The rampjaar ("disaster year") was the year 1672 in Dutch history. In that year, the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was attacked by England, France, Münster and Cologne. These invasions started the Franco-Dutch War. A French army surprisingly by-passed the major southern fortress towns of Maastricht, 's-Hertogenbosch and Breda, defeated the unprepared Dutch field army and then intimidated the cities of the central provinces of Gueldria, Overijssel en Utrecht into an immediate surrender. As a result the cities of the remaining coastal provinces of Holland, Zealand and Frisia panicked and the city governments were taken over by Orangists, opposed to the republican regime of the Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt. A famous Dutch saying describes the condition of the Republic at that moment as itself reddeloos (beyond salvation), its government radeloos (out of its wits) and its population redeloos (beyond reason). Events England, France, Munster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is know as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands. ... The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis, completed in 1661 by Rembrandt, the best-known painter of the Dutch Golden Age. ... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Münster is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north of the state. ... Köln redirects here. ... The Dutch War (1672–1678) was a war fought between France and a quadruple alliance consisting of Brandenburg, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and the United Provinces. ... Flag of Maastricht. ... s-Hertogenbosch (literally The Dukes Forest in Dutch; translated in French as Bois-le-Duc), unofficially also called Den Bosch, is a municipality in the Netherlands, the capital of the province of North Brabant. ... Grote Kerk (main church) or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our Lady) Breda ( (help· info)) is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. ... Capital Arnhem Queens Commissioner Clemens Cornielje Religion (1999) Protestant 31% Catholic 29% Area  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water   4,975 km² (1st) 161 km² Population (2005)  â€¢ Total  â€¢ Density 1,970,865 (4th) 393/km² (6th) Inclusion {{{inclusion}}} Anthem Ons Gelderland ISO NL-GE Official website www. ... Flag of Overijssel Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. ... Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands, and is located in the center of the country. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... Satellite view of the German Bight (the Frisian Coast). ... The Grand Pensionary was the most important official during the time of the United Provinces. ... Johan de Witt (September 24, 1625, Dordrecht - August 20, 1672, The Hague) was a significant Dutch political figure. ...

During the rampjaar, William III of Orange was appointed Stadtholder and the brothers Johan de Witt and Cornelis de Witt were assassinated by an Orange-loving crowd. According to the traditional account, fabricated just after the events, William III did not instigate it; he was away on business, though his absence certainly put Johan de Witt in danger. He was supposedly infuriated by the act, but because of the number of guilty persons, and the difficulties of the war during 1672, he did not bring the murderers to justice. He was reconciled to De Witt before he left The Hague. Today it is known that the murder was not spontaneous but carefully planned, which makes William's departure seem a bit too convenient not to be suspicious: most historians today consider it likely he was at least informed of the conspiration and went along with it. William III King of England, Scotland and Ireland William III and II (14 November 1650–8 March 1702; also known as William Henry and William of Orange) was Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11... A stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder meaning place holder, a Germanic parallel to Latin locum tenens or French lieutenant), means an official who is appointed by the legal ruling Monarch to represent him in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in his name, in the latter case roughly... Cornelis, or Cornelius de Witt (1623-1672) was a Dutch statesman. ... This is an incomplete list of persons that were assassinated for political and other reasons, and who have individual entries. ... Arms of The Hague Flag of The city of The Hague. ...

Louis XIV and Charles II of England had intended that William became stadtholder as head of a rump state, a joint protectorate (with the British occupying key Hollandic cities and the isle of Walcheren) and Louis halted his army to allow the Orangists to take over Holland and come to an arrangement with him. He offered the Dutch peace in exchange for either the southern fortresses, religious freedom for Catholics and six million guilders or his keeping his present conquests and sixteen million guilders. These demands, especially the financial part of them, led to an outrage however and the Dutch mood abruptly changed from defaitism to a dogged determination to resist the French. While the negotiations took place, the French had failed to prevent the Dutch from starting to inundate the Dutch Water Line and before they came to understand the nature and importance of this defence system their further advance was blocked by an impassable water and mud barrier. Louis XIV King of France and Navarre By Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701) Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638–September 1, 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion or military occupation. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Satellite image of the Scheldt estuary Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. ... // The Dutch Water Line was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau and realised by his half brother Fredrick Henry. ...

The experience of the Rampjaar had a considerable influence of the Dutch decision seventeen years later (1689) to mobilise their full resources in order to invade Britain and overthrow the Catholic Stuart Dynasty (The Glorious Revolution) - a decision which involved a major gamble whose magnitude is not fully appreciated since it paid off. It was considered worthwhile since after the Rampjaar the possibility of a Catholic- and French-dominated Britain was regarded as a mortal threat to the Netherlands. Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ... Stuart may be: a surname a male first name An alternative spelling is Stewart. ... The Glorious Revolution (1688-1689), also known as the bloodless revolution, is an event in which the Stuart king James II (James VII of Scotland) was removed from his thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, and replaced by William of the House of Orange and his wife and joint sovereign...

Reference

• Bowen, Marjorie. The William and Mary Trilogy, Vol. 1: I Will Maintain. Alberta: Inheritance Publications, 1993. pp. 353–359, 382.