Anthonie Heinsius

Dutch statesman, born in Delft, W Netherlands. He became Pensionary of Delft (1679) and from 1689 until his death was Grand Pensionary of Holland. He was a close associate of William III of Orange and his envoy in France in 1682. After William's death he continued his policies and opposed the English expansion of the War of the Spanish Succession. He did not foresee the fall of Marlborough and England's approchement to France at the expense of the Dutch in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which put a brake on Louis XIV's ambitions, but marked the end of the Republic's role as a great power. His interest in foreign policy also led him to ignore finance, so that he left the exchequer in a bad state.

Anthonie (or Antonius) Heinsius (November 22, 1641, Delft - August 3, 1720, The Hague) was a Dutch statesman who served as Grand Pensionary of Holland from 1689 to 1720.

In 1679 he became pensionary for Delft in the States of Holland and in 1687 he became a member of the board of the Delft chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

In 1682 he was appointed special negotiator to France by stadholder William III of Orange.

He became Grand Pensionary of the States of Holland (and thereby the most powerful man in the States General of the Netherlands) on May 27, 1689 when William III became king of England and had to move to London.

Preceded by: Michiel ten Hove

Grand Pensionary of Holland 1689–1720

Succeeded by: Isaac van Hoornbeek

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopaedia.