Johan de Witt
| Johan de Witt | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Adriaen Hanneman, 1652
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| Grand Pensionary of Holland | |
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In office 30 July 1653 – 4 August 1672 |
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| Preceded by | Adriaan Pauw |
| Succeeded by | Gaspar Fagel |
| Pensionary of Dordrecht | |
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In office 21 December 1650 – 30 July 1653 |
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| Preceded by | Nicolaas Ruys |
| Succeeded by | Govert van Slingelandt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Johan de Witt 24 September 1625 Dordrecht, Holland, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 20 August 1672 (aged 46) The Hague, Holland, Dutch Republic |
| Spouse(s) | Wendela Bicker |
| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | Leiden University |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
Johan de Witt or Jan de Witt, heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere (24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672) was a key figure in Dutch politics in the mid-17th century, when its flourishing sea trade in a period of globalisation made the United Provinces a leading European power during the Dutch Golden Age. De Witt controlled the Netherlands political system from around 1650 until shortly before his death in 1672 working with various factions from nearly all the major cities, especially his hometown, Dordrecht, and the city of birth of his wife, Amsterdam.
As a republican he opposed the House of Orange. He was also strongly liberal, preferring lesser power to the central government and more power to the regenten. However, his negligence of the Dutch land army (as the regents focused only on merchant vessels, thinking they could avoid war) proved disastrous when the Dutch Republic suffered numerous early defeats in the Rampjaar (1672). In the hysteria that followed the effortless invasion by an alliance of three countries, he and his brother Cornelis de Witt were blamed and lynched in The Hague.
Johan de Witt was a member of the old Dutch patrician family De Witt. His father was Jacob de Witt, an influential regent and burgher from the patrician class in the city of Dordrecht, which in the seventeenth century, was one of the most important cities of the dominating province of Holland. Johan and his older brother, Cornelis de Witt, grew up in a privileged social environment in terms of education, his father having as good acquaintances important scholars and scientists, such as Isaac Beeckman, Jacob Cats, Gerhard Vossius and Andreas Colvius. Johan and Cornelis both attended the Latin school in Dordrecht, which imbued both brothers with the values of the Roman Republic.
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