Reaction To What Made The Netherlands Great (Johan de Witt Speech) 

It’s a great movie to watch, for Dutch standards. With some really great actors like Rutger Hauer & Charles Dance. The movie is about the greatest admiral in Dutch, and maybe world history: Michiel de Ruyter. Johan de Witt was the leader of the Dutch Republic during that time period. It was the peak of Dutch power on the world stage, commonly known as the Dutch Golden Age. It all ended in the Disaster Year of 1672. When the combined forces of the English, French & two German states tried to invade the Netherlands. The failed, but it brought an end to the Dutch Golden Age. Great videos about the Dutch Golden Age, with English subtitles: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gxeVym3e2Lc.htmlsi=PUs4E_0aA6Vajxex About Michiel de Ruyter: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JywKL4O_ALE.htmlsi=blUToIk5Uf3h9mvF

The Dutch Republic was founded on freedom of conscience (of how to believe in god) in the 1580s, not on a republican ideology. Since the Northern Netherlands agreed about religious tolerance it became an 80-years war against the religious intolerant Spanish overlord for independence rather than a religious war like elsewhere in Europe. Freedom of thought and print, more than half of Europe's books were printed in the Dutch Republic, followed from that. The Netherlands is not still a monarchy, it became a monarchy after the Napoleontic occupation on British request. Monarchy and monarchists were out of the question because of legitimacy and the divine right of kings. The founders of the Dutch Republic hadn't declared the king, Philip II of Spain, illigetemate nor monarchy in general, but they claimed inalienable rights and the rigt of the people to resist a tyrant. Philip II was declared to have left the throne himself by becoming a tyrant, a legal bypass that was kind of repeated to take the English throne in 1688 by Willem III of Orange. So the Orangists were not really monarchists. Orangists would be the "Prince minded" vs the "Staten-minded". The "Staten" was the name for the Dutch parliaments of each of the 7 Netherlands/provinces. Those wanted the Dutch Republic as a loose federation, resulting in the richest and most powerful Holland province calling the shots mostly, allthough there was a united parliement too called the Staten-Generaal. DeWitt was the de facto leader of the whole Dutch Republic but very much from and for Holland. The prince minded wanted a stadtholder (steward), traditonally a male of the Orange Nassua family and therefore prince in title of the principality of Orange in Southern France, so not a Dutch prince. It would mean a kind of hybrid republic though, with inheretance playing a role in state affairs. The stadtholder was a unifying figure for the republic and commander of the army, while Holland was reliant on the navy and didn't have to fear land invasions. This clip is from the first stadholderless era, the most republican era with DeWitt, a brilliant mind from a family of woodstackers, calling it the true freedom, a meritocracy without these nobles with their inhereted offices interfering, allthough the stadtholder was appointed by the Staten and not born into that job. The Dutch Republic was so powerful at this time that there was little dimplomatic gain in having a noble for foreing monarchies to deal with. The neglect of DeWitt in defending the dry parts of the republic would cost him his life later on, when the Dutch Republic came a the brink of annihilation in 1672. The Orangists won in that sense, Willem III was appointed stadtholder and to prevent England, France and Germans teaming up against the Dutch Republic ever again, the Staten decided to invade England and let Willem take the throne and turn it into a lasting ally. Allthough he modernized Britain into a proper rival in trade, the Dutch Republic during DeWitt's reign was ridiculously modern for it's time and world changing too. Britain became much more like the then Orangist Dutch Republic with the current constitutional monarchy and bill of rights as the direct result of the invasion.

It is a really great movie! And the timeperiod should also be extra interesting to you, as the film focuses on the war between England and the Republic of the Netherlands, it also features Willem van Oranje III, who was also the king of England, Scotland and Ireland for a period of time. Go watch it when you can, it is an excellent historical drama-action movie. I believe the movie is also viewable under the English title 'The Admiral' :).

Both Johan de Witt and WIlliam III were great men. De Witt led the United Provinces between 1650 and 1672. During this time UP was at his richest. He was finished off by a combined attack by France, England, Cologne and Münster, after which the prince of Orange WIlliam III took over until 1702.

It is a very good movie about Michiel de Ruyter, his attack on the English navies fleet at Medway and Disaster year 1672. The young republic was attack from all sides, people were afraid and very angry at Johan and Cornelius De Wit. An angry mob ended there lives in a horrific way, they were slain. It happened very close to the official goverment building that is still in use today. A cutoff tonque and finger are still on display in The Haque. ps. Throughout Dutch history freedom is something every Dutchman holds dear to there hearts. This goes back to the viking age when Charlemagne wanted to control the Netherlands. The Frisians (north netherlands) did not like thar idea, they travelled to Rome, kidnapped the Pope and demanded there own freedom.

Spoiler alert: Johan de Witt got cannibalised by an orangist mob.

I do believe this speech does paint the characteristics of the Dutch. There have been forces that tried to change this and even today forces like that are at work. But I have reason to hope and believe that those deeply rooted believes and mentality will survive the tides of time. It has become part of our DNA. It would be good to watch and listen to this speech every couple of years to remind us who we really are.

Watching this makes me proud to be dutch

My Dutch relatives set sail for America at this time.

why is the video all stretchy, kind of annoying to watch along like that

What i don't get.. Is why you have not moved here yet. I mean you make a lot of dutch related content. And you praise our country often for its qualities. So why not move here ?

If you want a 80 years war song from the netherlands that gets the dutch patriotic blood pumping, check out the song called "Merck toch hoe sterck". Translation: "Notice how strong/powerful"

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The problem is that it's fictional. He did'nt make this speech but when you combine his speeches together it makes sence. This is what he beleived. And about Great Brittain, they lost what power they had when they voted for Brexit. The biggest mistake in its history.

6:31 Orangist (prinsgezinden) were in favour of the orange family, which later became the royal family. 'Republicans' (not my favourite translation of staatsgezinden) were in favour of the aristocrats and wanted to get rid of the Orange family. Republicans does not make any sense, since non of above wanted to get rid of the Republic, they had a dispute about the position of the nobility (especially the prince of Orange as leader of the army with a habit of trying to gain power) and the faith in the Republic. The 'republicans' were in favour of free trade, used a less strict interpretation of the bible and preferred to limit the power of the nobility in favour of the aristocracy (themselves), the orangists were tougher on the faith wanting their strict interpretation of the bible to be the faith of the state, wanted more money to be invested into the army and more power to be given to the Prince. The kingdom was found in the 19th century.

In all honesty... This movie can be put on show in any educational environment on a lot of different classes, not just as a history movie..

The Orangists (Oranjegezinden) where the monarchists of that time.

And then we ate him

YES I have seen the movie as a dutch person but the bit about the vicinity of the mudser of the Witt;s end of De Ruyter in the movie were bad a s shyte portrayed.

I am Dutch and watched this clip so many times. I always get goosebumps of pride and tears in my eyes. Also because that Netherlands is gone. Like every European country we have lots of migrants. And that erodes the identity of a country. In our cities you can only speak English. I am proud of our history, not with our present.

Idk i always say what i want Never had any problems

Aaaaand then England and France invaded us, and we ate de Witt. 😅

Even more proud after seen this video 😊😊

Didn’t he got eaten and torn apart ? 😅

Although its a fictional speech, it where words told in parlement at the time of the Spanish ruler. I dont see as much regression in freedom of speech in the Netherlands as in the UK. But.. we see political differences in policing and freedom today. The (far) left wing is free'er then the (far) right. It worrys me.

The "Prince of Orange" was the first elected king in the Netherlands. At that time, they had an issue between orangists and republicans (a bit like the issues in France with Napoleon). Some people thought the king had too much "power", so they gave him a ceremonial role instead, while others wanted the king to rule the country. Nowadays, the king represents the "voice of the people" and is part of the "checks and balances". With a republic, you can replace the premier if you don't like his style. But nothing prevents that person from pushing his political agenda and becoming a dictator. With this setup, if the king does not agree with something, the prime minister has to convince the king to sign the paperwork. So, the parliament is republican, but the head of state is a monarchy.

Yes we are a proud people. Shame the extreme right won the elections recently. When the war in Ukraine started I felt like I wanted to go fight there, but my kids need me here, my people need me here, but when the Russian Nazi's come too close, I will fight, I already have PTSD, so I have no fear to die for my country.

The republicans in the 17th century were the traders, big navy, small army, new money, rich people. The orangists were in favor of a more authoritarian state, an King with a large army, and were supported by old money and the "ordinary" people.

Were the actor says Dutch or Netherlands he means The 7 provinces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (1579 to 1795), being Groningen, Friesland, Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, Holland ( North + South) and Zeeland or the protestant people of those provinces. Catholics and Jews were systematically and officially discriminated by the Dutch Republic government until Napolean arrived at the start of the 19th century. Jews got civil rights at the end of the end of the 19th century. Relationships between christians and jews was criminalized in the Dutch Republic and people got jailed. Churches were taken from the catholics (given back in 1811) and they were forbiden to worship. Up to this day you can visit clandestine churches in several Dutch cities. The army of the republic regularly plundered towns and villages in catholic Brabant and Limbug.

There are royalists and democrates. So now we have a King, that has not much to say about government and two parlements that rule.