ABSTRACT
The regent caste reached the zenith of its power during the first stadtholderless period, which is known to history as the age of John De Witt. Between 1651 and 1672 the regents dominated the Republic politically as well as socially and economically. Civil war seemed on the point of breaking out, when wiser counsels prevailed and negotiations were opened between the two parties. Amsterdam, with the province of Holland following its lead, agreed that the army should be kept at its existing establishment as long as the war between France and Spain continued. The grand assembly, as the constituent gathering of the new regime was called, remained in session throughout the first half of the year 1651. Although the States General continued to meet, the ambassadors of foreign powers usually addressed themselves to the grand assembly.
