Hendrick Danielsz Slatius ( Oosterland, 1585 –

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 ...

, 5 May 1623; also known as: Hendrik Slaet, Henricus Slatius) was a

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...

preacher and writer. He participated in a foiled plot to murder

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 ...

Education

Slatius at one time intended to be sent to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

as a preacher in the service of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

(VOC). In 1603, the Heren XVII (board of directors of the VOC) "ordered that enquiries be made for two suitable and qualified persons to carry God's word, and from the Scriptures to exhort folk against all superstition and the seduction of Moors and Atheists". However, in the period before the foundation of the Indian Seminary in 1622, the company continued to struggle to interest competent and willing persons. Slatius was the first with whom a contract was signed in 1606. This stipulated, among other things, that the company would pay his theology studies at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

and that he would then leave for the Dutch East Indies in the service of the VOC. During his final exam in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

, concerns were raised against Slatius because he was a proponent of

Arminianism Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...

based on the ideas of

Jacobus Arminius Jacobus Arminius (10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609), the Latinized name of Jakob Hermanszoon, was a Dutch theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views became the basis of Arminianism and the Dutch Remonstrant movement. He ...

. He then took the exam in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, where he passed but was advised to conform to the ideas of Gomarus. Slatius eventually decided not to go to the East.

Ministry and publications

Slatius became a minister in

Bleiswijk Bleiswijk () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Demographics The municipality had a population of 10,222 in 2006, and covered an area of 21.96 km² (8.48 mile²) of which 0.83&nb ...

, outspokenly propounding

Remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...

doctrine. After the

Synod of Dordrecht The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The firs ...

, he was removed from office, after which he fled to

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,

. He published several works from Antwerp.

Plot and betrayal

As a result of a power-struggle between Prince Maurice and

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 ...

, Oldenbarnevelt was put to death in 1619. Deeply alienated by this, Slatius and others, including Oldenbarnevelt's sons

Willem Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gui ...

and

Reinier Reinier is the Dutch form of the Germanic masculine given name ''Raginheri'', composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army"). It is equivalent to Scandinavian ''Ragnar'', German '' Rainer'', French '' Rainier'', and Spanis ...

, plotted an attempt on Prince Maurice's life. In 1623 Slatius provided the weapons that would be used in the attack.

Claes Michielsz Bontenbal Claes Michielsz Bontenbal, also known as Klaas Bontebal, (1575 – July 3, 1623) was secretary of Zevenhuizen. He was involved in a conspiracy against Maurice of Orange and was beheaded for his part in the conspiracy. The conspiracy In 1622, ...

, secretary of Zevenhuizen, contributed to the financing. The plot was betrayed and Slatius fled. He disguised himself in peasant clothes and travelled via

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

, intending to escape to Germany. A reward of four thousand guilders was offered for his capture. He was apprehended at an inn in

Rolde Rolde () is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. Located in the municipality of Aa en Hunze, it lies about 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Assen. In 2021, Rolde had a population of 3,905. History Rolde was a separate municipality until 1998, wh ...

. Worried by the presence of soldiers, he paid for his meal, but left a full jug of beer untouched. This raised suspicion among the soldiers, who followed and arrested him. Slatius was brought to

via

Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In Augu ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

and

Imprisonment and execution

During his imprisonment, Slatius tried to avoid the death penalty by distancing himself from his Remonstrant views. When this hope turned out to be vain, he revoked his recantation. He was sentenced to death. In his farewell letter to his wife, he wrote: "My soul is abhors the

Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

". He also instructed her to give the children a Christian education, and to show them the evils of Calvinism. Prior to execution he was held in the

Gevangenpoort The Gevangenpoort (''Prisoner's Gate'') is a former gate and medieval prison on the Buitenhof in The Hague, Netherlands. It is situated next to the 18th-century art gallery founded by William V, Prince of Orange in 1774 known as the ''Prince Will ...

. The artist

Claes Jansz Visscher Claes Janszoon Visscher (1587 – 19 June 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age draughtsman, engraver, mapmaker, and publisher. He was the founder of the successful Visscher family mapmaking business. The firm that he established in Amsterdam would be p ...

(1587–1652), a strict Calvinist, engraved a print showing the imprisoned pastor Slatius, dressed in peasant clothes and chained hand and foot.

Education

Ministry and publications

Plot and betrayal

Imprisonment and execution

Notes and references

Citations

Further reading