1667-8] The War of Devolution.

The Triple Alliance 153 brought about a complete change of English policy. Sir William Temple, the English resident at Brussels, was sent to the Hague to learn in person the views and aims of de Witt, and afterwards to repair to London to confer with the home Government. Temple was heart and soul in the accomplishment of his mission, and he returned to the Hague (January 17, 1668) commissioned to express on the part of the English Ministry their willingness to co-operate with the United Provinces in common action against French pretensions. It was only natural for the States General, and for de Witt himself, to regard somewhat distrustfully this offer of alliance on the part of their recent enemy. But Temple's persuasiveness prevailed; and, largely by his personal exertions, the matter was driven through at express speed. Thus, on January 23 the treaty which bound England and the United Provinces to a defensive alliance and joint resistance to French aggression was signed by the English ambassador and the commissioners of the States General. Three days later Dohna was able to inform Temple and de Witt of the adhesion of Sweden to what was now the Triple Alliance. There was great rejoicing among all parties in the Netherlands, which was marked by the presence of both the Prince of Orange and Prince Joan Maurice of Nassau at a ball given by the Grand Pensionary in honour of the occasion.

The French

There were still, however, many difficulties to overcome. King was indisposed to draw back in the full tide of success. Spain was unwilling to surrender territory. Swedish support was to a large extent mercenary, and dependent upon subsidies. The firmness of de Witt and the tact of Temple, however, overcame all obstacles. To prove that they were in earnest a strong military force was gathered on the Scheldt and the Yssel, and a fleet equipped. The Spanish Governor, CastelRodrigo, was informed that, unless he consented to accept the mediation of the allies, the States army would cross the frontier and occupy Flanders. Louis XIV, now master of Franche Comté, felt himself in a strong position to negotiate and was ready to make concessions rather than enter upon a war in which Spain would have the armed support of the Triple Alliance. The preliminary conditions of peace were settled at St Germain-en-Laye between the French Foreign Minister, Lionne, and the Dutch and English ambassadors, van Beuningen and Trevor (April 15), and confirmed by a conference of the Powers at Aachen (May 2). The treaty was very advantageous to the French King, who restored Franche Comté, but retained in Flanders and Brabant most of the towns he had occupied. A guarantee was given to Spain by the three Powers of the remainder of her Belgian possessions; but the ephemeral character of the Triple Alliance rendered such a guarantee of little real value. It was felt, nevertheless, by all that the result achieved was a great personal triumph for the Grand Pensionary's statesmanship. He had succeeded in checking the ambitious projects of

154

Peace of Aachen.

Treaty of Dover

[1668-71 Louis XIV, at a moment when the French military power seemed to be irresistible, and in forcing him to conclude peace. At the Congress of Aachen the Dutch Republic was able to take its place among the Great Powers of Europe and to pose as the arbiter of peace and war. Never before or since did the United Provinces occupy so high a position of influence and authority. The Peace of Aachen, following closely upon that of Breda, set the seal to the greatness of the administration of John de Witt. The inscription upon a medal struck for the occasion gives expression to the proud self-satisfaction felt throughout the States: "After having made the Laws secure, reformed Religion, reconciled Kings, maintained the Freedom of the Seas, established Peace in Europe, the Council of the United Netherlands has caused this medal to be struck in 1668." It reads like an epitaph. The sequel will show that as such it might well be regarded.

The Peace of Aachen rankled in the mind of Louis XIV, and from this time he vowed the destruction of the Dutch Republic and of the Grand Pensionary. His first efforts were directed to the detachment of Charles II from the "Triple Bond." It was not a difficult task. Charles' object in entering it had been not to maintain Spain in possession of the southern Netherlands, but to detach the Dutch Republic from France. Every possible ground of dispute with the Netherlanders arising out of the Treaty of Breda was now raked up and treated as a diplomatic grievance. In vain was van Beuningen sent on a special mission to London in June, 1670, to settle complaints about comparatively trifling matters in the East Indies and in Surinam. There was a strong war party in England, who wished to wipe out the memory of Chatham, and Charles only too readily fell in with their wishes. On December 31, 1671, he concluded at Dover a secret treaty with Louis XIV, which bound him, in consideration of a yearly subsidy of 3,000,000 francs and the acquisition of Walcheren and the mouths of the Scheldt, to abandon the Triple Alliance and at the bidding of Louis declare war upon the Dutch. At the same time steps were being successfully taken to undermine the, at all times, rather wavering attachment of Sweden to the Alliance.

At home in the United Provinces the position of de Witt had during the English War become decidedly weaker. The bitterest attacks were made upon him, and nothing but want of leaders prevented the Orange party from the overthrow of the stadholderless Government. Even among his old friends there was dissatisfaction at the ascendancy of what may be styled the de Witt family connexion. Van Beverningh resigned the post of Treasurer-General. Van Beuningen, who had great influence in Amsterdam, became alienated. Indeed, a strong opposition to de Witt was gradually forming there, of which the leader was Gillis Valckenier. And, meanwhile, the Prince of Orange was slowly growing to adolescence. Of feeble health and weak in body, William was endowed by nature with extraordinary intelligence and a strength of character quite uncommon.

1658-68]

The Prince of Orange and de Witt 155

He had passed a somewhat miserable boyhood amidst the jars of family quarrels. His home was a hot-bed of intrigue, and he was keenly watched by eager partisans and jealous enemies. But with a self-restraint that was almost unnatural, observing everything, committing no false step, uttering no rash words, William bided his time. Cold, calm and impenetrable, in proud isolation, forming his plans for the future, confident that his hour would come, with a sagacity and a dissimulation beyond his years the heir of the Nassaus went quietly on his on his way. How many an anxious moment must de Witt have passed, as he tried to read the thoughts and to forecast the future of the Child of State, whose tutelage the Province of Holland had placed largely in his hands! The Eternal Edict of August, 1667, is a measure of the fear with which the Grand Pensionary and the Holland Regents regarded the growing menace to the domination of their party. The erection of this paper barrier gave a sense of security. To the majority at least, if not to all. The story runs that, as the document lay on the table before him, de Witt's cousin, Vivien, the Pensionary of Dort, stuck the point of his penknife through it. "What are you doing?" asked the Grand Pensionary. "I am trying to see what steel can do against parchment," was the reply.

The earnestness with which de Witt set to work to persuade the other Provinces to follow the example of Holland shows that he was haunted by the same suspicion as Vivien. He succeeded quickly in gaining over Gelderland, Utrecht, and Overyssel; but for a long time Zeeland, Friesland, and Groningen absolutely refused their concurrence. In these Provinces the Orange partisans had the upper hand, and they remained deaf to all the solicitations addressed to them.

Meanwhile, in July, 1668, de Witt, whose five years' term of office had been renewed in 1658 and 1663, was now for the fourth time reappointed Grand Pensionary, and in recognition of his great services with a doubled salary, besides a large gratuity. Hitherto his salary had been only 3000 florins; and since 1660 he had derived another 3000 florins from the emoluments of two other offices. He had, however, never cared for display; but had lived like an ordinary burgher in a modest house, keeping only a single man-servant and dressing with great simplicity. His marriage had been very happy, and his only pleasure and relaxation had been found in the quiet joys of family and domestic life. The death of his wife, which took place but a few weeks before his reelection, was a heavy blow to him. De Witt on this occasion, as in 1663, before entering upon this fresh period of office requested the States of Holland to give him an Act of Indemnity and a promise of a judicial post on his retirement.

Two months later (September, 1668) the Prince of Orange gave the first clear sign of his intention to claim to the full, as opportunity offered, his ancestral rights and dignities. On the pretence of a visit to Breda he made his way to Middleburg, where the States of Zeeland had

156

Designs of Louis XIV

[1668-71 just met, to take his seat, being now 18 years of age, as first noble in their Assembly. Amidst the jubilation of the populace he made his state entry into the town in a coach drawn by six horses, attended by a numerous suite. Following the example of his ancestors, he merely came to be installed in person in his post, after which by the leave of the States he appointed his cousin, the Lord of Odyk, to act as his representative. The installation over, he returned to the Hague, where for another two years he was content to remain nominally under the guardianship of the States of Holland. During this interval the Grand Pensionary had at last succeeded in obtaining the consent of all the Provinces to the Eternal Edict, his so-called "Concept of Harmony." Zeeland, Friesland and Groningen, however, made it a condition of their assent, that William, now in his twenty-first year, should be at once made a member of the Council of State. It was still a question whether he should have the right to vote or only to advise. De Witt was in favour of the restricted power; but, finding that he had not the support of Amsterdam, he gave way. The Grand Pensionary had now to reckon with the formation of a powerful middle party with Orange leanings, of which Gillis Valckenier and Conrad van Beuningen at Amsterdam, and Caspar Fagel, the influential Pensionary of Haarlem, were the leaders. Van Beuningen and Valckenier were successively elected Burgomasters at Amsterdam in opposition to all the influence of the Bickers and de Graeffs and the de Witt connexion. The election of Fagel as Secretary (Griffier) to the States General (November, 1670) by removing him from the States of Holland, however, strengthened de Witt's influence in the latter assembly, as did also the appointment of Pieter de Groot, on his return from his embassy in Sweden, to the post of Pensionary of Rotterdam. He was a devoted adherent of the Grand Pensionary, whose downfall powerful enemies in his own Provincial States were now working to bring about.

The steps taken by Louis XIV to break up the Triple Alliance and to isolate the United Provinces have already been noted. The Secret Treaty of Dover (December 31, 1671) had bound Charles II to join with the French King in making war on a people still nominally allied with England. The feelings of enmity to the Dutch on the part of Louis had not been concealed. He had placed heavy duties on all goods from the United Provinces entering French harbours. The States General in their turn had laid duties on French goods entering the Netherlands, and a tariff war had ensued. But, despite all these signs of ill-will, de Witt appeared to be blind to the design and the preparations of Louis. Perhaps he could not bring himself to believe that the French monarch had conceived so embittered a hatred against himself personally, and had resolved at all costs to compass the destruction of the Republic. De Witt knew that war would mean the transfer of authority from his hands to those of the Prince, and he still hoped by conciliation to avert it. His trusted confidant, Pieter de Groot, the Pensionary of Rotterdam, was sent as ambassador to Paris. He was

1672]

War with France and England

157

He soon

received with all personal courtesy, but could effect nothing. convinced himself that war was inevitable, and in his dispatches urged the Grand Pensionary to prepare for it. In March, 1672, he quitted Paris, and on April 6 Louis declared war against the States. Already on March 28 a similar declaration had been made by England. Münster and Cologne followed. The only allies of the United Provinces were Spain, Brandenburg, and the Emperor.

At sea the Dutch had a fleet strong enough to defend their shores under such a commander as de Ruyter even against an Anglo-French coalition; but on land the condition of things was very different. Economy had been the watchword, and had led to repeated disbandments. The army was small in numbers and thoroughly disorganised. The town levies (waardgelders) were called out, and foreign mercenaries hurriedly recruited, but a trained staff of officers and proper cohesion were wanting. Meanwhile a splendid French army, 120,000 strong, was advancing against the Provinces from the south under the command of some of the first captains of the age, while their eastern frontier was attacked simultaneously from the side of Münster and Cologne. There was practically no resistance. Within a month Gelderland, Overyssel, Drente, and Utrecht were overrun. The opening of the dykes alone saved Holland itself from invasion. Black despair brooded over the land. Business ceased. Men knew not what to do. All eyes were turned to the young Prince of Orange.

Already at the first approach of war William, though not yet twentytwo years of age, had been appointed Captain-General of the Union. amidst general rejoicings (February 25). The office had been granted to him only for one campaign, with restricting conditions as to its exercise, betokening the unwillingness with which at last the burgherregents yielded to the overwhelming force of public opinion. It was but the beginning of a movement that nothing could check. The Eternal Edict was swept on one side. On July 2 the States of Zeeland elected William Stadholder; two days later the States of Holland did the same. On the 8th he was made Captain- and AdmiralGeneral of the Union. The call came suddenly; but it did not find the Prince unprepared. Though he had had no experience of administration, no schooling in the art of war, he set about his task with calm selfconfidence and determination. The mere fact that a Prince of Orange was once more head of the State inspired confidence. That confidence became redoubled when it was seen that this youth was dowered with all the qualities of leadership, which were the heritage of his House.

The immediate cause which led to the revolution of July 2-4 was the failure of de Groot's mission to move Louis XIV to terms of peace. Amidst the shipwreck of his life's work, de Witt had through the months of May and June laboured with unremitting zeal. Finance, the equipment of the fleet, negotiations, the cutting of the dykes for the defence of Holland — all had occupied his attention. Both he and his brother