Cornelis van Aerssen (politician, 1545)

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Cornelis van Aerssen, painted by Michiel van Mierevelt (1597?)

Cornelis van Aerssen (* 1545 in Antwerp , † March 22, 1627 in The Hague ), Herr von Spijk (from 1611), was a Dutch statesman, diplomat and lawyer .

life and work

According to Bijleveld, Cornelis van Aerssen was almost certainly the son of an Antwerp courtier who was in the favor of the Brussels court. Van Aerssen himself took office as City Secretary of Brussels in 1574 . The following year he was appointed the city's pensioner . Although he was considered a tolerant man in religious matters, he was against a reconciliation with Philip II of Spain .

Cornelis van Aerssen was often traveling; He was also present in The Hague on the day of the murder of William of Orange . Van Aerssen made the legendary last words of Orange public: "Heere Godt weest mijn siele, end dit poor people ghenadich."

In 1584 he was sent to France together with other deputies . The aim of this mission was to establish a positive negotiation with the French King Henry IV on the sovereignty of the Dutch Republic. In the same year Cornelis van Aerssen was named Griffier of the Dutch States General , but he continued to live in Brussels, which brought him suspicion of conspiracy with the Spanish. From then on he played a leading role in the oranisch - reformed party. When the Spanish admiral Francisco de Mendoza stayed as a Dutch prisoner in Woerden and The Hague after the battle of Nieuport and tried to initiate peace negotiations on this occasion, van Aerssen was next to the Dutch counselor Johan van Oldenbarnevelt and the Franciscan Johan Meyen sent by Archduke Albrecht Dutch negotiator has been appointed. Van Aerssen negotiated with the Spanish ambassadors in Billo, where he was able to agree on an 8-month armistice on May 4, 1602. Oldenbarnevelt, at the head of the party leaning towards peace, received this positively because he feared the growing power of the Dutch governor Moritz von Oranien-Nassaus . In this power struggle between Oldenbarnevelt and Moritz von Oranien, which was increasingly intense, van Aerssen was drawn to the side of the Prince of Orange by the policies of his son François van Aerssen , one of the Oldenbarnevelt's fierce opponents, which gave him an ambiguous position.

Even Robert Dudley was dependent on van Aerssens advice. Van Aerssen was subsequently suspected of having acted as an intermediary for unfair deals. The rumor of corruption arose against him, which could not be appeased by a declaration by Oldenbarnevelt in the States General and the public return of the gifts to an envoy in Brussels. Notwithstanding his defense by Oldenbarnevelt, Cornelis van Aerssen was one of his most violent accusers. He also accused Johan van Oldenbarnevelt of political interaction with the Spaniards. In 1623 van Aerssen said goodbye to politics in the Hague.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bijleveld, WJJC (1949) Opmerkingen over de geslachten, treated in het Nederland's Adelsboek . The Hague: Van Stockum (nl) (PDF; 8.8 MB)

literature

personal data
SURNAME Aerssen, Cornelis van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aerssen, Cornelis von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch statesman and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH 1545
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 1627
Place of death The hague