Leading statesman
De Witt's power base was the wealthy merchant and patrician class into which he was born. This class broadly coincided politically with the "States faction", stressing Protestant religious moderation and pragmatic foreign policy defending commercial interests. The "Orange faction", consisting of the middle class, preferred a strong leader from the Dutch House of Orange as a counterweight against the rich upper-classes in economic and religious matters. Although leaders that did emerge from the House of Orange rarely were strict Calvinists themselves, they tended to identify with Calvinism, which was popular among the middle classes in the United Provinces during this time. William II of Orange was a prime example of this tendency among the leaders of the House of Orange to support Calvinism. William II was elected stadholder in 1647 and continued to serve until his death in November 1650. Eight days after his death, William II's wife delivered a male heir, William of Orange. Many citizens of the United Provinces urged the election of the infant William III as a stadholder under a regency until he came of age. However, the Provinces, under the dominance of the province of Holland did not fill the office of stadholder.
When Johan de Witt became de facto leader of the Dutch Republic in 1653, the state was at war with England. The superior English navy blockaded Dutch ports, which triggered a severe economic crisis. De Witt's priority was therefore a speedy peace agreement with England. The Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, demanded as a condition that the House of Orange should be permanently excluded from power in the Dutch Republic. Cromwell's motive was that the house supported his opponents, the House of Stuart. De Witt knew that the other six Dutch provinces would not agree to such a dictate. But that changed the exemplary collaboration between De Witt and his influential later uncle Cornelis de Graeff, which was an important factor in the success of De Witt's policies and the revival of economic progress after the First Anglo-Dutch War. Together with his De Graeff, De Witt brought about peace with England with the Treaty of Westminster in May 1654. As a result of the positive course of the war for the Netherlands, the Dutch leadership around De Witt, De Graeff, the army commander Johann Wolfart van Brederode and Lieutenant Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam urged the Dutch States General to position themselves as a whole behind the secret Act of Seclusion, which would exclude the young William III from the office of stadtholder. This resolution was drafted by De Graeff in collaboration with De Witt and diplomat Hieronymus van Beverningh.
In the period following the Treaty of Westminster, the Republic grew in wealth and influence under De Witt's leadership. In the years that followed, he consistently pursued the commercial interests of his country. In 1658/59 he sent large naval forces to the Baltic Sea to support Denmark against Sweden in the Second Northern War and to ensure free passage for Dutch merchant ships through the Øresund. De Witt created a strong Dutch States Navy, appointing one of his political allies, Lieutenant Admiral Van Wassenaer Obdam, as supreme commander of the Confederate fleet. In these turbulent times of the first governorless period, his trusted councilman, Coenraad van Beuningen, had been a great support to him. One of his brothers-in-law, Jean Deutz, was a trusted advisor on economic matters and financed the wars of the republic under his brother-in-law De Witt.
Despite all these quick political successes, De Witt always presented himself to the outside world as a humble civil servant who walked the streets of The Hague without an escort and with only one servant. According to the English ambassador Sir William Temple, he was outwardly "indistinguishable from the common man". He himself always emphasized that he had "no decisive vote, authority or power" in the Assembly of States of Holland. But the French ambassador reported to Paris that power in the Netherlands rested with "Monsieur de Witt".
In 1657, De Witt and De Graeff mediated the "Treaty of Raalte", in which William III passed the stadholdership of Overijssel.
On 25 September 1660, the States of Holland under the prime movers of De Witt, De Graeff, his younger brother Andries de Graeff, along with Gillis Valckenier, resolved to take charge of William's education to ensure he would acquire the skills to serve in a future – although undetermined – state function. Influenced by the values of the Roman republic, De Witt did his utmost anyway to prevent any member of the House of Orange from gaining power, convincing many provinces to abolish the stadtholderate entirely. He bolstered his policy by publicly endorsing the theory of republicanism. He allegedly contributed personally to the Interest of Holland, a radical republican textbook published in 1662, by his supporter Pieter de la Court. As a result, De Witt attracted the hatred of all supporters of the Oranges, who were mainly found among the common people.
After the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, the English monarchy was restored in 1660 as Charles II of England returned to power. This further deteriorated Anglo-Dutch relations, and five years later the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out. De Witt reformed the Dutch naval forces by building larger and more heavily armed warships modelled after the English navy. After an initial defeat at the Battle of Lowestoft, he temporarily took command of the Dutch fleet himself. As a remedy for his seasickness, Christiaan Huygens, the inventor of the pendulum clock, developed a special hammock that did not rock. At the end of 1665 Michiel de Ruyter took over command of the Dutch navy at De Witt's instigation. Further fighting in 1666 and a massive plague and devastating fire in London caused severe economic difficulties in England. By 1667, the English were unable to put a new fleet to sea, De Witt took advantage of this by having the Dutch navy sail up the River Medway under the command of his brother Cornelis de Witt. At Chatham, Kent, the Dutch burnt several English warships anchored there. Dutch cannon fire was heard in London, causing panic to break out there. England then became ready for peace negotiations, in which De Witt was involved. The peace between the two states was sealed in 1667 with the Peace of Breda.
In 1667, with the support of Gaspar Fagel, Gillis Valckenier and his uncle Andries de Graeff, De Witt issued the Perpetual Edict, which abolished the governorship and thus the final overthrow of the House of Orange. and the incompatibility of a stadtholdership with the Captain Generalship of the Republic of the United Netherlands.
As part of efforts by the States General to contest commercial superiority with England, the Dutch States Army was greatly neglected. This was not without danger because French politics at that time was characterized by unbridled expansionism, which was reinforced by the formidable economic competition of the Dutch Republic. Johan de Witt tried to guarantee the safety of the Republic with a pro-French policy but did not want to agree with King Louis XIV's plan to divide the Spanish Netherlands. He preferred a Spanish-administered buffer zone on the southern border of the Republic to a border with powerful France.
The Triple Alliance was concluded on 23 January 1668 with England and Sweden. It stipulated that the three countries would support each other militarily if France attacked one of them. De Witt nevertheless did not want a break with Louis XIV. It was therefore agreed to urge Spain to cede a number of cities in the Spanish Netherlands to him. Only if Louis XIV rejected this and prolonged the War of Devolution to take control of the whole area would the three countries take military force against France. Especially at De Witt's request, that last appointment was included in a secret clause because he did not want to offend the French. What De Witt did not know was that Charles II had only entered into the treaty to sever all Dutch-French ties for good. A month after its conclusion, he divulged the details of the secret clause to Louis XIV, who, eager for revenge, concluded the secret Treaty of Dover with England, stipulating that the Dutch Republic would be attacked jointly.
