Cornelis de Witt

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Cornelis de Witt (15 June 1623 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch States Navy officer and statesman. During the First Stadtholderless Period, De Witt was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, and was in opposition to the House of Orange. In the Rampjaar of 1672 he was lynched together with his brother Johan de Witt by a crowd incited by Orangist partisans.

Life

De Witt family

File:De Witt of Dordrecht Arms Wapen.PNG
Family coat of arms<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Cornelis de Witt was a member of the old Dutch patrician family De Witt. His father was Jacob de Witt, an influential regent and burgher from the patrician class in the city of Dordrecht, which in the 17th century was one of the most important cities of the dominating province of Holland. De Witt's mother was Anna van den Corput (1599–1645), niece of Johannes Corputius, an influential Dutch military leader and cartographer.<ref>Johann de Witt, p. 1, by N. Japikse, 2012 (German)</ref> His younger brother Johan de Witt was Grand Pensionary of Holland from 1653 to 1672. His uncle Andries de Witt previously held the position of Grand Pensionary between 1619 and 1621. Through the marriage of one of his other uncles to Margaretha of Nassau, daughter of Anna Johanna of Nassau-Siegen, De Witt was a distant relative of William of Orange-Nassau.<ref>Herbert H. Rowen: John de Witt. Statesman of the "True Freedom." 1986, p. 47.</ref> Another relationship led him to the Tromps, Maarten and his son Cornelis Tromp, both admirals of the Netherlands.<ref>"Met onoprechte deelneming van neef Cornelis Tromp" (Dutch)</ref>

Political career

In 1648 Cornelis de Witt became a schepen (councillor) of Dordrecht.<ref name="DBNL">Biography of Cornelis de Witt at DBNL (Dutch)</ref> He was afterwards appointed to the important post of Template:Interlanguage link multi, who combined the functions of chief of police and prosecuting attorney, of Putten<ref name="DBNL"/> and bailiff of Template:Interlanguage link multi.Template:Sfn

File:Jan de Baen 004.jpg
The apotheosis of Cornelis de Witt, with the raid on Chatham in the background. After Jan de Baen

De Witt associated himself closely with his younger brother, the Raadpensionaris of Holland ("Grand Pensionary") Johan de Witt, and supported him throughout his career with great ability and vigour.Template:Sfn Johan relied on his older brother for many matters of state. Johan is considered a strategist in their collaboration and Cornelis as a creative person.<ref>Serge ter Braake: De deductie van Johan de Witt, p. 10 (2009)</ref>

Cornelis de Witt was mayor of Dordrecht in 1666 and 1667,<ref name="DBNL"/> and several times deputy of his city in the States of Holland. Between 1663–65 and 1669–71 De Witt was Committed Council of the Zuiderkwartier. In 1667 he was appointed curator of the Leiden University by the States of Holland. In 1665 the States General appointed him deputy in the field in the war with the Bishop of Munster. He acted in the same capacity in 1668, when troops were being gathered for the war between Spain and France.<ref name="DBNL"/>

File:Anno 1672. Cornelis de Witt in de zeeslag van Solebay, objectnr SA 4962.jpg
Cornelis de Witt at the Battle of Solebay

In 1667 De Witt was the deputy chosen by the States of Holland to accompany Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter in the raid on the Medway. De Witt distinguished himself during the engagement greatly by his coolness and intrepidity. He again accompanied De Ruyter in 1672 and took part in the battle of Solebay against an Anglo-French fleet. Compelled by illness to leave the Dutch States Navy, he found on his return to Dordrecht that the Orangists were in the ascendant, and he and his brother were the objects of popular suspicion and hatred.Template:Sfn

Marriage

Cornelis de Witt married Maria van Berckel (1632–1706) in 1650. The couple had five children:<ref>Biography of Cornelis de Witt at Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek. Deel 3 (1914) – P.J. Blok, P.C. Molhuysen</ref>

Death

He was arrested on false accusations of treason, but did not confess despite heavy torture and was ultimately unlawfully condemned to be banished.<ref name="DBNL" /> He was assassinated by the same carefully organised lynch mob that killed his brother on the day he was to be released, victim of a conspiracy by the Orangists Johan Kievit and Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp. Both their bodies were mutilated and their remains were cannibalized. Their hearts were carved out to be exhibited as trophies. A famous painting of the scene, The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, is usually attributed to Jan de Baen, who had twice painted De Witt's portrait, though some doubt this attribution.<ref>Between Memory and Amnesia, the posthumous portraits of Jan and Cornelis De Witt (Winter 2015) – Frans Grijzenhout</ref>

References

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