WILLIAM II succeeded his father, Frederick Henry, in the stadholdership. Able, ambitious, and restless, William disapproved of the Treaty of Münster (1648), which recognized the independence of the provinces, and would have preferred to continue the war. He soon became involved in conflict with the states-general and, by arresting some of the leaders of Holland and attacking Amsterdam itself (1650), forced the submission of the state-rights group.
John De Witt became pensionary of Holland and thereby controlled the general policy. An able statesman and adroit diplomat, he easily maintained Dutch prestige and greatness.
The Dutch prevented the entrance of the Baltic from falling into exclusively Swedish control by supporting the Danish in the Swedish-Danish War (See 1655–60).
