Bickerse League. The story of a political and economic power factor in Amsterdam and Holland during the Dutch Golden Age, written by Matthias Laurenz Graeff

INTRODUCTIONThe Bickerse league (Bickerse ligue) was a political and economic power factor in Amsterdam and Holland during the Dutch Golden Age. The leader of the patrician Bicker family, Andries Bicker (1586-1652), was probably the most powerful politician in Amsterdam and throughout Holland from the end of the 1620s until 1650 and, together with many relatives, sympathizers and in close cooperation with the De Graeff family, formed the so called Bickerse league. The leage focused on Amsterdam's economic boom, advocated for an end to the Eighty Year's War with spain and a reduction of the army. They also prevented the monarchist ambitions of the Dutch stadholders Frederick Henry (1586-1647) and his son William II of Orange-Nassau (1626-1650) from the 1630s until 1650. - Matthias Laurenz Gräff, 2025