Political Activity
In 1785, he sided with the Patriots, who had seized power in several Dutch cities. In 1786 he defended the city of Hattem against stadholderian troops. In 1787, he defended Amsterdam against the Prussian army that invaded the Netherlands to restore William V of Orange. After William V was in power again, he fled to France because of a death sentence. Daendels was close witness to the French revolution.
He returned to the Netherlands in 1794, as a general in the French revolutionary army of general Charles Pichegru and commander of the Batavian Legion. Daendels helped unitarian politician Pieter Vreede to power in a coup d'état on 25 January 1798. The group behind Vreede was dissatisfied with the conservative-moderate majority in parliament, which tried to prevent the formulation of a more democratic, centralistic constitution. The reign of Vreede did not bring the expected results, however, and Daendels supported another coup d'état against Vreede on 14 June 1798. In the Batavian Republic Daendels occupied several political offices, but he had to step down when he failed to prevent the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland in 1799, and became a farmer in Heerde, Gelderland.
Read more about this topic: Herman Willem Daendels
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or activity:
“The real grounds of difference upon important political questions no longer correspond with party lines.... Politics is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are settled... Great minds hereafter are to be employed on other matters.... Government no longer has its ancient importance.... The people’s progress, progress of every sort, no longer depends on government. But enough of politics. Henceforth I am out more than ever.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“The superstition respecting power and office is going to the ground. The stream of human affairs flows its own way, and is very little affected by the activity of legislators. What great masses of men wish done, will be done; and they do not wish it for a freak, but because it is their state and natural end.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)