BARNEVELDT, bar'n-vet, Jan van Olden, Dutch statesman: b. 1549; d. 13 May 1619. He early showed himself zealous for the independence of the United Provinces, and as advocate-general of the province of Hol land displayed profound views and great skill in business. He preserved his country against the ambition of Leicester; penetrated the secret plans of Maurice of Nassau, whom his fellow citizens had elevated to the post of stadtholder; and his marked distrust of this prince placed him at the head of the Republican party, which aimed to make the stadtholder subordinate to the legislative power. Spain at that time made proposals for peace through the archduke, gov ernor of the Netherlands. Barneveldt was ap pointed plenipotentiary on this occasion, and evidenced alike the skill of a statesman and the firmness of a republican. Maurice of Nassau, whose interest led him to prefer war, labored to prevent the establishment of peace; and Barneveldt was induced only by the most ur gent solicitations of the states to retain the office which had been assigned to him, conclud ing in 1609 an arrnistice with Spain for the term of 12 years, in which the independence of Holland was acknowledged. His influence now became still greater, and he was more and more an object of jealousy to the house of Nassau. The hostile spint of the opposite parties in the state was further increased by theological difficulties. In order to prevent a civil war Barneveldt proposed an ecclesiastical council, which resolved upon a general tolera tion in respect to the points in question. The states acceded at first to this wise measure, but at a later period the Nassau party per suaded them to adopt other views. This party represented the Arminians as secret friends of Spain. Maurice insisted upon a general synod,
with a view, as he pretended, of putting an end to all religious quarrels; but Barneveldt per suaded the states to oppose this measure. Troops were now levied, without the consent of Maunce, to re-establish order in the cities where the Gomarists had excited disturbances. On the other side, the Nassau party redoubled its attacics upon Barneveldt, who, in answer to them, published that celebrated memorial in which he warns the United Provinces of the danger which threatened them from the other party. Maurice, however, procured the assem bling of a synod at Dort, in 1618, to which almost all the Calvinistic churches of Europe sent deputies. They condemned the Arminians with the most unjust severity, and Maurice was encouraged by their sentence to adopt violent measures. He caused Barneveldt and other leading men of the Arminians to be arrested; and 26 bribed judges condemned to death as a traitor the man to whom his country owed its political existence. The old man of 72 ascended the scaffold, and suffered death with the same firmness which he had evinced under all the circumstances of his life. His two sons formed a conspiracy against the tyrant; William escaped, but Reinier was taken and executed. His mother, after his condemnation, threw herself at the feet of Maurice to beg for mercy, and to his question why she hum bled herself thus for the sake of her son when she had not done it for her husband, made the memorable reply: °I did not ask pardon for my husband, because he was innocent; I ask it for my son, because he is guilty?) Con sult Motley, 'John of Barneveldt) (1874).