- Andries Bicker
Andries Bicker (Amsterdam, 1586 - Amsterdam?,
24 June 1652 ) was a wealthy merchant onMoscovia , a member of thevroedschap , the leader of theArminians , an administrator of the VOC, representative of theStates-General of the Netherlands and colonel in the Civic guard. [Kruizinga, J.H. (1986) De westelijke eilanden van Amsterdam, p. 17.]The Bicker family, consisting of Andries' father Gerrit, a grain merchant and beer brewer, and his three brothers, Jacob, Jan and Cornelis, had a firm grip on world trade, trading on the East, the West, the North and the Mediterranean. (His uncle Laurens Bicker was one of the first to trade on Guinea and seized four Portuguese ships in 1604). In 1646, seven members of the Bicker family, called the Bicker's league, simultaneously held some political position or other. The Bickers provided silver and ships to Spain, and were very much interested in ending the
Eighty Years War . This brought them in conflict with thestadholder , some provinces, likeZeeland and Utrecht, and theReformed preachers. [Israel, J. (1995) The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806. Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 545.]Life
Andries became a member of the vroedschap in 1616, in 1620
schepen of Amsterdam and in 1627, just over forty,mayor of Amsterdam . He came to the fore through his knowledge and moderation. In 1627, he was delegated to go to Sweden and Poland, to close negotiations between these two countries, mediate a peace (culminating in theTreaty of Sztumska Wieś ) and at the same time set up new Baltic trade agreements. In 1631 he was the owner of a few plots in "Spanderswoud" in's-Graveland , the site where now the fineTrompenburgh house stands. The Bicker family also had concerns in peat-digging inDrenthe .At the solemn entry of
Maria de Medici into Amsterdam in 1638, he andAlbert Burgh welcomed her in the name of the city's government. In 1643, he went withJacob de Witt to Sweden to mediate between Sweden and Denmark. [Oosthoek's geïllustreerde Encyclopaedie (1917).] Andries Bicker opposed thestadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange , who intended the centralize the five admiralties, which would cause theAdmiralty of Amsterdam to lose influence. [Burke, P. (1974) Venice and Amsterdam. London: Temple Smith, p. 59? ]After the
Peace of Münster was signed, Bicker was of the opinion that it was no longer necessary to maintain was a standing army, bringing him into vehement conflict with prince Willem II [Israel, J. (1995) The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806. p. 602. ] , who had succeeded his father Frederick Henry as stadtholder. To regain power William went on the march towards Dordrecht and Amsterdam with an army. His troops got lost in a dense fog and were discovered by the postal courier on Hamburg, who also warned Andries' son Gerard, the high bailiff ofMuiden , to leave without delay for Amsterdam. The mayors of Amsterdam had the civic guard called out, the bridges raised, the gates closed and the artillery dragged into position.Andries Bicker was purged from the
vroedschap , as was his brother Cornelis, as one of the conditions of the treaty that followed, led by Joan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen. [Israel, J. (1995) The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806, p. 607. ] Henceforth, it was the equally republican-minded brothers De Graeff, and their following, who dominated Amsterdam. [Israel, J. (1995) The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806, p. 704. ] His nieceWendela Bicker married the powerful raadspensionarisJohan de Witt . [Panhuysen, L. (2005) De Ware Vrijheid, De levens van Johan en Cornelis de Witt. p. 181-183. ]ources
External links
* [http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/SK-C-393?lang=en&context_space=&context_id= Captain Bicker's Company by
Joachim von Sandrart ]
* [http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/zoeken/asset.jsp?id=SK-A-147&lang=nl Famous portrait of his son Gerard Bicker by Van der Helst]
* [http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2006/01/dutch-voyage-to-brazil-guinea-and.html Pictures of Dutch voyage to Guinea, Argentina and Brazil]
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