Editing Dutch Republic (section)

===First Stadtholderless Period (1650–1675)===
{{Main|First Stadtholderless Period}}
[[File:Caspar Netscher - Johan de Witt.jpg|150px|thumb|left|[[Johan de Witt]], [[Grand Pensionary]] of Holland, by [[Caspar Netscher]]]]

During the wars a tension had arisen between the Orange-Nassau leaders and the patrician merchants. The former—the Orangists—were soldiers and centralizers who seldom spoke of compromise with the enemy and looked for military solutions. They included many rural gentry as well as ordinary folk attached to the banner of the [[House of Orange-Nassau|House of Orange]]. The latter group were the Republicans, led by the [[Grand Pensionary]] (a sort of prime minister) and the [[regents]] stood for localism, municipal rights, commerce, and peace.<ref>Eugen Weber, ''A Modern History of Europe'' (1971) p. 290</ref> In 1650, the [[stadtholder]] [[William II, Prince of Orange]] suddenly died; his son was a baby and the [[Orangism (Netherlands)|Orangists]] were leaderless. The regents seized the opportunity: there would be no new stadtholder in Holland for 22 years. [[Johan de Witt]], a brilliant politician and diplomat, emerged as the dominant figure. Princes of Orange became the stadtholder and an almost hereditary ruler in 1672 and 1748. The Dutch Republic of the United Provinces was a true republic from 1650 to 1672 and 1702–1748. These periods are called the [[First Stadtholderless Period]] and [[Second Stadtholderless Period]].