Exercitiegenootschap
Encyclopedia
An exercitiegenootschap (Dutch - exercise company) or militia
was a military organisation in the 18th century Netherlands, in the form of an armed private organization with a democratically chosen administration, aiming to train the citizens
and the lower bourgeoisie in use of muskets. Exercitiegenootschappen were propagated by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol
, who translated an old book (1732) by Andrew Fletcher on arming a nation's citizens and so got the idea from Scotland. He also saw them as necessary due to the serious decline in the existing, Orangist
schutterij
en.
tried to seek a solution during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
, at the cheapest possible cost. Immediately the war (which had begun badly) developed disastrously, a wave of deprivation spreading through the country, and this result of the attempted reform was widely felt as a matter of national shame, with the harrowing contrast between the famous past and the miserable present becoming clear to everyone.
, Dordrecht
or Utrecht
. Quint Ondaatje was the leader of the exercitiegenootschap in Utrecht, and he soon spoke in deeds as well as words. He knew that the exercitiegenootschappen had to be organized firstly at provincial (and later at national) levels. In 1784 a number of nationally-organized free-corps (vrijcorpsen) signed the Acte van Verbintenis (Act of Agreement), in which they promised to come to the aid of each other as the Patriots saw necessary. This Act especially stimulated the exercitiegenootschappen and vrijcorpsen in the small cities to confidence and action. Gerrit Paape
set himself the task of being a historian of these local societies.
Many people wanted to become a member, with Catholics and Mennonites
no longer excluded. Not only many shopkeepers, but also ministers, such as François Adriaans van der Kemp, reported for duty. They exercised at least once a week, mostly on Sundays after the religious service or, in bad weather, actually inside the church. (There were almost no chairs, but a few benches for the nobility and members of the vroedschap). Members never needed to be wealthy enough to buy their own weapon, unlike in the schutterij
en. Non-attendance earned a fine of a few stuiver
s.
Exercitiegenootschappen had the preference above free corps, being completely independent of the existing schutterij. Vrijcorpsen arose mainly in the countryside, because there was no schutterij for their area. After the Rotterdam exercitiegenootschap in 1784 was forbidden, more and more so-called "genootschappen in de wapenhandel" (societies for weapons training) sprang up, as in Bolsward
, and they were very progressive for their time and would speak out regularly.
about the Scheldt
, known as the kettle war - for two hundred years closed off by Holland and Zeeland - led to organization of the provincial armies in January 1785. Court Lambertus of Beyma took the initiative in Friesland
, causing a wave of new exercitiegenootschappen and free-corps that spring. The Provincial States reached an understanding in their regulations. In the regulations of the exercitiegenootschappen, their underlying aim of bringing the people republican principles and petitioning for and demanding their participation in choosing the composition of the city administration had never been taken up.
Initial support, however, turned into a discouraging administration in the summer of 1785, with the aristocrats moving more and more towards the prince. At the beginning of August 1786 in Utrecht, the exercitiegenootschappen gathered together to commemorate the Battle of Dogger Bank
, with 20,000 men marching through the city. At that meeting, a radical decision was taken: sixteen democratically chosen Patriots were appointed to the council. This was a unique event in Europe. A few weeks later Herman Willem Daendels
, captain of the local exercitiegenootschap, was inspired to take action in Hattem
, upon which all exercitiegenootschappen meetings and mutual support were banned in Friesland and Gelderland. Freedom of assembly had reached its limits.
In May 1787 the professors and students in Franeker
were forbidden from joining the local exercitiegenootschappen or militia. East of Utrecht, the State army camped; there were several shootings, but not very many were hurt. Moreover it was a war in propaganda. In June 1787, the exercitiegenootschap of Gouda stopped princess Wilhelmina of Prussia
, by the Vlist
. An flying army unit under Adam Gerard Mappa
occupied a number of cities in Holland, and another did the same in Friesland
. They tried to take the vroedschap
pen into their own hands, shortly before Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
the commander of the troops of king of Prussia
occupied the Republic, on 13 September. The Orange restoration
became established, with its superior force of 20.000 soldiers. Stadholder William V
was returned to his position. All the officers of the exercitiegenootschappen who had not already escaped to northern France were captured and condemned, if they had been involved in an occupation of the city hall or defending the cities ramparts.
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
was a military organisation in the 18th century Netherlands, in the form of an armed private organization with a democratically chosen administration, aiming to train the citizens
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and the lower bourgeoisie in use of muskets. Exercitiegenootschappen were propagated by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol
Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol
Joan Derk, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol was a Dutch nobleman who played a prominent role in the formation of the Batavian Republic and the revolutionary events that preceded its formation...
, who translated an old book (1732) by Andrew Fletcher on arming a nation's citizens and so got the idea from Scotland. He also saw them as necessary due to the serious decline in the existing, Orangist
Orangism (Netherlands)
Orangism is a monarchist political support for the House of Orange-Nassau as monarchy of the Netherlands. It played a significant role in the political history of the Netherlands since the Dutch revolt...
schutterij
Schutterij
Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces within the city, near the city walls, but, when the...
en.
Cause and context
Exercitiegenootschappen were set up after the Scottish, American and Swiss examples of musket-armed citizens. The expenses of a standing army, the attracting of foreign officers into the national army and the neglect of the navy were all loudly criticised and reform was called for. The leaders of the PatriotsPatriots (faction)
The Patriots were a political faction in the Dutch Republic in the second half of the 18th century. They were led by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, gaining power from November 1782....
tried to seek a solution during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo–Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, tangentially related to the American Revolutionary War, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that...
, at the cheapest possible cost. Immediately the war (which had begun badly) developed disastrously, a wave of deprivation spreading through the country, and this result of the attempted reform was widely felt as a matter of national shame, with the harrowing contrast between the famous past and the miserable present becoming clear to everyone.
Organisation and structure
The first exercitiegenootschappen were set up in the beginning of 1783 in DeventerDeventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
, Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
or Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. Quint Ondaatje was the leader of the exercitiegenootschap in Utrecht, and he soon spoke in deeds as well as words. He knew that the exercitiegenootschappen had to be organized firstly at provincial (and later at national) levels. In 1784 a number of nationally-organized free-corps (vrijcorpsen) signed the Acte van Verbintenis (Act of Agreement), in which they promised to come to the aid of each other as the Patriots saw necessary. This Act especially stimulated the exercitiegenootschappen and vrijcorpsen in the small cities to confidence and action. Gerrit Paape
Gerrit Paape
Gerrit Paape Delft was a Dutch plateelschilder , poet, journalist, novelist, judge, columnist and ministerial civil servant.-Life:...
set himself the task of being a historian of these local societies.
Many people wanted to become a member, with Catholics and Mennonites
Mennonite Church in the Netherlands
The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, or Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit, is a body of Mennonite Christians in the Netherlands.The Mennonites are named for Menno Simons , a Dutch Roman Catholic priest from the Province of Friesland who converted to Anabaptism around 1536...
no longer excluded. Not only many shopkeepers, but also ministers, such as François Adriaans van der Kemp, reported for duty. They exercised at least once a week, mostly on Sundays after the religious service or, in bad weather, actually inside the church. (There were almost no chairs, but a few benches for the nobility and members of the vroedschap). Members never needed to be wealthy enough to buy their own weapon, unlike in the schutterij
Schutterij
Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces within the city, near the city walls, but, when the...
en. Non-attendance earned a fine of a few stuiver
Stuiver
The stuiver was a pre-decimal coin used in the Netherlands It was worth 16 penning or 8 duit. Twenty stuivers equalled a guilder.It circulated until the Napoleonic Wars...
s.
Exercitiegenootschappen had the preference above free corps, being completely independent of the existing schutterij. Vrijcorpsen arose mainly in the countryside, because there was no schutterij for their area. After the Rotterdam exercitiegenootschap in 1784 was forbidden, more and more so-called "genootschappen in de wapenhandel" (societies for weapons training) sprang up, as in Bolsward
Bolsward
Bolsward is a city in Súdwest Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward is just short of a population of 10,000.- History :The town is founded on three artificial dwelling hills, of which the first was built some time before Christ....
, and they were very progressive for their time and would speak out regularly.
Escalation
An incident with the Austrian emperor Joseph IIJoseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
about the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
, known as the kettle war - for two hundred years closed off by Holland and Zeeland - led to organization of the provincial armies in January 1785. Court Lambertus of Beyma took the initiative in Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
, causing a wave of new exercitiegenootschappen and free-corps that spring. The Provincial States reached an understanding in their regulations. In the regulations of the exercitiegenootschappen, their underlying aim of bringing the people republican principles and petitioning for and demanding their participation in choosing the composition of the city administration had never been taken up.
Initial support, however, turned into a discouraging administration in the summer of 1785, with the aristocrats moving more and more towards the prince. At the beginning of August 1786 in Utrecht, the exercitiegenootschappen gathered together to commemorate the Battle of Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1781)
The naval Battle of the Dogger Bank took place on 5 August 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, part of the American War of Independence, in the North Sea...
, with 20,000 men marching through the city. At that meeting, a radical decision was taken: sixteen democratically chosen Patriots were appointed to the council. This was a unique event in Europe. A few weeks later Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels was a Dutch politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811....
, captain of the local exercitiegenootschap, was inspired to take action in Hattem
Hattem
Hattem is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The city population is 11,797. The name “Hattem” is a typical farmyard name. The exact origin of “Hattem” is yet unclear. In general two explanation exist. Hattem would be the ‘heem’ of a people who belong to the tribe of Chattuarii...
, upon which all exercitiegenootschappen meetings and mutual support were banned in Friesland and Gelderland. Freedom of assembly had reached its limits.
In May 1787 the professors and students in Franeker
Franeker
Franeker is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Franekeradeel. It is located about 20 km west of Leeuwarden on the Van Harinxma Canal. As of 1 January 2006, it had 12,996 inhabitants. The city is famous for the Eisinga Planetarium from around...
were forbidden from joining the local exercitiegenootschappen or militia. East of Utrecht, the State army camped; there were several shootings, but not very many were hurt. Moreover it was a war in propaganda. In June 1787, the exercitiegenootschap of Gouda stopped princess Wilhelmina of Prussia
Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange
Wilhelmina of Prussia, born Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina, , was the consort of William V of Orange and also the de facto leader of the dynastic party and contra revolution in the Netherlands...
, by the Vlist
Vlist
Vlist is a village and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 56.52 km² and had a population of 9,803 in 2004....
. An flying army unit under Adam Gerard Mappa
Adam Gerard Mappa
Adam Gerard Mappa was a Dutch Patriot and active colonel in a local militia,...
occupied a number of cities in Holland, and another did the same in Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
. They tried to take the vroedschap
Vroedschap
The vroedschap was the name for the city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a vroedman, literally a "wise man"...
pen into their own hands, shortly before Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
Charles William Ferdinand , Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, was a sovereign prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and a professional soldier who served as a Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia...
the commander of the troops of king of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
occupied the Republic, on 13 September. The Orange restoration
Orangism (Netherlands)
Orangism is a monarchist political support for the House of Orange-Nassau as monarchy of the Netherlands. It played a significant role in the political history of the Netherlands since the Dutch revolt...
became established, with its superior force of 20.000 soldiers. Stadholder William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
was returned to his position. All the officers of the exercitiegenootschappen who had not already escaped to northern France were captured and condemned, if they had been involved in an occupation of the city hall or defending the cities ramparts.