The Witten-Oorlog (Witts War) was a 1750s pamphlet war between the Dutch historian

Jan Wagenaar Jan Wagenaar (25 October 1709 – 1 March 1773) was a Dutch historian, best known for his contributions to ''Tegenwoordige staat van nederland'' and ''Vaderlandsche Historie''. Biography Wagenaar was born in Amsterdam to a Mennonite master ...

and the Dutch lawyer and book-seller

Elie Luzac Elie Luzac (19 October 1721 in Noordwijk – 11 May 1796 in Leiden) was a Dutch jurist, journalist, writer of philosophical, historical and political literature, and book-seller, who was considered an important ideologue of the "democratic wing" ...

Topics of the historical and political dispute

The main subject was whether or not the Witt brothers' execution by the people was justified and whether or not they were enemies of the state. Specifically, the pamphleteers disagreed on the wisdom of the

Act of Seclusion The Act of Seclusion was an Act of the States of Holland, required by a secret annex in the Treaty of Westminster (1654) between the United Provinces and the Commonwealth of England in which William III, Prince of Orange, was excluded from the ...

, 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 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 ...

Subtext of the dispute

The historian

Pieter Geyl Pieter Catharinus Arie Geyl (15 December 1887, Dordrecht – 31 December 1966, Utrecht) was a Dutch historian, well known for his studies in early modern Dutch history and in historiography. Background Geyl was born in Dordrecht and graduated ...

claimed that the true cause of the argument was based on the restoration of the government in 1748 and Wagenaar's freshly written history of Johan de Witt in 1749. A book was written about the subject in 1757, by which time the tempers had calmed down, though the parties had never agreed.

Alleged allegorical depiction

It has been speculated that the white text that was painted onto the painting by

Jan Asselijn Jan Asselijn (c.1610 – October 1, 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Asselijn was born at Dieppe from a French Huguenot family as ''Jean Asselin''. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde (1587–1630), and distingu ...

known as ''

The Threatened Swan ''The Threatened Swan'' ( nl, De bedreigde zwaan)The Threatened Swan, Jan As ...

'' was done in this period.''De inrichting van de Nationale Konst-Gallery in het openingsjaar 1800'', by

Pieter J.J. van Thiel Pieter J.J. van Thiel (1928–2012) was a Dutch art historian known mostly as one of the founders of the Rembrandt Research Project. From 1964-1991 he was director of the department of paintings at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, where he took over fro ...

, Oud Holland, Vol. 95, No. 4 (1981), page 173 The painting, which supposedly symbolizes Johan de Witt as a white swan protecting his country's eggs from an Orangist dog, was purchased for the Nationale Konst-Gallery in The Hague in 1800 based on its allegorical reference, but only later did visitors point out that the painter had died long before the murder of the De Witt brothers took place.

References

{{Authority control 1750s in the Dutch Republic 1750s in politics Pamphlets Political debates William III of England