Cornelis van Aerssen (also ''Aerssen'', ''Aersen'', ''Aarsens'') (1545 - 22 March 1627) was a statesman in
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 ...
.
Van Aerssen was born in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, . From 1611 he was ''Heer van Spijk'' (Lord of Spijk, sometimes spelt Spyck) and was the father of
Frans van Aarsens
Baron Francis van Aarssens or Baron François van Aerssen (27 September 1572 - 27 December 1641), from 1611 on lord of Sommelsdijk, was a diplomat and statesman of the United Provinces.
Biography
He was born in Brussels, the son of Cornelis van ...
. For many years, he was ''registrat'' to the
States-General. He died 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 ...
.
He was almost certainly the son of an Antwerp courtier, who was favoured by the court at Brussels. Von Aerssen himself in 1574 entered office as a city secretary of Brussels. In the following year he was appointed the pensioner of the city. Although in religious matters he was known as a tolerant man, he was against a reconciliation with Philip II of Spain.
Von Aerssen travelled often, and on the day of the murder of William of the Silent, he was also in Den Haag.
In 1584 he was sent with other delegates to France. The goal of this delegation was to negotiate with the French king Henry IV over the sovereignty of Dutch Republic. Cornelis van Aerssen was in the same year appointed an official of the Dutch Estates-General, but continued to live in Brussels, which raised the suspicion that he was plotting with the Spanish. He played a leading role in the Orange-reformed party. When the Spanish general
Francisco de Mendoza
Francisco López de Mendoza y Mendoza (Granada, 1547 – Madrid, 1 March 1623), in the literature often simply referred to as Francisco de Mendoza, was a Spanish nobleman, diplomat, general, and eventually bishop, who briefly played an important r ...
was in Woerden and Den Haag as a Dutch prisoner after the
Battle of Nieuwpoort
The Battle of Nieuwpoort, was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. The Anglo-Dutch companies met the Spanish veterans head on which, although their left flank nearly broke, we ...
, and wanted to start peace negotiations, Van Aerssen was named a Dutch representative alongside the
Land's Advocate of Holland
The Lands’ Advocate ( nl, landsadvocaat) of Holland acted as the Chairperson, Chairman of the States of Holland. The office started in the early 14th century and ended in 1619, when the title was renamed into Grand Pensionary. He was the speake ...
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for indepen ...
and the Franciscan Johan Meyen sent by Archduke Albrecht. Van Aerssen negotiated with the Spanish envoy, and on 4 May 1602 agreed an 8-month cease-fire. Oldenbarnevelt, at the head of the party aiming for peace, welcomed this, as he feared the growing power of the Dutch Stadtholder
Maurice, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
.
''This article incorporates content fro
Joseph Thomas's Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology a text in the public domain''
1545 births
1627 deaths
Dutch politicians
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)
Politicians from Antwerp
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