In 1672 was the Dutch Prime Minister really eaten by the population?

The famous painting “Witt’s brothers’ murders” shows the murder of former Dutch Prime Minister Johan of Witt and his brother Cornelius. Legend has it that its bodies have been eaten by the dissatisfied population. But was it anyway?

On display at Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of the Netherlands in Amsterdam, an oil painting 69.5 centimeters high by 56 centimeters wide shows two naked bodies, upside down, with the organs removed.

The picture is called “The murders of the Witt brothers” and was painted between 1672 and 1675 by the Dutch artist Jan de Baen (1633-1702).

For some historians, the realism of the picture is one of the origins of the narrative-possibly fantasy-that the former Dutch Prime Minister Johan de Witt (1625-1672) was devoured by an angry crowd after being lynched.

“We can see that these more realistic and surrounding representations of the human body had existed two centuries ago. [a cena] illustrates a lot more physical realism than necessarily a historical fact“The historian pointed out Victor Moniaatomember of a research group at Paulista State University (UNESP).

What is regarded as a fact is that Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelius (1623-1672). suffered a Violent death in the hands of a crowd. Linching was much more frequent [do que o canibalismo] And there are many records of this practice in Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, ”he said.

“Historically, it is possible to say that there was a lynching and that parts of Witt’s brothers’ body were cut. However, the historical records that they have eaten the parts of their bodies are unlikely. There is nothing to support this fact. It is another result of the impact of artistic representation than necessarily a historical fact. ”

A turbulent period

But what was happening in the Netherlands during these 17th century tumultuous years to trigger such a grotesque episode?

As I explained to the BBC Roberto Georg UebelProfessor of International Relations at the School of Propaganda and Marketing (ESPM), that was a “very troubled period in the Netherlands, now part of the Netherlands, which at the time was one of the few republics of the European continent.”

The son of a family of important politicians in the Dutch society of the time, Witt was a lawyer and mathematician when he assumed the position of great pension of the Republic-equivalent to the position of Prime Minister. He remained ahead of the country’s executive branch for almost two decades between 1653 and 1672.

During this period, it was registered, in parallel, “a certain weakening of the Orange-Nassau familyone of the most important and powerful real families in European history. ”

This is due to the fact that the Stadtholder -Chief Executive-From the region, Prince Guilherme II of Orange-Nassau (1626-1650), having died, leaving as only heir Guilherme III (1650-1702), a newborn.

After several disputes, Witt took powerwhile William III was raised and educated for a day to succeed to the father.

The Netherlands was undergoing major political changes. Had already won the independence of Spain [após a Guerra dos Oitenta Anos, que terminou em 1648]. This led to the first major division between Catholicism and Protestantism in Europe, after reform and counter-reform.

In the early years after independence, the Netherlands registered unprecedented economic growth. Historians also claim that the fact that the country was established as a Republic favored this development.

This promising scenario began to disturb other regions of Europe; and the Netherlands lived several conflicts throughout the seventeenth century.

Voltage and lynching

The Netherlands then lived a large war: Franco-Ollands War, who marked Witt’s rivalry with Orange-Nassau’s house and their orangist supporters.

According to the history teacher Victor Alexandrethe height of this conflict was the Witt’s refusal to return power to Orange’s houseeven with older guilherme of age.

This was the first sign of friction between Witt and other nations, such as France and England, who began to oppose the Dutch commander strongly.

“This tension between nations got worse that the French king Louis XIV ordered the invasion of the Netherlands in 1672, beginning a war between France and the United Kingdom against the Netherlands,” Alexandre explained.

It was following this war that Johan de Witt was lynched by the populationwho wanted Guilherme de Orange in power.

The two brothers eventually tried to force a peace agreement with France.

Cornelius was accused of betrayal and arrested. “In an attempt to help his brother flee, Johan de Witt was also lynched and murdered. There are reports that he and his brother were victims of post-mortem cannibalism“Says Uebel.

Officially, according to the historical reports of Dutch politics, it is known that the bodies of the Witt brothers were “only” mutilated after their death by orangist opponents and the dissatisfied population with the humiliation suffered in the Franco-Lelandesan war.

The most reliable sources that report Witt’s life and death say nothing about cannibalism. Contained, “it is undeniable that it was killed by the fury of the population, and it is very likely that the legend of a public figure being devoured by citizens spread because it reinforced the notion that the power of change was in people who demanded changes,” said Alexandre.