After the Golden Lion, let's talk about the Dutch Ninth Class Cruiser John de Witte.
Dutch nine-class cruiser – John de Witte
However, the name is still very good to find the source, because it is clearly a personal name.
Johann de Witte 1652
Johann de Witte, Dutch politician, one of the most important political tasks in the Netherlands in the 17th century. The brother lived at the height of the Dutch Golden Age, which was widely regarded around the world for trade, science and art.
Johann de Witte came from a prominent background, and his father, Jacob de Witt, served several times as mayor of Dordrecht. Therefore, Werther received a good education from an early age and followed his brother's grand tour throughout most of Europe.
In 1647, at the age of 22, After graduating from university, Witte began his career as a lawyer in The Hague. By 1650, william II, the ruler of the Netherlands, suddenly fell ill and died after arresting rival rebels (including Witt's father Jacob), and his widowed son William III was born only a week after his father's death, so the Dutch Parliament (controlled by the anti-ruling parliamentarian faction) took the opportunity to abolish the ruling office and expand the oligarchy of the parliament and the power of the grand speaker (the leader of the parliament).
A commemorative portrait by Gerald van Hunthorst in 1651, William II, Prince of Orange
In December 1650, at the age of 25, Witte, with his talents, was elected chief judge of the city of Dordrecht, and also became the city's representative to the Parliament, and his political talent was soon revealed. By 1653, he ascended to the throne as Speaker of the Holland Grand Council, and during the first period of non-government, he once again transformed the provincial office of Grand Councillor into the de facto leader of the Dutch Republic. He came to power immediately after coming to power to end the First Anglo-Dutch War, and even went to England in 1658 to negotiate with Cromwell and successfully resolve the contradictions between the two countries; although the Netherlands still admitted defeat and accepted the navigation law proposed by Cromwell in England, it finally allowed the continued losses of the Netherlands to stop the bleeding. At the same time, he agreed with the English Republic to accept the act of seclusion, which was secretly promised, and guaranteed that the Netherlands would never elect Prince Orange as consul and supreme commander, because the mother of Prince Williams III was the daughter of the former King Charles I, and Cromwell was the enemy who overthrew Charles and executed him, and naturally did not want Charles's grandson William to sit in power.
With the restoration of peace, De Witte became a preeminent leader in the republic's internal and foreign policy decisions by completing his position entrusted to him by the Congress, further enhancing his political prestige. At this time he married the wealthy Findra Pique, and through his wife's connections, Witt became acquainted with many of Amsterdam's business tycoons. With the support of these wealthy businessmen, Werther sat in the position of Speaker of the Great Council, and installed important official positions for his father Jacob, his brother Conless de Witte, and his relatives and friends, and became his ruling team, so that the power of the United Provinces Republic was completely in his hands.
Witt's government is energetic and capable of governing. He put an end to the extravagance and waste of the Dutch, reduced interest on government loans to big businessmen, renovated and purchased warships, and further improved the weapons on their ships and strengthened naval training. Sharpen the knife in revenge against the British for the defeat in the First Anglo-Dutch War. He reused The Sea God Ruit (a man who will also appear in later articles), reduced debt, improved the financial situation of both the General Assembly and the Dutch Provincial Council, and restored the prestige of the Republic in Europe. With these outstanding performances, he was re-elected Asseller general in 1663. In addition to his outstanding political achievements, he was humble, kind, and had a harmonious and happy family life; he loved culture and made friends with well-known figures from all walks of life, and even Spinoza, a great philosopher who had rarely had contact with others, moved to The Hague at his kind invitation.
Mihir de Ruit, painted by Ferdinand Bohr in 1667
The Netherlands under Witte built the peak of the Golden Age for 20 years and won the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665-1667, and in 1667 the Dutch fleet traced the Thames and Medways to Chatham, destroyed The British shipyards and burned British warships at moorings. In order to cope with the battle, Werther tirelessly handled various military issues, from big strategies to small details, and even went to sea with the fleet many times, putting themselves in danger, so that the officers and men of the Navy were deeply impressed by the Great Speaker and bravely killed the enemy to show their respect for Werther. When the Dutch gained the upper hand and planned a retaliatory treaty, something unexpected happened. In 1667, when King Louis XIV of France wanted to support his ally the Netherlands, he did not send naval and ground troops to aid the Netherlands, but led a large army to invade Spanish Netherlands and start a legacy war. Since france's rapid conquest of the southern Low Countries posed a threat to both the Dutch Republic and Britain, the two sides reached an agreement on 31 July 1667 to sign the Peace of Breda, and then de Witte used diplomatic means to facilitate the formation of the Anti-French Triple Alliance (Netherlands, England, and Switzerland) in 1668, which reversed the war situation at a critical moment, and King Louis XIV of France, who launched the war of aggression, had to make concessions and return all the land occupied by Franche-Comte and Spanish Netherlands. In January 1668, the Swedish-English-Dutch alliance successfully forced France to make peace with Spain.
Portrait of Louis XIV, Yascent Rigo (1701)
Louis XIV was forced to accept the Dutch request to agree to the peace agreement because of his lack of preparation for war, but it sowed a strong resentment of Louis XIV against de Witt and the Netherlands. It so happened that after King Charles II lost to the Dutch in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, although he was forced to conclude an alliance with the Netherlands in 1668 to put pressure on France, Charles II was always resentful and eager for revenge. As a result, Britain and France signed the Dover Secret Treaty in 1670, and King Charles II of England allied with King Louis XIV of France, planning a joint attack on the Netherlands two years later.
In 1672, the Franco-Dutch War finally broke out, and the Anglo-French army invaded the Netherlands in May, and Amsterdam was in danger, which was called a disaster year. De Witt was demoralized, forced to step down, and eventually lynched by an angry Hague mob and executed.
In 1672, Witt and his brother were surrounded by a mob and were about to be killed
He was ranked 32nd among the greatest Dutchmen voted in 2004.
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