The Perpetual Edict abolished the Stadtholder office in Holland, barring the House of Orange from consolidating military and civil power in the Dutch Republic.
Key Facts
- Date passed
- 5 August 1667
- Issuing body
- States of Holland
- Office abolished
- Stadtholder of Holland
- Target of exclusion
- William III, Prince of Orange
- Predecessor act
- Act of Seclusion (1654), revoked 1660
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Act of Seclusion of 1654 had attempted to bar the House of Orange from the Stadtholder office, but its revocation in 1660 left the position open again. Dutch republican leaders, led by Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, sought a new legal mechanism to prevent William III of Orange from ascending to power in Holland.
On 5 August 1667, the States of Holland passed the Perpetual Edict, formally abolishing the office of Stadtholder within the province of Holland. Simultaneously, a majority of provinces in the States General declared the Stadtholder office incompatible with that of Captain General of the Dutch Republic, severing the link between civil and military command.
The edict temporarily consolidated republican governance in the Dutch Republic by excluding William III from the highest provincial office. However, the measure proved short-lived: following the French invasion of 1672, public pressure and political crisis led to its annulment, and William III was appointed Stadtholder of Holland later that year.
Political Outcome
The Stadtholder office in Holland was abolished and declared incompatible with the Captain Generalship, excluding the House of Orange from combined civil-military leadership.
Stadtholder office open to the House of Orange following the revocation of the Act of Seclusion in 1660
Stadtholder office abolished in Holland; Stadtholder and Captain General roles declared incompatible across the Republic