DE WITT, JOHN, was born at Dort, in the proviuce of Holland, in September 1625. His father was burgomaster of his native town, and member of the states of Holland, in which capacity he was an opponent of the House of Orange, whose power and influence had been looked upon with jealousy ever since the time of Barneveldt by a considerable party in that province. [BuRaEVEsDT.] John de Witt, who inherited hie father's principles, was made in 1652 grand pensioner of Holland, an office which gave him great influence over the deliberations of the States-General or Federal Assembly of the Seven United provinces, in will :II the vats of the rich and populous province of Holland generally carried with it that of the majority.
The time appeared favourable to the anti-Orange party. William II. of Orange, the last stadtholder, had died iu 1650, and his posthumous son, afterwards William III. of England, was an infant. The object of De Witt and his party was to prevent in future the union of the offices of stadtholder, captain-general, and high-admiral in one and the same person, which bad rendered the princes of the House of Orange almnat equal to sovereigns, and which was certainly incon aisteot with the title of a republic, assumed by the united proviucca. It must however be observed, that each of these provinces, forming a separate state, was in fact goverued by an aristocracy, the respective atatea or legislature of each consisting of the nobles and the deputies of the principal towns, who were elected by the wealthier burghers; the great majority of the people having no share in the elections. Generally speaking then, the so-called republican party, at the head of which were successively Barneveldt and De Witt, struggled for tho continuation or extension of their collective power against the House of Orange, whose influence tended to establish a form nearly monarchiciaL But that House was popular with the lower classes, and was supported by the majority of the clergy. The nature of the inatitutions of the United Provinces may be seen in the Act of Union of Utrecht, which was their declaration of independence. During the minority of William III., the office of atadtholder was considered as abolished, and the States-General exercised the supreme authority : De Witt was the soul of their deliberations, and he managed, espe cially the foreign relations of the country, with great ability. lie negociated the peace with Cromwell in 1654, by a secret article of which it was agreed that no member of the House of Orange should be (wade stadtholder or high admiral.
After the restoration of Charles II., De Witt, dreading the family connection betweeu him and young William, sought the alliauce of France iu 1664. A war broke out between England and the United Provinces, which was at first favourable to the English, but De Witt, by his firmness and sagacity, repaired the losses of his countrymen; and while negociationa for peace were pending, he hastened their conclusion by sending an armament under Ruyter, which entered tho Thames and burnt some of the English shipping in the Medway. This
was followed by the peace of Breda, July 1667. The encroaching ambition of Louis XIV., who aimed at taking possession of the Spanish Netherlands, now excited the alarm of Do Witt, who hastened to form a triple alliance with England and Sweden, in order to guarantee the possessions of Spain. in his anxiety to secure his country against the approach of the French, he caused the treaty to be ratified by the States-General at once, instead of first referring it, according to the provisions of the Federal Act, to the acceptance of the various provinces separately. This was a cause of violent obloquy against De Witt.
While thus occupied with the foreign relations be did not forego his plans concerning the internal policy of his country, and the per manent exclusion of the Orange family from power. In 1667 the states of Holland, at his suggestion, passed "a perpetual edict," abolishing for ever the office of atadtholder. De Witt at the same time iutroduccd the greatest order and economy into the finances of the province of Holland. But all De 1Vitt'a calculations, both foreign and domestic, were baffled by the intrigues with which Louis XIV. contrived in 1672 not only to detach Charles II. from the Dutch alliance, but to engage him in a counter-alliance with himself against Holland. The French armies now suddenly invaded the United Provinces, Louis XIV. entered Utrecht, and his troops were within a few miles of Amsterdam. There appears to have been great neglect on the part of the officers, civil and military, of the United Province., in not having taken measures for resistance, and especially in not having placed their fortresses iu a state of defence; and the blame was chiefly thrown upon De Witt. In this emergency, William, the young prince of Orange, was-called to tho command of the forces both by land and sea ; but this did not satisfy the popular clamour. Cornelius De Witt, John's brother, who had filled several important stations, both civil and military, was accused, evidently through mere malignity, of having plotted against the life of William of Orange, was thrown into prison at the Hague, and tortured; but as he could not be convicted of the charge, he was sentenced to banishment. His brother John, whose life had been already attempted by assassins, resigned his office, and went to the Hague in his carriage to receive his brother as he came out of prison. A. popular tumult ensued; the furious mob, instigated by the partisans of the house of Orange, forced its way into the prison, and murdered both brothers with circumstauces of the greatest atrocity. Such was the end of this distinguished statesman, whose private character and simplicity were me exemplary as his abilities were high. He wrote liis ' Memoirs,' which were published in his lifetime, and in which there is much information on tha political and financial condition of Holland at the time.
(Ceriaier, Hiataire des Provinces Unies ; Sir William Temple, Observations on the United Provinces ; The Netherland Historian, 8vo, Amsterdam, 1675, &c.)