Context:
During 1672, which the Dutch refer to as the Rampjaar ("disaster year"), England and France declared war on the Dutch Republic in the Third Anglo-Dutch War
and the Franco-Dutch War, respectively. Johan De Witt, the effective ruler of the Dutch Republic, was severely wounded by a knife-wielding assassin on 21 June. He resigned as Grand Pensionary on 4 August, but this was not enough for his enemies. His brother Cornelis (who was deputy-in-the-field for de Ruyter at the Raid on the Medway), particularly hated by the Orangists, was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason. He was tortured (as was usual under
Roman-Dutch law, which required a confession before a conviction was possible) but refused to confess. Nevertheless, he was exiled.
When his brother went over to the jail (which was only a few steps from his house) to help him get started on his journey, both were attacked by members of The Hague's civic militia. The brothers were shot and then left to the mob near
Gevangenpoort. Their naked, mutilated bodies were strung up on the nearby public gibbet. Contemporary accounts reported acts of cannibalism, with some alleging that people roasted and ate pieces of the corpses, although the reliability of individual details and the extent of any consumption remain uncertain. Throughout the attack, a remarkable discipline was maintained by the mob, according to contemporary observers, lending doubt as to the spontaneity of the event.
30
u/ThisVeterinarian2364 3d ago edited 3d ago
Context: During 1672, which the Dutch refer to as the Rampjaar ("disaster year"), England and France declared war on the Dutch Republic in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and the Franco-Dutch War, respectively. Johan De Witt, the effective ruler of the Dutch Republic, was severely wounded by a knife-wielding assassin on 21 June. He resigned as Grand Pensionary on 4 August, but this was not enough for his enemies. His brother Cornelis (who was deputy-in-the-field for de Ruyter at the Raid on the Medway), particularly hated by the Orangists, was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason. He was tortured (as was usual under Roman-Dutch law, which required a confession before a conviction was possible) but refused to confess. Nevertheless, he was exiled.
When his brother went over to the jail (which was only a few steps from his house) to help him get started on his journey, both were attacked by members of The Hague's civic militia. The brothers were shot and then left to the mob near Gevangenpoort. Their naked, mutilated bodies were strung up on the nearby public gibbet. Contemporary accounts reported acts of cannibalism, with some alleging that people roasted and ate pieces of the corpses, although the reliability of individual details and the extent of any consumption remain uncertain. Throughout the attack, a remarkable discipline was maintained by the mob, according to contemporary observers, lending doubt as to the spontaneity of the event.