Let's be honest: if your whole legacy is mostly reduced to "that time the Dutch ate their Prime Minister", that's kind of an accomplishment. Johan himself would not be impressed. History sometimes does not give us satisfying resolutions. But a few questions still need to be answered, or at least attempted.
Did Johan ignore the military? Why did the mob kill him? Was he Louis XVI with an unhealthy math obsession? And could it have gone differently?
To unpack this 352 year old take properly let's first look at the situation of the republic and why Johan did what he did.
Ideology
Johan's own words:“Any war is an obstacle to freedom.” Except maritime war to protect free trade, which means economic growth and stability. The Dutch republic is a mercantile republic. And money is good. True Freedom™.
To Johan, a standing army is a potential threat to civil authority. Partly because William II led a coup in 1650, and the regents never forgot that.
Geopolitics
Prioritizing the fleet over the army made sense strategically and economically during the war with England. At the time, the Dutch had an alliance with France. This ended when Louis XIV started the war of devolution invading the Spanish Netherlands. The problem for Johan was that he did not want to antagonize Louis, but the Spanish Netherlands was a critical buffer zone for the Dutch. After much debate the Netherlands entered the the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden to deter France. It secured peace for a while until the Treaty of Dover because Charles decided to betray them against parliament's wishes and (arguably)his better judgement. When Johan tried to strengthen the army it was too late.
(Note: See Boogman's excellent article The raison d'état politician Johan de Witt for a full breakdown of Triple Alliance drama and why Johan thought it was the best of his bad options.)
Factionalism
Johan didn’t control the army. The House of Orange had historically much influence over the army so the states party was reluctant to empower their political enemies. The Orangists used it as a bargaining chip and called for an appointment of William III as captain-general, or they wouldn’t approve of increased funding, and Johan said no.
This was a loose-loose situation, but it was particularly stupid on Johan's part, because William became captain-general and the army was still in terrible shape. The Orangists got their narrative, Charles got his revenge, the French got their victory, and the mob got its dinner.
Costs
The regents(his political base) wanted to avoid war to maintain economic stability. The Dutch army relied heavily on mercenaries. Unanimous votes were required for just about everything, including increased military funding, making it difficult to act quickly.
Conclusion: Johan neglected the army mostly because of strategic misjudgment, and it proved disastrous in hindsight. He had his reasons, but Johan, that was stupid.
TL;DR: No. Or it would have a name—and a manifesto. It was a politically motivated murder.
One of the common internet misconceptions about the mob incident is that it was the Dutch version of the French Revolution. Indeed, Johan was an arrogant elitist, and the lower middle class supported the House of Orange. But does this really fit into a neat narrative about fighting against oppression?
The consensus: the events of 1672 are a product of factional politics.
Economic Grievances
While there were underlying economic disparities, this was common in 17th-century Europe. In 1671, Johan had calculated that the interest rates of annuities were too high(bad PR, as widows relied on it for income), and the economic crisis caused by the invasion exacerbated public anger, but it was not the only driving force behind what happened.
Conspiracy
Some sources claim it was an assassination and not spontaneous mob violence. The trial regarding Cornelis' supposed "plot" against William III certainly played a large role, and the mob had been convinced that they were traitors(fake news). While there’s much debate over how much the Orangists orchestrated the actual murder, the political motive is undeniable.
(Note: you can see this street song here for the mob's "reasoning" for the murder. Spoilers: it's not about class struggle.)
No Real Change
There was no grand ideological movement, just Orangists using the crisis for political gain. This wasn’t about reshuffling power between different classes—it was about which regents got to run things and whether they preferred a prince at the top. The Dutch Republic remained decentralized, still ruled by oligarchs(just ones who liked war and the stadtholder). Furthermore, the murder had no practical purpose, happening after both brothers were already removed from power. Were people thinking of systematic reforms when they roasted and ate their livers?
Usually, historians don't give actionable feedback to dead people. But since Johan got himself eaten, they had to have said something, right?
What they basically said: The Dutch Republic was a disaster waiting to happen.
“No man, whatever his insight or greatness, who trusted to working a change in public opinion on this head by peaceful argument, would ever have overcome the provincial isolation, or divested the municipal charters of their sanctity.”
→ Public opinion was impossible to change through reasoning alone. Provincialism and the rigid municipal system were unshakable.
“But he did not desire to get rid of them. On the contrary, he seized and gave stability to their worst characteristics, and made the isolation everywhere deeper and wider. His work tended to perpetuate the evil.”
→ Johan didn’t fight the system—he reinforced it. Instead of trying to centralize power, he doubled down on decentralization, deepening the flaws.
“But we are bound to consider whether any other course was open to him.”[1]
→ Geddes, despite roasting him, acknowledges that Johan had no real alternative.
"So long as Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France stuck to their purposes and thought they could achieve them in alliance with each other, there was virtually nothing that De Witt could do but wait for the great blow and do what he could to prevent it from being fatal.”
→ The war was inevitable once England and France aligned. Johan couldn’t stop it, only try to minimize the damage.
“But war did come, and it came despite his most desperate efforts to find an escape.”[3]
→ Johan wasn't blind to danger. He did his best, but diplomacy failed.
“But that does not save Johan because the war turns everything 180 degrees. Regents are there for peace, but in a war, the Netherlands falls back on the Oranges.”[2]
→ War changed everything. The Dutch always turned to the House of Orange during crises—his political model was doomed in wartime.
He tried to prevent war, but war came anyway.
Once war broke out, Orangists were always going to take over.
Once Orangists took over, he was always going to get eaten.
Nomnom.