Andries Bicker (14 September 1586 – 24 June 1652) was a prominent burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam, politician and diplomat in the Dutch Republic. He belonged to the Bicker family, who, together with the related De Graeff family, ruled the city of Amsterdam and thus the province of Holland for about half a century. At that time, the Republic was at the height of its power.P.J. Blok and P.C. Molhuysen (1937), "Andries Bicker", Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek, Part 10
At the end of the Twelve Years' Truce he became a member of the city council and the leader of the Bickerse faction, after Reynier Pauw's political end in 1620. Then the management of the Amsterdam city council fell into the hands of the tolerant Bicker and his uncle Jacob Dircksz de Graeff.Eelco Beukers, Geschiedenis van Holland, Volume 2, Book 2 This also gave new impetus to the republican States faction, which had been weakened since the assassination of Land's Advocate Johan van Oldenbarnevelt.Jonathan I. Israel (1995), The Dutch Republic – Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall – 1477–1806. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p 494.
Andries Bicker, the leader of the so called "Bickerse league", was considered one of the strongest political adversaries of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange,Hielke van Nieuwenhuize (2022), Seefahrer in schwedischen Diensten: Seeschifffahrt und Technologietransfer im 17. Jahrhundert, p. 232 and controlled Dutch foreign policy. He, together with his brother Cornelis Bicker"Andries and Cornelis Bicker", Letterkundig woordenboek voor Noord en Zuid and cousin Cornelis de Graeff, portrayed as Bicker-De Graeff clan, was one of the main initiators of Peace of Münster effectively bringing an end to the Eighty Years' War.Geert Mak (1999), Amsterdam: a brief life of the city. Harvill Press, p. 123.Y. Kuiper, Ben Olde Meierink, Elyze Storms-Smeets, eds. (2015), Buitenplaatsen in de Gouden Eeuw: De rijkdom van het buitenleven in de Republik. p. 71.
Political career Beginning
Andries Bicker grew up at Lange Niezel.Lange Niezel 22 His father Gerrit Bicker owned a brewery at Grimburgwal and was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company. Andries studied in Leiden starting in 1604 and seems to have made a Grand Tour; in 1610 he was in Poitiers.Album amicorum 1605-1610 van Mathias Franckena In 1611 he was admitted at Hof van Holland as a lawyer.S.A.C. Dudok van Heel (2023) ‘Van Amsterdamse burgers tot Europese aristocraten, deel IV, p. ? In 1616 he became a member of the Amsterdam vroedschap and represented the States faction.Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden (BWN), (1878), volume 1-2, p 517 In 1620 he was appointed schepen. Like his father he invested in draining the polders Purmer, Schermer and Heerhugowaard.Zwet, H. van (2009) Lofwaerdighe dijckagies en miserabele polders : een financiële analyse van landaanwinningsprojecten in Hollands Noorderkwartier, 1597-1643, p. 438. Verloren In 1624, on behalf of the city, he was appointed landlord of Amstelveen en Nieuwer-Amstel.J. Wagenaar, deel III, p. 59 As manager at the Wisselbank (for just one year) he visited Emden, requesting a loan.Geld in Amsterdam. Dehing, P. (2012) Wisselbank en wisselkoersen, 1650-1725, p. 346 In 1626 he became colonel in the civic guard. In January 1627, reaching forty years old, he was elected mayor of Amsterdam. Bicker came to the fore through his knowledge and moderation. Although he belonged to the Calvinist church, as liberal Protestant he protected Arminians and Remonstrants. His further appointments fell in the years 1629, 1631, 1633, 1634, 1636, 1640, 1641, 1645 and 1649.
In May 1627 Bicker was sent by the States-General as an ambassador to Danzig, Elbing and Königsberg to represent Dutch commercial interests and close negotiations between Poland, Sweden and Brandenburg.Iournael, van de legatie, gedaen in de iaren 1627 en 1628 by de ... heeren, Rochus vanden Honert, ... Andries Bicker ... ende Simon van Beaumont ... te samen by de ... heeren Staten Generael afgesonden, op den vrede-handel tusschen de coninghen van Polen ende Sweden. The Dutch diplomats were visited by Axel Oxenstierna, Governor-General in Riga but refused Gustavus Adolphus further monetary aid and demanded peace with Poland."Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna""Encyclopædia Britannica" The prolonged Polish-Swedish War caused great financial losses to Dutch merchants in the Baltic region. In June 1628 Bicker returned without having achieved anything.
Bickerse league
In the 1630s, Bicker ruled the city together with his uncle Jacob Dircksz de Graeff portrayed as the arminian clique,Eelco Beukers: Geschiedenis van Holland, Volume 2, Book 2, p 44 (Google Books) helping the Republicans regain influence and recognition for the first time since Johan van Oldenbarnevelt's beheading. Bicker and De Graeff shared a liberal attitude that set them apart from strict Calvinist politicians.Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600–1800, p 19/20, by Pieter C. Emmer, Jos J.L. Gommans (2020) In 1628, Andries Bicker supported a call for more tolerance towards the Remonstrants,K.P. de Vries (1900) De kerkelijke twisten te Amsterdam 1626-1631 just like Geurt van Beuningen. In 1632 both were appointed to represent the city in the church councils.Jan Wagenaar, deel II, p. 140
The Bicker family, the so called "Bickerse league", focused on Amsterdam's economic boom. From 1625 Cornelis Bicker was connected to the Wisselbank.Amsterdamsche Wisselbank (1609 – 1820) Jacob Bicker became one of the managers of the VOC. Jan Bicker, a contractor bought Bickerseiland in January 1631.J.G. van Dillen (1929) Bronnen tot de geschiedenis van het bedrijfsleven en het gildewezen van Amsterdam, deel II p. 744. The Bicker family participated in peat-digging in Drenthe and disagreed with Adriaan Pauw.Dillen, J.G. van (1970), p. 225 In 1634 Bicker became the owner of five plots with a depth of ca 1,100m in 's-Graveland, the site where now Spanderswoud and Trompenburgh are located.F.J.E. VAN LENNEP (1959) AMSTERDAMMERS IN ‘S-GRAVELAND, p. 108, 114, 116. In: Jaarboek Amstelodamum.Laarse, R. van der (2015) Amsterdam en Oranje: de politieke cultuur van kasteel en buitenplaats in Hollands Gouden Eeuw. In: Y. Kuiper, B. Olde Meierink, & E. Storms-Smeets (Hrsg.), Buitenplaatsen in de Gouden Eeuw: de rijkdom van het buitenleven in de Republiek, p. 79 Ships transported the excavated sand to Amsterdam using the Weespertrekvaart.
In 1635 he went on a diplomatic mission to Poland and Sweden. They reached an extension of the expiring armistice between Poland and Sweden in the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf and set up new Baltic trade agreements. He became involved in the discussions around postponing the Gijsbrecht van Aemstel (play). At the solemn entry of Maria de Medici into Amsterdam in September 1638, he, his brother Jacob and other regents, welcomed her. Jan Bicker supplied ships of war to France (Cardinal Richelieu) around 1638.
Between 1637 and 1639 Andries was councilor of the Admiralty of Amsterdam.Jan Wagenaar Amsterdam, in zyne opkomst, aanwas, geschiedenissen, voorregten He opposed stadtholder Frederick Henry, who intended the centralize the five admiralties, which would cause the Admiralty to lose influence.Plaat, G. van der (2003) Eendracht als opdracht. Lieuwe van Aitzema's bijdrage aan het publieke debat in de zeventiende-eeuwse Republiek, p. 125-6.Westera, L.D. (2018). ‘Met list en vlijt’: Koningen & kooplieden en de kanonnenhandel tijdens de Republiek, p. 92-93, 99 Bicker faced accusations involving private affairs, allegedly including monopolizing the fur and pepper trade.Jacobus Scheltema (1817) Rusland en de Nederlanden: beschouwd in derzelver wederkeerige betrekkingen, Band 1, p. 172 J. Elias, p. 347 Though, there is no evidence that he ever traded on Russia. Johan Elias claimed he served as a manager of the VOC in 1641, though there is confusion with Jacob Bicker, who also assumed a position at the Wisselbank.Jan Wagenaar (1767) Amsterdam in zijne opkomst, aanwas, geschiedenissen, vol. III, p. 403 In February 1643 Andries was tasked with representing the city in the States of Holland in The Hague.'Recueil Andries Bicker'. Register van de resoluties van de vroedschap en het college van burgemeesteren en oud-burgemeesteren, opgetekend door Andries Bicker gedurende zijn zitting in genoemde colleges; afschriften; met inhoudsopgave en alfabetische index, 1622-1652, p. 273-280
In July 1644, the States of Holland sent Bicker and Jacob de Witt as envoy to Christian IV of Denmark and Axel Oxenstierna to mediate between Sweden and Denmark. Bicker and a son first stayed in Copenhagen and then went to Stockholm.De sleutels van de Sont by G.W. Kernkamp In December they returned for consultation while the negotiations were prolonged.Johan de Witt in Zweden The end of the Torstenson War rested on the power of the Dutch naval dominance by Admiral Witte de With who arrived in the Sound in July 1645 to support a free passage. After the Treaty of Brömsebro in Blekinge, Sweden had unrestricted access to the North Sea and was no longer encircled by Denmark–Norway.
During the 1640s the republican elite of the province of Holland, the brothers Andries and Cornelis Bicker, their cousins Cornelis and Andries de GraeffAmsterdam: a brief life of the city. By Geert Mak, Harvill Press (1999), p 123 and Jacob de Witt, advocated an end to the war with Spain and a reduction in land forces.Oliver Krause: Die Variabilität frühneuzeitlicher Staatlichkeit. Die niederländische „Staats“-Formierung der Statthaltosen Epoche (1650–1672) als interkontinentales Regiment (Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2018) This ongoing state of war prevented the economic growth and social development in Holland. Also, this state of war strengthened the stadtholder's power as commander-in-chief, something the Republicans did not want.
Around 1646 the Bickerse league comprised seven members of the Bicker family, all of whom held political offices in those years. It included his brothers Jan, Jacob and Cornelis Bicker, as well their cousins, Jacob Jacobsz Bicker (1612–1676), Hendrick Jacobsz Bicker (1615–1651) and Roelof Jacobsz Bicker (1611-1656). Bicker was involved in the preparations for an extended town hall and a reorganisation of the VOC and WIC.'Recueil Andries Bicker', p. 280, 288-289 Between 1646 and 1648 Bicker was deputy to the States General.
Peace of Münster
On 30 January 1646, Adriaan Pauw and Johan de Knuyt reached an armistice for twenty years and recognition of State sovereignty in Munster.Eindelijk vrede (1648) The siege of Antwerp took place in 1646. In 1646 Jacob Bicker (?) made a deal to transport silver from Cádiz to the Spanish Netherlands so Spanish soldiers could be paid.Algra, H. (1956) Dispereert niet. Deel 2 On 8 January 1647, a provisional peace agreement was reached, recognizing the status quo in the East and West Indies, as well as the patents of the Dutch East India Company and the West India Company. In particular, Holland was in favor of concluding a peace. This had everything to do with money. Holland had to raise most of the costs of the war. In addition, it was considered in this region that a peace could have a beneficial influence on Dutch trade. In March Frederick Henry died; Andries Bicker, Adriaan Pauw, Cornelis de Graeff and the inner power circle of the States of Holland advocated a drastic reduction of 6,000 mercenaries.Recueil, p. 285 Bicker dealt with Amalia von Solms and the corrupt Cornelis Musch.Poelhekke, p. 442