DE WITT, JAN, a celebrated statesman of Holland, b. at Dort in 1625, was the son of Jacob de Witt, a vehement opponent of William II.. prince of Orange. Jan inherited his father's hatred of the office of stadtholder, and the family that tilled it. His educa tion was carefully attended to. and he soon exhibited remarkable ability. He was one of the deputies sent by the states of Holland in 1652 to Zealand, for the purpose of dis suading that province from adopting an Orange policy. There his eloquence secured him universal confidence, which, however, in such troublous times could not long be retained. In the same year he was made grand pensionary. The Orange party (sup ported by the populace and the clergy), during the war carried on between England and Holland, was ever striving to increase the power of the young prince (afterwards William III.), who was then a mere infant; the republican, or oligarchic party. composed of the nobles and the wealthier burgesses, at the head of which was Ds W., sought, on the other hand, to strip the house of Orange of all power, and to abolish entirely the office of stadtholder. During William's minority, the advantage was, of course, with De W. and the republicans. In 1634, on the conclusion of the war with England, a secret article was inserted in the treaty drawn up between De.W. and Cromwell, in virtue of which the house of Orange was to be deprived of all state-offices, After the restoraI of Charles II., De W. leaned more to the side of France. This tendency necessarily
received an impetus from the renewal of hostilities between England and Holland in 1665. These lasted for two years; and although De W. acted with great vigor, his influence was diminished, and his party was compelled to concede a larger measure of power to the house of Orange. De W.'s prospects became still more clouded when the designs of Louis XIV. upon the Spanish Netherlands became manifest. The Orange party carried their point in the elevation of William to the family dignity of stadtholder. On the invasion of the Netherlands by Louis XIV. in 1672, the prince of Orange was appointed commander of the Dutch forces; and the first campaign proving unfortunate, the popnlar clamor against De W. greatly increased, who had previously resigned his office of grand pensionary. His brother, Cornelius, accused of conspiring against the life of the stadtholder, was imprisoned and tortured. De W. went to see him on his release. When they were coming out of prison, they were attacked by an infuriated crowd, and were both murdered 'Aug. 20, 1672. The states-general demanded an hives tig,ation, and the punishment of the murderers, but the stadtholder did not take the necessary steps. De W. was personally a man of upright character. His ..ifeinoirs (which were published during his lifetime) contain much important information regarding the politics of the time.