Jacob van den Eynde (c. 1515 – 8 or 12 March 1569) was a Dutch statesman,

Pensionary A pensionary was a name given to the leading functionary and legal adviser of the principal town corporations in the Low Countries because they received a salary or pension. History The office originated in Flanders. Initially, the role was refe ...

of the Brugse Vrije, Pensionary of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, and 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 ...

. Jacob van den Eynde was first Councilor and Pensionary of Delft. In 1560 he became Grand Pensionary of Holland. In 1568 he was accused of heresy (or heterodoxy). His property was confiscated, and he was imprisoned by order of Maximilian of Hénin-Liétard, Count of Bossu, Stadholder of Holland and Utrecht. He was transferred to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and kept in prison there while awaiting trial. Depending on the source, he died in the Treurenberg of Brussels, the Castle of

Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (, french: Vilvorde ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo ...

, or in the Koudenbergpoort before his trial even started. A year and a half after his death, he was found innocent, and his confiscated property was returned to his family. He was succeeded by

Paulus Buys Paulus Buys, '' heer van Zevenhoven and'' (from 1592) ''Capelle ter Vliet'' (1531, in Amersfoort – 4 May 1594, at Manor house, IJsselstein ) was Grand Pensionary of Holland between 1572 and 1584. Life Buys was born in a wealthy family in Amers ...

Life

Van den Eynde was the son of Hugo van den Eynde, Pensionary of Delft, and Lysbeth Jansdochter van der Sluys van Zijl (or Elisabeth van der Sluys). Van den Eynde probably spent some time abroad before becoming '' meester in de rechten''. Jacob van den Eynde first became Pensionary of the Brugse Vrije. He later followed his father, by becoming Pensionary of Delft. Van den Eynde assisted his father Hugo as Pensionary of Delft from 1544 until 1552. In this position, he took care of important matters. He was not very popular with the

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

s; nevertheless, in 1560 he became Grand Pensionary of Holland, replacing

Aert van der Goes Aert van der Goes (1475 - 1 November 1545) was a member of the House of Goes and a Dutch Grand Pensionary. He studied at the University of Leuven. Life Aert van der Goes was born in Delft, and was a lawyer and pensionary of Delft from 1508–1 ...

in that position. In 1564, Van den Eynde bought a new residence on Herenstraat, Leidschendam-Voorburg, known as the ''Huys ten Dom'', while also keeping his family house in Delft. Long after his death, the house was still called "Van den Eynde's house". The house was located on the spot where the first

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

in the

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 ...

was built in the 1850s. In the position of Grand Pensionary, Van den Eynde "rendered his homeland great service," while at the same time being favored by the Spaniards. Van den Eynde remained a Catholic all his life, upholding the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith in spite of the new religious tendencies spreading in the Netherlands. In 1567, upon request, Van den Eynde took another oath of loyalty to the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Nonetheless, Van den Eynde still opposed Spanish occupation, sought the freedom of the land, and the authority of the States. His pushing for the land's freedom, his attempts to remove Spanish soldiers from the occupied territories, and his attempt to appoint natives to the high offices; as well as the submission to the governors of the notorious

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

drafted by members of the Netherlandish lesser nobility, caused him to grow unpopular with the Spaniards, especially with Juan de Vargas and the Duke of Alba. Van den Eynde was then seized by the Spaniards, allegedly with a crafty trick. Reportedly, he was invited to dinner by

Maximilien de Hénin, 3rd Count of Bossu Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard, Count of Boussu (1542 – Antwerp, 21 December 1578) was a soldier and statesman from the Habsburg Netherlands. During the Eighty Years' War he was the royalist stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht fr ...

, seized on the spot, and, without so much time as to say goodbye to his family, taken away. He arrived in Brussels on March 20, 1568. He was first incarcerated in the ''Treurenburg'' and afterwards moved to the prison of ''Vilvoorden'', where he died in 1570, reportedly of "sadness and heartbreak." According to one author (Schinkel), Van den Eynde was imprisoned for two years; whereas according to Van Bleiswijk, he spent only one year and six weeks in Vilvoorden's dungeons. According to Van Bleyswijk, he died on March 12, 1569. Upon his death, his confiscated goods, which had already been declared forfeited, were returned to his family, following an order by Alva dated July 7, 1571.

Family

Van den Eynde was married to Elisabeth van Nieulant, or Elisabeth van Nieuwland, from

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. They had seven children together, including Jhr.

Jacob van den Eynde Jacob van den Eynde (c. 1515 – 8 or 12 March 1569) was a Dutch statesman, Pensionary of the Brugse Vrije, Pensionary of Delft, and Grand Pensionary of Holland. Jacob van den Eynde was first Councilor and Pensionary of Delft. In 1560 he became ...

, governor of Woerden. His grandson, also named Jacob, was a famous poet, Lord of

Haamstede Haamstede is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland. The village is known for Haamstede Castle. History The village was first mentioned in 1229 as Haemstede, and means "place with a ho ...

, and captain under

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van den Eynde, Jacob 1510s births 1569 deaths Year of birth uncertain 16th-century Dutch lawyers Grand Pensionaries Politicians from Delft