THE ORANGE RESTORATION. DOWNFALL OF THE REPUBLIC, 1788-1795
One of the first steps taken, after the restoration of the stadholder's
power had been firmly established, was the appointment of Laurens Pieter
van de Spiegel to the post of council-pensionary of Holland in place of
the trimmer Bleiswijk. It was quite contrary to usage that a Zeelander
should hold this the most important post in the Estates of Holland, but
the influence of the princess and of Harris secured his unanimous
election on December 3, 1787. Van de Spiegel proved himself to be a
statesman of high capacity, sound judgment and great moderation, not
unworthy to be ranked among the more illustrious occupants of his great
office. He saw plainly the hopeless deadlock and confusion of the
machinery of government and its need of root-and-branch revision, but he
was no more able to achieve it than his predecessors. The feebleness of
the stadholder, the high-handedness of the princess, and the selfish
clinging of the patrician-regents to their privileged monopoly of civic
power were insuperable hindrances to any attempts to interfere with the
existing state of things. Such was the inherent weakness of the Republic
that it was an independent State in little more than name; its form of
government was guaranteed by foreign powers on whom it had to rely for
its defence against external foes.
Prussia by armed force, England by diplomatic support, had succeeded in
restoring the hereditary stadholderate to a predominant position in the
State. It was the first care of the triumvirate, Harris, Van de Spiegel
and the princess, to secure what had been achieved by bringing about a
defensive alliance between the Republic, Great Britain and Prussia.
After what had taken place this was not a difficult task; and two
separate treaties were signed between the States-General and the two
protecting powers on the same day, April 15, 1788, each of the three
states undertaking to furnish a definite quota of troops, ships or
money, if called upon to do so. Both Prussia and England gave a strong
guarantee for the upholding of the hereditary stadholderate. This was
followed by the conclusion of an Anglo-Prussian alliance directed
against France and Austria (August 13). The marriage of the hereditary
prince with Frederika Louise Wilhelmina of Prussia added yet another to
the many royal alliances of the House of Orange; but, though it raised
the prestige of the stadholder's position, it only served to make that
position more dependent on the support of the foreigner.
The council-pensionary, Van de Spiegel, did all that statesman could do
in these difficult times to effect reforms and bring order out of chaos.
It was fortunate for the Republic that the stadholder should have
discerned the merits of this eminent servant of the state and entrusted
to him so largely the direction of affairs. Internally the spirit of
faction had, superficially at least, been crushed by Prussian military
intervention, but externally there was serious cause for alarm. Van de
Spiegel watched with growing disquietude the threatening aspect of
things in France, preluding the great Revolution; and still more serious
was the insurrection, which the reforming zeal of Joseph II had caused
to break out in the Austrian Netherlands. Joseph's personal visit to his
Belgian dominions had filled him with a burning desire to sweep away the
various provincial privileges and customs and to replace them by
administrative uniformity. Not less was his eagerness to free education
from clerical influence. He stirred up thereby the fierce opposition of
clericals and democrats alike, ending in armed revolt in Brabant and
elsewhere. A desultory struggle went on during the years 1787, '88 and
'89, ending in January, 1790, in a meeting of the States-General at
Brussels and the formation of a federal republic under the name of "the
United States of Belgium." All this was very perturbing to the Dutch
government, who were most anxious lest an Austrian attempt at reconquest
might lead to a European conflict close to their borders. The death of
Joseph on February 24, 1790, caused the danger to disappear. His
brother, Leopold II, at once offered to re-establish ancient privileges,
and succeeded by tact and moderation in restoring Austrian rule under
the old conditions. That this result was brought about without any
intervention of foreign powers was in no small measure due to a
conference at the Hague, in which Van de Spiegel conducted negotiations
with the representatives of Prussia, England and Austria for a
settlement of the Belgian question without disturbance of the peace.
The council-pensionary found the finances of the country in a state of
great confusion. One of his first cares was a re-assessment of the
provincial quotas, some of which were greatly in arrears and inadequate
in amount, thus throwing a disproportionate burden upon Holland. It was
a difficult task, but successfully carried out. The affairs of the East
and West India Companies next demanded his serious attention. Both of
them were practically bankrupt.
The East India Company had, during the 18th century, been gradually on
the decline. Its object was to extract wealth from Java and its other
eastern possessions; and, by holding the monopoly of trade and
compelling the natives to hand over to the Company's officials a
proportion of the produce of the land at a price fixed by the Company
far below its real value (_contingent-en leverantie-stelsel_), the
country was drained of its resources and the inhabitants impoverished
simply to increase the shareholder's dividends. This was bad enough, but
it was made worse by the type of men whom the directors, all of whom
belonged to the patrician regent-families, sent out to fill the posts of
governor-general and the subordinate governorships. For many decades
these officials had been chosen, not for their proved experience or for
their knowledge of the East or of the Indian trade, but because of
family connection; and the nominees went forth with the intention of
enriching themselves as quickly as possible. This led to all sorts of
abuses, and the profits of the Company from all these causes kept
diminishing. But, in order to keep up their credit, the Board of XVII
continued to pay large dividends out of capital, with the inevitable
result that the Company got into debt and had to apply for help to the
State. The English war completed its ruin. In June, 1783, the Estates of
Holland appointed a Commission to examine into the affairs of the
Company. Too many people in Holland had invested their money in it, and
the Indian trade was too important, for an actual collapse of the
Company to be permitted. Accordingly an advance of 8,000,000 florins was
made to the directors, with a guarantee for 38,000,000 of debt. But
things went from bad to worse. In 1790 the indebtedness of the Company
amounted to 85,000,000 florins. Van de Spiegel and others were convinced
that the only satisfactory solution would be for the State to dissolve
the Company and take over the Indian possessions in full sovereignty at
the cost of liquidating the debt, A commission was appointed in 1791 to
proceed to the East and make a report upon the condition of the
colonies. Before their mission was accomplished the French armies were
overrunning the Republic. It was not till 1798 that the existence of the
Company actually came to an end. To the West India Company the effect of
the English war was likewise disastrous. The Guiana colonies, whose
sugar plantations had been a source of great profit, had been conquered
first by the English, then by the French; and, though they were restored
after the war, the damage inflicted had brought the Company into heavy
difficulties. Its charter expired in 1791, and it was not renewed. The
colonies became colonies of the State, the shareholders being
compensated by exchanging their depreciated shares for Government bonds.
The Orange restoration, however, and the efforts of Van de Spiegel to
strengthen its bases by salutary reforms were doomed to be short-lived.
The council-pensionary, in spite of his desire to relinquish office at
the end of his quinquennial term, was reelected by the Estates of
Holland on December 6, 1792, and yielded to the pressure put upon him to
continue his task. A form of government, which had been imposed against
their will on the patriot party by the aid of foreign bayonets, was
certain to have many enemies; and such prospect of permanence as it had
lay in the goodwill and confidence inspired by the statesmanlike and
conciliatory policy of Van de Spiegel. But it was soon to be swept away
in the cataclysm of the French Revolution now at the height of its
devastating course.
In France extreme revolutionary ideas had made rapid headway, ending in
the dethronement and imprisonment of the king on August 10, 1792. The
invasion of France by the Prussian and Austrian armies only served to
inflame the French people, intoxicated by their new-found liberty, to a
frenzy of patriotism. Hastily raised armies succeeded in checking the
invasion at Valmy on September 20, 1792; and in their turn invading
Belgium under the leadership of Dumouriez, they completely defeated the
Austrians at Jemappes on November 6. The whole of Belgium was overrun
and by a decree of the French Convention was annexed. The fiery
enthusiasts, into whose hands the government of the French Republic had
fallen, were eager to carry by force of arms the principles of liberty,
fraternity and equality to all Europe, declaring that "all governments
are our enemies, all peoples are our friends." The southern
Netherlands having been conquered, it was evident that the northern
Republic would speedily invite attack. The Dutch government, anxious to
avoid giving any cause for hostilities, had carefully abstained from
offering any encouragement to the emigrants or support to the enemies of
the French Republic. Van de Spiegel had even expressed to De Maulde, the
French ambassador, a desire to establish friendly relations with the
Republican government. But the Jacobins looked upon the United Provinces
as the dependent of their enemies England and Prussia; and, when after
the execution of the king the English ambassador was recalled from
Paris, the National Convention immediately declared war against England
and at the same time against the stadholder of Holland "because of his
slavish bondage to the courts of St James and Berlin."
Dumouriez at the head of the French army prepared to enter the United
Provinces at two points. The main body under his own command was to
cross the Moerdijk to Dordrecht and then advance on Rotterdam, the
Hague, Leyden and Haarlem. He was accompanied by the so-called _Batavian
legion_, enlisted from the patriot exiles under Colonel Daendels, once
the fiery anti-Orange advocate of Hattem. General Miranda, who was
besieging Maestricht, was to march by Nijmwegen and Venloo to Utrecht.
The two forces would then unite and make themselves masters of
Amsterdam. The ambitious scheme miscarried. At first success attended
Dumouriez. Breda fell after a feeble resistance, also De Klundert and
Geertruidenberg. Meanwhile the advance of an Austrian army under Coburg
relieved Maestricht and inflicted a defeat upon the French at Aldenhoven
on March 1, 1793. Dumouriez, compelled to retreat, was himself beaten at
Neerwinden on March 18, and withdrew to Antwerp. For the moment danger
was averted. Revolutionary movements at Amsterdam and elsewhere failed
to realise the hopes of the patriots, and the Dutch government was able
to breathe again.
It indeed appeared that the French menace need no longer be feared.
Dumouriez changed sides and, failing to induce his troops to follow him,
took refuge in the enemy's camp. A powerful coalition had now been
formed by the energy of Pitt against revolutionary France; and, in
April, 1794, a strong English army under the Duke of York had joined
Coburg. They were supported by 22,000 Dutch troops commanded by the two
sons of the Prince of Orange.
New French armies, however, organised by the genius of Carnot, proved
more than a match for the allied forces acting without any unity of
place under slow-moving and incompetent leaders. Coburg and the
Austrians were heavily defeated at Fleurus by Jourdan on June 26. York
and Prince William thereupon retreated across the frontier, followed by
the French under Pichegru, while another French general, Moreau, took
Sluis and overran Dutch Flanders. This gave fresh encouragement to the
patriot party, who in Amsterdam formed a revolutionary committee, of
which the leaders were Gogel, Van Dam and Kraijenhoff. Nothing overt was
done, but by means of a large number of so-called reading-societies
(_leesgezelschappen_) secret preparations were made for a general
uprising so soon as circumstances permitted, and communications were
meanwhile kept up with the exiled patriots. But Pichegru, though he
captured Maestricht and other towns, was very cautious in his movements
and distrustful of the promises of the Amsterdam Convention that a
general revolt would follow upon his entry into Holland.
In this way the year 1794 drew to its end; and, as no further help from
England or Prussia could be obtained, the States-General thought it
might be possible to save the Republic from the fate of Belgium by
opening negotiations for peace with the enemy. Accordingly two envoys,
Brantsen and Repelaer, were sent on December 16 to the French
headquarters, whence they proceeded to Paris. Fearing lest their plans
for an uprising should be foiled, the Amsterdam committee also
despatched two representatives, Blauw and Van Dam, to Paris to
counteract the envoys of Van de Spiegel, and to urge upon the French
commanders an immediate offensive against Holland. The withdrawal of the
remains of the English army under the Duke of York, and the setting in
of a strong frost, lent force to their representations. The army of
Pichegru, accompanied by Daendels and his Batavian legion, were able to
cross the rivers; and Holland lay open before them. It was in vain that
the two young Orange princes did their utmost to organise resistance. In
January, 1795 one town after another surrendered; and on the 19th
Daendels without opposition entered Amsterdam.
The revolution was completely triumphant, for on this very day the
stadholder, despite the protests of his sons and the efforts of the
council-pensionary, had left the country. The English government had
offered to receive William V and his family; and arrangements had been
quietly made for the passage across the North Sea. The princess with her
daughter-in-law and grandson were the first to leave; and on January 17,
1795, William himself, on the ground that the French would never
negotiate so long as he was in the country, bade farewell to the
States-General and the foreign ambassadors. On the following day he
embarked with his sons and household on a number of fishing-pinks at
Scheveningen and put to sea. With his departure the stadholderate and
the Republic of the United Netherlands came to an end.
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