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Joan Derk baron van der Capellen tot den Poll (November 2, 1741–June 6, 1784) was a Dutch nobleman who played a prominent role in the formation of the Batavian Republic and the revolutionary events that preceded its formation. As a member of the Patriots and inspired by the American Revolution , he wrote the famous pamphlet To the People of the Netherlands ( in Dutch: Aan het Volk van Nederland), in which reclaimed a more liberal society and the end of the Stadtholder regime, which had been marked by corruption and nepotism. He was also an ardent supporter in the legal recognition of the recently created United States. Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ...
November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ...
// Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius...
June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ...
1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ...
From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek in Dutch) designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic, to which it was a vassal state. ...
The Patriots (in Dutch: Patriotten) were a political faction in the Netherlands in the second half of the eigtheenth century , and struggled for the removal of the corrupt Stadtholder regime ,and its nepotistic way of governing. ...
The American Revolution is the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the political separation of thirteen colonies in North America from the British Empire and the creation of the United States of America. ...
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet (that is, without a hard cover or binding). ...
A stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder meaning representative of state, a literal translation of the French lieutenant or the Latin locum tenans) was the person who ruled an area in the name of the land owner, in the Netherlands (which included present-day Belgium) from the 15th to the 18th century. ...
Nepotism means favoring relatives or personal friends because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities. ...
Member of the States Van der Capellen became a member of the States of Overijssel in 1772. It was the beginning of his political career. He described himself as a "born regent", but that did not prevent him from being an ardent champion of the Enlightenment ideals and a critic of the Dutch Old Regime. The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a larger period which includes the Age of Reason. ...
For that reason, his opponents compared Van der Capellen's public appearance with the style of the English politician John Wilkes. Wilkes criticized the policy of king George III and his ministers, but became very popular. This was partly due to his strategic use of the political press. The press also became a powerful weapon in the hands of Van der Capellen and his patriot friends. Statue of John Wilkes (Fetter Lane London) John Wilkes (17 October 1727 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical, journalist and politician. ...
George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738–29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...
Abolition of the Drostendiensten As a member of the States Van der Capellen applied himself to the abolition of the so-called 'drostendiensten', which compelled the farmers of Overijssel to labour for a pittance a few days every year for the local magistrate, the Drost (bailiff). This relic from medieval times was wrongfully applied in his opinion.
In an address to the States in 1778, he pointed out that these rights had been officially abolished in 1631. He ensured his statement was distributed widely and free of charge among the farmers in the Twenthe region.
In the end he won his case but his fellow members in the States excluded him from particpation in their deliberations until 1782.
Advocate of the American cause Previously, he had fallen foul of the Stadholder prince William V of Orange and the members of the States when he proclaimed himself against expansion of the army and the fleet. When in 1776 the British King George III asked the Dutch whether he could borrow the Scotch Brigade (a unit of mercenaries in Dutch service) to be deployed in the war with the American Republic, he voted against. William V, stadtholder of The Netherlands (March 8, 1748–April 9, 1806), also known as William V of Orange, was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. ...
George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738–29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...
His overt support for the American revolutionaries was not appreciated either. Nevertheless, he continued to dedicate himself to the American War of Independence. He regarded the American struggle as an example for Dutch [Patriots]. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...
To lend support to his views he translated Observations on civil liberty by the American Richard Price into Dutch. The book was an important inspiration to the American revolutionaries. The Dutch translation was banned in 1789, together with other patriot writings. Richard Price (February 23, 1723 - April 19, 1791), was a Welsh moral and political philosopher. ...
In 1780 Van der Capellen arranged a loan for the American cause. Eventually an amount of two hundred thousand guilders was raised. He contributed twenty thousand guilders himself.
To the People of the Netherlands The year 1781 was to be the most important in his political career. In that year a pamphlet appeared entitled "Aan het Volk van Nederland" ("To the People of the Netherlands").
In this anonymous pamphlet the disadvantages of the hereditary stadholderate were explained. It should be replaced by a democratic society, based on popular sovereignty. Within a month after publication the pamphlet was banned. Besides, a substantial reward was offered to whoever would report the author. In spite of these measures it was illegally reprinted and distributed three times, and even translated into French, English and German. It was to exert a lasting influence on the democratic movement in the Netherlands.
Van der Capellen, the author of the pamphlet, was forced to enjoy its success in silence, as well as the fact that the authorities failed to identify him as the author. With unflagging zeal he continued to propagate the American cause. Partly thanks to his influence, John Adams and with him the young American Republic were recognized in 1782 by the States General. John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was the first (1789–1797) Vice President of the United States, and the second (1797–1801) President of the United States. ...
He died in 1784. Even after his death he continued to rouse the emotions. A few years after he died his monument was blown up by Orangists.
Predecessor of Pim Fortuyn A politician who roused the Dutch emotions recently was Pim Fortuyn. In 1992 Fortuyn wrote his address "To the People of the Netherlands" ("Aan het Volk van Nederland"). It was dedicated to his illustrious predecessor Van der Capellen. Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn Dr. Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (surname pronounced somewhat like for-TOYN, IPA: ), (February 19, 1948 – May 6, 2002), was a controversial, openly gay, charasmatic politician in the Netherlands who formed his own party Lijst Pim Fortuyn (List Pim Fortuyn or LPF). ...
Fortuyn was assassinated on May 6th 2002.
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