Editing Dutch Republic (section)

===Patriot rebellion and its suppression (1785–1795)===
{{Main|Batavian Revolution}}
[[File:Jonas Zeuner - Vuurgevecht aan de Vaartse Rijn.jpg|thumb|Firefight on the [[Vaartse Rijn]] at [[Jutphaas]] on 9 May 1787. The pro-revolutionary Utrecht [[Patriots (Dutch Republic)|Patriots]] are on the right; the troops of [[stadholder]] [[William V, Prince of Orange]] on the left. (Painted by Jonas Zeuner, 1787)]]

After the war with Great Britain ended disastrously in 1784, there was growing unrest and a rebellion by the anti-Orangist [[Patriots (Dutch Republic)|Patriots]]. Influenced by the [[American Revolution]], the Patriots sought a more democratic form of government. The opening shot of this revolution is often considered to be the 1781 publication of a manifesto called ''[[Aan het Volk van Nederland]]'' ("To the People of the Netherlands") by [[Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol]], who would become an influential leader of the Patriot movement. Their aim was to reduce corruption and the power held by the [[stadtholder]], [[William V, Prince of Orange]].<ref>Kennedy, James C. ''A Concise History of The Netherlands'', p. 258</ref>

Support for the Patriots came mostly from the middle class. They formed [[militia]]s called ''[[exercitiegenootschap]]pen''. In 1785, there was an open Patriot rebellion, which took the form of an armed insurrection by local militias in certain Dutch towns, ''Freedom'' being the rallying cry. [[Herman Willem Daendels]] attempted to organise an overthrow of various municipal governments ([[vroedschap]]). The goal was to oust government officials and force new elections. "Seen as a whole this revolution was a string of violent and confused events, accidents, speeches, rumours, bitter enmities and armed confrontations", wrote French historian [[Fernand Braudel]], who saw it as a forerunner of the [[French Revolution]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The Patriot movement focused more on local political power, where they had no say in their towns' governance. Although they were able to curtail the power of the stadholder, and hold democratic elections in select towns, they were divided in their political vision, which was more local than national. Supporters were drawn from religious dissenters and Catholics in particular places, while pro-stadholder Orangists had more widespread geographical support of sections of the lower classes, the Dutch Reformed clergy, and the Jewish community.<ref>Kennedy, ''A Concise History of the Netherlands'', pp. 258-59</ref>

In 1785 [[William V, Prince of Orange|the stadholder]] left The Hague and moved his court to [[Nijmegen]] in [[Guelders]], a city remote from the heart of Dutch political life. In June 1787, his energetic wife [[Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange|Wilhelmina]] (the sister of [[Frederick William II of Prussia]]) tried to travel to [[The Hague]]. Outside [[Schoonhoven]], she was stopped by Patriot militiamen and taken to a farm near [[Goejanverwellesluis]]. She was forced to return to Nijmegen. She appealed to her brother for help, and he sent some 26,000 troops to invade, led by [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]], to [[Prussian invasion of Holland|suppress the rebellion]]. The Patriot militias could not contend with these forces, melting away.<ref>Kennedy, ''A Concise History of the Netherlands'', p. 260</ref> Dutch banks at this time still held much of the world's [[Capital (economics)|capital]]. Government-sponsored banks owned up to 40% of Great Britain's [[national debt]] and there were close connections to the [[House of Stuart]]. The stadholder had supported British policies after the [[American Revolution]] and in foreign policy, the stadholder was "little more than a pawn of the British and Prussians", so that Patriot pressure was ignored by William.<ref>Kennedy, ''A Concise History of the Netherlands'', p. 261</ref>

This severe military response overwhelmed the Patriots and put the stadholder firmly back in control. A small unpaid Prussian army was billeted in the Netherlands and supported themselves by looting and extortion. The ''exercitiegenootschappen'' continued urging citizens to resist the government. They distributed pamphlets, formed "Patriot Clubs" and held public [[Demonstration (people)|demonstration]]s. The government responded by pillaging those towns where opposition continued. Five leaders were sentenced to death, forcing them to flee. Lynchings also occurred. For a while, no one dared appear in public without an orange cockade to show their support for [[Orangism (Netherlands)|Orangism]]. Many Patriots, perhaps around 40,000 in all, fled to Brabant, France (especially [[Dunkirk]] and [[Saint-Omer|St. Omer]]) and elsewhere. Before long the French became involved in Dutch politics and the tide turned toward the Patriots.

The [[French Revolution]] was popular, and numerous underground clubs were promoting it when in January 1795 the [[Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition|French army invaded]]. The underground rose up, overthrew the municipal and provincial governments, and proclaimed the [[Batavian Republic]] [[Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam|in Amsterdam]]. Stadtholder William V fled to England and the States General dissolved itself.<ref>C. Cook & J. Stevenson, ''The routledge companion to European history since 1763'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 2005), p. 66; J. Dunn, ''Democracy: A history'' (NY: Atlantic Books, 2005), p. 86.</ref>