Bicker family
Bicker (also: Bicker van Swieten) is a very old Dutch patrician family (since 1390). The family has played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They led the Dutch States Party and were at the centre of Amsterdam oligarchy from the beginning of the 17th century until the early 1650s, influencing the government of Holland and the Republic of the United Netherlands. Their wealth was based on commercial transactions, and in their political commitment they mostly opposed the House of Orange.
| Bicker Bicker van Swieten | |
|---|---|
| noble and patrician family | |
| Parent house | Helmer (paternal) / Van den Anxter (maternal) |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Founded | 16th century |
| Founder | Dirk Helmer (named 1383/90) |
| Titles | Jonkheer, ridder |
| Style(s) | heer van Swieten, Engelenburg |
| Cadet branches | Bicker van Swieten, Bicker Caarten |
The family, also known as the Bickerse league, was one of the leading republican forces striving to end the Eighty Years' War between the United Netherlands and the Kingdom of Spain. This took place in 1648 with the Peace of Münster. In 1650, at the height of their power, the leading protagonists Andries and Cornelis Bicker were briefly expelled from the Amsterdam city government due to internal political problems. After that, the Bicker family could no longer achieve such socio-political influence. Since 1815 the family belongs to the new Dutch nobility with the honorific of jonkheer or jonkvrouw.