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Johan DeWitt soon brought
the First Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652 - 1654) to an end by accepting the demand of
Oliver Cromwell of England that Holland abolish the office of stadholder
(governor), which was formerly held by the prince of Orange. His defence for
his actions became a key statement of Dutch republican doctrine.
When Charles II was restored to the English throne in 1660, the office of
stadholder was restored. However, Johan DeWitt blocked the elevation on
William III of Orange. The demands of Charles on behalf of William, his
nephew, and the deepening commercial and colonial rivalry between the Dutch
and the English led to the Second Anglo-Dutch Wars in 1665. Under the
guidance of Johan DeWitt, the Dutch navy inflicted major defeats on the
English. In 1667, Charles accepted the Treaty of Breda and thus ending the
war.
The Dutch then entered in a Triple Alliance (in 1668) with England and Sweden
to halt the French invasion of Spanish Netherlands, however in 1672 Louis XIV
of France persuaded Charles II to abandon the Dutch. When French armies
overran Holland, the Dutch people turned to William III for leadership. Johan
DeWitt resigned on 4 August 1672.
While Johan DeWitt and his brother Cornelis DeWitt were imprisoned on charges
of plotting against William III, the prince of Orange, they were murdered in
The Hague by a mob of William's supporters on the 20th August 1672.
In the book 'The Dutch Seaborne Empire' by C. R. Boxer under the chapter
'Burgher - Oligarchs and Merchants Adventures', Johan DeWitt was described as
"the perfect Hollander" and "one of the greatest Netherlanders
of all time" by Sir William Temple. A romanticised version of the story
of the two brothers is also depicted in 'The Black Tulip' by Alexandre Dumas.
From research obtained from the Centraal Bureau Voor Genelogie, The Hague,
the last of Johan DeWitt's male descendants perished in the 18th century.
This was confirmed by the letter from Hoge Raad Van Adel, The Secretary of
the Supreme Council of Nobility, Netherlands. According to an article by C.A.
van Sypesteyn, published in De Nederlandsche Heraut 1886, the last male
descendants of Johan DeWitt and Cornelis DeWitt died at the end of the 18th
century. The DeWitt family from Melaka is not directly descended from them.
However, the author believes that other branches of the DeWitt's from
Dordrecht may still be in existence.
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