Glorius GoldenAge ??

The Republic of the Seven United Provinces was attacked in1672 by England, France, the bishop of Münster and ; Cologne.
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.

At the IJssel it came to a short battle that was easily won by the French. Now the whole of the Republic lay open for the French. Lower class people stood up against the government, demanded appointment of the Prince and punishment of those responsible for the war and the state of the army. The government of the regents fell, Johan de Witt and others resigned and partisans of Williams III took over. One of the first acts of William III was to strike out the word 'honourably' in the resignation of Johan de Witt.

Cornelis de Witt, the less gifted and more unpopular brother of Johan de Witt, was put in prison in The Hague. When Johan de Witt went there to visit his brother, the small cavalry security force present was sent away on the pretence of having to stop a group of marauding peasants, which were never found. Around the prison a crowd had gathered, demanding the punishment of the brothers. The prison was stormed by civil militia, the brothers were taken out, murdered by the militia members and their bodies mutilated and partly eaten by the crowd.
Most modern historians suspect that the murder of the brothers were the result of a conspiracy involving, among others, William III of Orange.