een Hollandsch Heer - Het gedrag van de regenten of bestierders van de republiek der vereenigde Nederlanden gedurende den - 1747

The conduct of the regents or administrators of the Republic of the United Netherlands during the present war unfolded by a Dutch gentleman - London, T. Webb - 31 p - 17 x 12 cm

Extremely rare and razor-sharp political pamphlet from 1747. The document was written by an anonymous author who presents himself as a "Dutch gentleman".
The pamphlet contains 31 pages and was supposedly printed in London for T. Webb.

Historical Context & Background

The tract appeared in the midst of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was deeply drawn into this European conflict. French troops invaded the Southern Netherlands and Zeelandic Flanders in 1747, sowing panic among the population.

The pamphlet is a fierce attack on the sitting, state-aligned regent elite. The author accuses the wealthy administrators of mismanagement, corruption, indecisiveness, and a lack of resolve in the defense of the country.

Political Impact: The Upheaval of 1747

These kinds of critical pamphlets acted as fuel for the fire in 1747. The discontent with the "conduct of the regents" led in the spring of that year to a popular uprising and a political upheaval. As a direct consequence, the regents were compelled to appoint the young William IV of Orange-Nassau as hereditary stadtholder of all the provinces, thus ending the Second Stadtholderless Period.

Bibliographic Details

• Pseudonym: The author signed the piece with the mysterious initials M. D. J. S. U.
• False imprint: Although the title page states that the booklet was translated from English and was printed in London for T. Webb (and available from the booksellers of London and Westminster), this is very likely a false place of printing. In the 18th century, printers often used fictitious foreign names and cities to circumvent the strict censorship of the Dutch regents. The pamphlet was most likely printed in the Republic itself.