The Act of Seclusion was an Act of the
States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...
, required by a secret annex in the
Treaty of Westminster (1654)
The Treaty of Westminster, concluded between the Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, and the States General of the United Netherlands, was signed on 5/15 April 1654. The treaty ended the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1 ...
between the
United Provinces and the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...
in which
William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the office of
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
. Seclusion is defined as the state of being private and away from other people. The
First Stadtholderless Period
The First Stadtholderless Period or Era (1650–72; nl, Eerste Stadhouderloze Tijdperk) is the period in the history of the Dutch Republic in which the office of Stadtholder was vacant in five of the seven Dutch provinces (the provinces of Fries ...
had been heralded in January 1651 by
States Party ''
Regenten
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the regenten (the Dutch plural for ''regent'') were the rulers of the Dutch Republic, the leaders of the Dutch cities or the heads of organisations (e.g. "regent of an orphanage"). Though not formally a hered ...
'', among whom the republican-minded brothers
Cornelis and
Andries de Graeff
Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his ...
and their cousins
Andries Andries is a Dutch and Afrikaans masculine given name or surname equivalent to Andrew.
Given name
People with this name include
* Andries van Artvelt (1590–1652), Flemish painter
* Andries Beeckman (1628–1664), Dutch painter
* Andries Bekk ...
and
Cornelis Bicker
Cornelis Bicker van Swieten (25 October 1592 – 15 September 1654), heer (lord) Van Swieten and of Kasteel Swieten, was an Amsterdam regent of the Dutch Republic during the Golden Age and a governor of the Dutch West India Company. He was also ...
, during the ''Grote Vergadering'' (Great Assembly) in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, a meeting of representatives of the States of each of the United Provinces.
[The Great Assembly had the character of a constitutional convention, unlike the States-General of the Netherlands, who also were an assembly of delegates of the provincial States.] This meeting was convened after the death of
stadtholder William II on November 6, 1650, when the
States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...
decided to leave the office of Stadtholder vacant in their province.
Through the Treaty of Westminster
Johan de Witt
Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the Fi ...
,
Grand Pensionary of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, not only ended the
First Anglo–Dutch War
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces ...
, but also ensured that the
Orangist regent faction would be much weakened, so that English Republicans no longer needed to fear that William III (four years of age at the time) could become a strong Dutch leader who could bring the
Stuarts
The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...
to whom he was closely related through his mother
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal (Mary Henrietta Stuart; 4 November 1631 – 24 December 1660), was an English princess, a member of the House of Stuart, and by marriage Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau. She acted as regent for her minor son from 1 ...
, back on the English throne. Ironically, William III would later drive out the Stuart King
James II during the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
and thereby end moves in England towards
absolutism.
As the other provinces would have refused to sign the treaty if they had known of the secret clause, De Witt arranged that this clause would bind only the States of Holland. The
States-General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The States ...
were completely left in the dark, as was the Frisian plenipotentiary at the negotiations,
Allart Pieter van Jongestall. Only the two Holland representatives (
Hieronymus van Beverningh
Hieronymus van Beverningh (sometimes spelled Beverningk) ( Gouda, April 25, 1614 – Oud Teylingen, October 30, 1690) was a prominent Dutch regent, diplomat, amateur botanist, and patron of the arts, who lived during the Dutch Golden Age.
Biog ...
and
Willem Nieupoort) were in on the secret. Consequently, the States-General ratified the treaty on April 22, 1654, without the secret annex.
The prime movers behind the Act of Seclusion, in which
William III, Prince of Orange was excluded from the office of Stadtholder, were De Witt and his uncle
Cornelis de Graeff
Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van (Zuid-)Polsbroek (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664) was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age and a powerful Amsterdam regent after ...
. Then, the States of Holland debated the Act and passed it on May 4, 1654, over the opposition of the Holland ''ridderschap'' (delegates of the nobility, who had one vote in the States) and six of the cities (with one vote each). Only then did
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
, the English signatory to the treaty, ratify the treaty (including the secret clause), as had been agreed beforehand.
According to Grand Pensionary De Witt, it was Oliver Cromwell who demanded the secret annex and he managed to have it ratified only with the greatest effort. The ''Gedeputeerde Staten'' (Delegated States) of Friesland (executive of the
States of Friesland
The States of Friesland were the sovereign body that governed the province of Friesland under the Dutch Republic. They were formed in 1580 after the former Lordship of Frisia (a part of the Habsburg Netherlands) acceded to the Union of Utrec ...
) even demanded that the conduct of the Dutch plenipotentiaries be investigated.
When the Act of Seclusion shortly afterward was leaked by De Witt's clerk Van Messem, it was commonly assumed that De Witt masterminded it himself. In the 19th century, investigation of his secret correspondence appeared to show otherwise.
Nowadays, different positions are taken in this matter stemming from the suspicion that De Witt may have manipulated the writings out of fear that they might fall into the wrong hands.
When the
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...
brought
Charles II to the throne of England, the States of Holland declared that the Act of Seclusion had thereby lost its validity since the Act had been concluded with the Commonwealth, which had ceased to exist.
In 1667, De Witt and his partisans permanently barred the House of Orange from influence by the
Perpetual Edict. However, in 1672, the States of Holland revoked the Edict and made William of Orange Stadtholder.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Act Of Seclusion
1654 treaties
Treaties of the Dutch Republic
Treaties of England
Secret treaties
Legal history of the Netherlands
William III of England
1654 in the Dutch Republic
1654 in England
Dutch Republic–England relations