Rotterdam, Patriottentijd- Theodorus de Roode, 1784

RIOTS IN ROTTERDAM BETWEEN ORANGISTS AND PATRIOTS

“Afbeelding van het gepleegde geweld te Rotterdam aen de Burger Compagnie no. 9 op den 3 April 1784, zoo als het zich in de baan straat vertoonde.” [Depiction of the violence committed in Rotterdam against Citizen Company No. 9 on 3 April 1784, as it appeared in the street.” Etching with engraving made by Theodorus de Roode in 1784. Later hand-coloured. Size (plate mark): 36.2 × 39.8 cm.

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the Dutch economy was in decline and the political system was corrupt and opaque. The country was governed by regents who mainly protected their own interests and by a stadtholder, William V, who did little or nothing for the people. The powerless population grew increasingly concerned about this deterioration, especially when England declared war on the Netherlands in 1780 and the economy finally collapsed. From that moment on, society became politicised.

A revolutionary period began. Thanks to the influence of the Enlightenment, citizens had learned that they had a right to their own opinions. Two factions opposed each other: the Patriots (mostly drawn from the prosperous bourgeoisie) and the Orangists (lower classes plus regents). The Patriots—those who called themselves true fatherlanders—opposed the stadtholder. They wanted more freedom, more equality, and more participation in government.

In Rotterdam especially, the factions confronted one another. There the Patriots had established a vrijcorps: a small army of armed citizens over which the stadtholder had no authority.

On 3 April 1784, a group of supporters of Stadtholder William V waited for the vrijcorps outside Rotterdam’s town hall. They pelted the Patriots with stones and mud, assuming the Patriots would not shoot. But the Patriots panicked and fired after all. Four people were killed in the clash.

In this engraving we see the confrontation between the Ninth Citizen Company and Orangists in Prinsenstraat in Rotterdam, on the evening of 3–4 April 1784. The company, under Lieutenant-Colonel Elsevier, opens fire on the Orangist crowd. Beneath the image appears the emblem of Citizen Company No. 9.

Literature: Frederik Muller “Nederlandsche historieplaten” (1863-1882), no. 4550.

Price: Euro 650,-