one of the leaders of the resistance at the start of the Eighty Years' War against the Spaniards and a confidant of Willem van Oranje . He fled to Emden in 1568 and was declared outlaw by Alva . He participated, as one of the leaders of the water Beggars , in the conquest of Den Briel on April 1, 1572 . He then went to Oudewater with a group of geuzen. Prince-lovers in Gouda sent a message to Van Swieten that one of the city gates would be opened for him in the early morning. He entered the city and forced the city government to choose the Prince of Orange. With only two guns, he managed to overpower Gouda Castle .
