John de Witt : statesman of the "true freedom"
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
John de Witt : statesman of the "true freedom"
Cambridge University Press, 2002, c1986
- : pbk
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-229) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
If the combination of superb political skills and a powerful intelligence were enough to make a 'philosopher-king' such as Plato dreamed of, the Dutch 'Grand Pensionary' John de Witt (1625-72) would fit the prescription as well as any statesman in history. Manoeuvring among the powers of Europe in the period of France's growing ascendancy, and facing the bitter commercial and political rivalry of the English, he managed to preserve the eminent position the United Provinces had reached when Spain recognized their independence at Munster in 1648. Not until the kings of France and England combined against the Republic in 1672 did De Witt's political system, called the 'True Freedom' and consisting of the maximum autonomy of the provinces and the exclusion of Prince William III of Orange from high office, collapse during the French invasion, an event accompanied by the horrific assassination of De Witt and his brother Cornelius.
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Prologue
- 1. To the threshold, 1625-1650
- 2. Apprenticeship of power, 1651-1653
- 3. The first task, 1653-1654
- 4. The man of thought
- 5. Consolidation of the 'True Freedom', 1654-1660
- 6. The challenge of Stuart and Orange, 1660-1664
- 7. The humbling of the foe, 1665-1667
- 8. A snarling peace, 1665-1667
- 9. The reversal of alliances, 1667-1670
- 10. Against the tide, 1670-1672
- 11. Collapse of the 'True Freedom', March-August 1672
- 12. The worst of days, July-August 1672
- Epilogue
- A bibliographical essay
- Index.
by "Nielsen BookData"