the directions of Maurice. The Spanish took measures such as embargoes to restrict Dutch trade. These embargoes meant that the Dutch Republic was not allowed to trade anymore with Spanish or Portuguese trading posts in the East Indies. As a reaction, the States General ordered the Dutch West India Company - a trading company that sailed between the Republic and South America - to destroy Spanish ships, which sailed between the Spanish colonies and Spain carrying goods and silver. This meant a huge loss of income for Spain. 

In 1625, Maurice died. His half-brother Frederick Henry succeeded him. Frederick Henry was a very able military leader. During his 21 years as a stadtholder, he was able to conquer many cities such as 's-Hertogenbosch and Maastricht from the Spanish.

Piet Hein's conquest of a Spanish silverfleet (1628) is still remembered in a famous song. Listen to the song in the next slide (30 seconds)

After the end of the Truce in 1621, the rural population again became a massive victim of robbery and arson, as seen in this 1630 painting by Pieter de Molijn.

Dutch ships attacking a fleet of Spanish treasure ships that brought silver from the Spanish colonies in America to Spain.

Spain needed the silver desperately to finance all its wars.

7a) Which phrase about the West India Company (WIC)
is NOT correct??

1. the WIC was a trading company
2. the WIC attacked Spanish ships
3. the WIC sailed between the Republic and South America
4. the WIC traded with Spanish colonies in the West Indies

7b) Explain why the WIC was established immediately after the truce with Spain was ended in 1621.

Peace at last! 

Besides waging war on the Dutch Republic, Spain was also at war with France. 

Furthermore, Spain was also involved in a major European war about religion, which lasted for 30 years. Because of all the wars Spain was involved in and its loss of many trade ships, the country went bankrupt. Therefore, Spain was forced to start new peace negotiations. 

In 1646, talks between Spain and the Republic began in the city of Münster. The Spanish and Dutch delegations soon came to an agreement and in 1648 signed a treaty called: Peace of Munster. This treaty finally ended the Eighty Years' War and Spain officially recognised the Dutch Republic as a sovereign state: a state with borders, where a government makes laws and where people abide by those laws. The Republic gained some new borders: parts of the Spanish Netherlands were added to the Dutch Republic.

left: today the room in which the Treaty of Munster was signed still looks the same as in 1648, as you can see in the painting.

The swearing of the treaty by the Spanish and Dutch negotiators . The signing of the Münster peace treaty - the six Dutch negotiators with raised fingers: Willem Ripperda, Frans van Donia, Adriaen Clant to Stedum, Adriaen Pauw, Johan van Mathenesse and Barthold van Gent.

(painting by Gerard Terborch, 1648)

A group of nobles celebrating the signing of the Peace Treaty of Münster, 18 June 1648, painted by Bartholomeus van der Helst

Peace at last. Time to celebrate...

Write down a question about something from this lesson that you don't understand.

congratulations

congratulations