Pieter de Graeff
| Pieter de Graeff | |
|---|---|
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| President of the Dutch East Indies Company | |
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In office 1664–1707 |
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| Preceded by | Cornelis de Graeff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1638 Amsterdam |
| Died | 1707 Amsterdam |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Political party | States faction |
| Spouse(s) | Jacoba Bicker van Swieten |
| Relations |
Cornelis de Graeff (father) Catharina Hooft (mother) Andries de Graeff (uncle) Johan de Witt (cousin) |
| Children | Johan and Cornelis |
| Residence | Castle Ilpenstein and a Cityhouse at Herengracht 573 |
| Occupation | Regent, Landlord |
| Profession | Jurist |
| Religion | Remonstrants |
Pieter de Graeff (15 August 1638 – 3 June 1707), was a member of the De Graeff-family from the Dutch Golden Age. He was an Amsterdam Regent during the late 1660s and the early 1670s, and held the titles as Lord of the semi-sovereign Fief Zuid-Polsbroek and 19.th Lord of the Free and high Fief Ilpendam and Purmerland. Pieter de Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the republican political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’, as opposed to the Royalists.
Pieter was born in Amsterdam, the son of Cornelis de Graeff and Catharina Hooft, and the older brother of Jacob de Graeff.
Both, Pieters father Cornelis and his uncle Andries de Graeff, were very critical of the Orange family’s influence. Together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff-family strived for the abolition of stadtholdership. They desired the full sovereignty of the individual regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign (or stadtholder) the political and military power was lodged with the States General and with the regents of the cities in Holland.
During the two decades the De Graeff family had a leading role in the Amsterdam administration, the city was at the peak of its political power. This period was also referred to by Republicans as the ‘Ware Vrijheid’ (True Freedom). It was the First Stadtholderless Period which lasted from 1650 to 1672. During these twenty years, the regents from Holland and in particular those of Amsterdam, controlled the republic. The city was flush with self-confidence and liked to compare itself to the famous Republic of Rome. Even without a stadtholder, things seemed to be going well for the Republic and its regents both politically and economically.
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