Barthold van Gent

Barthold van Gent

Barthold van Gent (* before 1575 ; † September 22, 1650 ) was envoy for the province of Gelderland and spokesman for the Dutch legation at the Westphalian peace negotiations in Münster and Osnabrück.

Life

Origin and family

Barthold van Gent was born the son of Cornelis van Gent († 1614, Councilor of Gelderland) and his wife Christina Pannekoeck (1557–1595). In 1617 he married Elisabeth van Giessen (1580–1668). The marriage resulted in five children.

Career and work

Barthold studied at the University of Leiden and in 1614 was a member of the knighthood of Nijmegen . In 1625 he was councilor and arithmetic master of the province of Gelderland and six years later he was bailiff of the Geldrischen communities Bommelerwaard, Tielerwaard and Bommel. As a deputy of the Geldrian knighthood, he was a member of the States General and was considered a follower of the governor Friedrich Heinrich von Orange . Towards the end of 1643 he was appointed envoy to the Westphalian peace negotiations by the province of Gelderland . Barthold chaired the legation and was its spokesman. With his six-member delegation, he signed a contract with the French on March 1, 1644, which excluded a separate peace with Spain. This was seen in connection with the Spanish-Dutch War . The Krameramtshaus Münster was the residence of the Dutch representation, which was one hundred strong at times. Barthold was a skilled diplomat. In this way he managed to balance the conflicting interests, which ultimately led to peace. With the Peace of Munster , which was concluded as part of the peace negotiations on the Peace of Westphalia , the Netherlands received complete sovereignty and thus separation from the Holy Roman Empire .

See also

List of envoys to the Peace of Westphalia

literature

• Heinz Duchhardt , Gerd Dethlefs, Hermann Queckenstedt: ... to an everlasting memory. The peace halls in Münster and Osnabrück. Series Osnabrücker Kulturdenkmäler, Vol. 8, Bramsche 1996, ISBN 3-930595-83-4 .

Web links

• Barthold van Gent Short biography on the Internet portal "Westphalian History"