Dutch Mails in Times of Turmoil 1568-1815

Kees Adema

7 February 2008

Introduction

The intent of this study of Dutch fieldpost and related subjects is to show philatelic consequences wars, upheavals and social unrest had on letters to and from the area that roughly encompasses the current Kingdom of The Netherlands while placing them into their historical context. A conscious effort has been made to popularize the subject and enliven what would otherwise be a purely academic study. Early stampless letters have a tough time competing with stamps, so adding colorful maps and images not only serve an educational purpose, but also make a page visually more attractive. FIP now permits the adding of such material in international exhibits as long as it is relevant to the letter in question. A study of this kind remains a balancing act however whereby the scholarly constantly has to be measured against the popular.

Between 1568 and 1815, The Netherlands or Holland, as it is commonly referred to, was involved in many major conflicts and Dutchmen, voluntarily or not, participated in countless campaigns and battles. The exhibit starts in 1568 when the Dutch rebels, led by William of Orange, started the eighty year fight for independence against their Spanish rulers. For the purpose of this study the northern and southern Netherlands are considered one entity until the Peace Treaty of Münster in 1648, when the north became the Republic of The Netherlands, while the south remained a Spanish domain.

From the start of the Dutch Revolt to Napoleon's final defeat by Wellington in 1815, numerous other conflicts took place. Important changes in the European power structure were created by the Spanish and Austrian Wars of Succession and the four sea wars between England and Holland, referred to as the Dutch Sea Wars by the English, the English Sea Wars by the Dutch and the Anglo-Dutch Sea Wars by everyone else. Of course the conflicts during the French/Napoleonic era dwarfed all others.

From these 2 ½ centuries many letters with military, social or political relevance have survived, shedding light on contemporary events. The ones shown in this power point presentation form a small cross section of the collection, which is the basis for an upcoming trilogy with the above title.

If there is a red thread that runs through this exhibit it is the old adage that every war is a continuation of the previous one. Looking at these pages chronologically that is undoubtedly correct. History also proves that no political or military situation is permanent. Today's ally is tomorrow's adversary. The writers of these letters often did not survive the event about which they x wrote, adding a poignant relevance.

Eighty Years' War (1568-1648)

The Dutch, led by William of Orange – Nassau, started their revolt against Spain in 1568. The 17 Netherlands provinces, 7 in the north and 10 in the south, objected to the harsh rule of King Philip II, who rejected all overtures by the Dutch to grant even limited religious freedom to Lutherans and Calvinists. The task to bring the rebels into the Catholic fold fell to the ruthless "iron" Duke of Alba, third Governor General of The Netherlands. Because he could not arrest the father, Alba promptly abducted Philip William, 14 year old son of William of Orange, from Louvain University, in flagrant violation of the university's privileges. It was one of the watershed events leading to open revolt against Spanish rule. Philip William, Prince of William of Orange-Nassau Orange, would remain a hostage in Spain until 1596 and become totally estranged from his roots.

This letter to Philip II is dated February 22, 1568, and signed by Alba. Addressed Ala S.(acra) C.(atholica) R.(eal) M.(agesta) d El Rey n (uestro) S r(Señor) etc. it contains the chilling line "I am sending this letter by sea on the ship which is carrying the Count van Buren," a reference to Philip William. Historical records show that the letter was carried to Spain on the ship "Magdalena" which left Flushing at the end of February, arriving in Guiteria March 27, 1568. It is one of the earliest recorded sea letters from this area and as such a perfect example of history and philately coinciding. Archduke Matthias of Austria was a son of Emperor Maximilian and would, like his father, become Holy Roman Emperor (1612-1619). In July 1577, Don Juan, King Philip's Governor, took the Citadel of Namur (Namen) and declared himself Sovereign of The Netherlands. The pro-Orange States General considered Juan's action illegal, dismissed him and appointed the moderate Matthias in his stead. Matthias, accompanied by William of Orange, arrived in Brussels in July 1578, but the political climate was such that he was unable to accomplish much and returned home in October 1581.

Signed by Matthias as Governor of The Netherlands, this letter is dated May 4, 1580, and was sent from Antwerp to Veurneambagt in SW Flanders. It concerns the appointment of a bailiff, over the objections of a local landowner. Matthias reminds the addressees that in these turbulent times the area cannot afford to be without an officer of the law and that the appointee came highly recommended.

In 1577, Leonard of Taxis – allied with the Habsburgs – was relieved of his duties as postmaster-general and replaced by an ally of William of Orange, Johan Hinckart, Lord of Ohain. This letter was delivered by one of Hinckart's couriers.

This letter, in telegram-style Dutch, is dated October 31, 1600 and sent from Straelen (now Westphalia) to Spanish occupied Venlo. Folded into a tiny format, so it could be hidden in a sleeve or boot, it is addressed "Aan mijnen man Venlo" (to my husband Venlo); the letter was sealed by a strip of paper with the embossed family shield which was pulled through the slits and fastened with wax. The content refers to troop movements: "At one o'clock this afternoon I received the news the enemy turned around again, advanced through Wachtendonck and so further down." The Duke of Parma conquered Venlo in 1586 while Louis Gunther of Nassau, son of William of Orange's brother John VI, had recaptured Wachtendonck (near Venlo) in January 1600. Spain would maintain control of Venlo until 1632, therefore the enemy to which the woman refers are States troops. She was clearly pro-Spanish, considering she spied on Dutch troops and passed information onto her husband in Venlo.

1672: War With England (-1674) and France (-1678)

The year 1672 is known in The Netherlands as the "Year of Calamity." The Third Anglo-Dutch War had started in March when the English declared war on the Republic while Louis XIV attacked the Republic in June. William III (1650-1702) was named stadholder, captain- general and admiral in July. He and Mary Stuart married in 1677 and the couple became king and queen of England in 1689.

This is one of the earliest recorded letters from Dutch Surinam, which had become a possession of the States of Zeeland after the Peace of Breda, concluding the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667). The letter, dated September 6, 1672, was carried privately, illegally, by captain Pieter Herens and the letter made it to Middelburg despite the war.

The second letter from the conflict, dated August 9, 1672, from Cadiz to Amsterdam, also made it to the destination despite the fact that Louis XIV's troops had occupied sections of the Dutch Republic.

The overland route of the French State Post took it from Madrid to Paris via Bordeaux; Thurn and Taxis then carried it to Antwerp where the mail packet was opened and the pen notation 8 (Brabant sols = Dutch stuivers) was placed. Letters to Amsterdam went via Kuipersveer where the Antwerp office exchanged the mailbags with those going in the opposite direction. In Amsterdam 4 stuivers were added for the leg from Antwerp, making the total amount due 12 stuivers.

The Galley Slave

The Royal Galley, Patronne de France	Letter from 1698	Letter from 1701

Under Louis XIV Calvinism, practiced by so-called Huguenots, was declared a crime against the state. Those unwilling to convert to Catholicism were often sentenced to a lengthy term on the galleys. These two letters, from 1698 and 1701, were sent by a Dutch Huguenot, serving on the royal galley "Patronne de France," to his daughter and to the sexton of his Walloon church in The Hague. They form part of an archive of one dozen letters The royal galley Patronne de France that have survived because the postmaster kept the letters after the addressees refused to pay the postage. By 1698, date of the first letter, Jean Richard de Tibant had already served 12 years as a galley slave or galère. On orders of a church official he was originally sent to France to negotiate the freedom of Protestant galley slaves, but, ironically, he himself was then arrested and shared the same lot. Forçats (lit. galley bandits) had their heads shaved and a chain and ball were permanently attached to an ankle.

In the second letter, written 2½ years after the first, he writes his daughter – in an innkeeper or coffee house letter - that he has been pardoned but not yet released because the Intendant was "busy with the visit of the Spanish queen."

Jean Richard did not have much luck. After his release he was arrested again as an enemy combatant because during the War of Spanish Succession France and the Dutch Republic fought on opposite sides. In 1702 he writes that he has already been in a French jail again for 18 months. We do not know what happened to him after that but the war would last until 1714.

The top letter shows a DE PROVENCE transit marking placed in Lyon on letters going north via Lille. The rate in both cases was 17 stuivers for a letter of the first weight class per resolution dated May 17, 1673. (article Collectors Club Philatelist, Volume 85, number 5, September/October 2006).

War of Spanish Succession (1702-1714)

Letter from Aachen (Aix la Chapelle) to an Antwerp merchant	First north to Amsterdam then south to Antwerp via Roosendaal

Upon the death of the childless King Charles II in 1700 three parties claimed the throne of Spain - which included the southern Netherlands (Belgium) - for themselves or a family member: King Louis XIV of France, Joseph Ferdinand, electoral Prince of Bavaria and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. Armed conflict was inevitable.

In the spring of 1701 French troops, led by the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, invaded the Spanish Netherlands replacing Thurn & Taxis with Farmer of the Posts Pajot. Feeling threatened by a potential combination of France and Spain, William III (1650-1702), King of England and stadholder (governor) of The Netherlands crafted an Anglo-Dutch alliance against France. In 1706 the French were forced to withdraw after their defeat at Marillies at the hands of Marlborough; the Anglo-Dutch Condominium then replaced Pajot with Director General of the Posts Jaupain. The Second Barrier Treaty (1709) permitted the Dutch to station garrisons in strategic towns along the French border and the Generaliteitspost maintained connections with the government in The Hague. In 1714 peace treaties were signed and in 1715 the south becomes Austrian. The display shows covers illustrating he postal consequences of all shifts in military fortune.

In a pact concluded between the allies - Austria, England and the Republic - against France, their subjects were prohibited from trading or corresponding with Spain, France and the French-occupied Spanish Netherlands for a period of one year starting June 1, 1703. Because letters from the Republic could not be officially delivered, they first went to the border town of Roosendaal where they were marked with an X to indicate their special status; from there they were then smuggled south of the border by private courier.

This letter dated June 10, 1704, from Aachen (Aix la Chapelle) to an Antwerp merchant, was first taken by private messenger to Amsterdam and subsequently to Roosendaal by the forwarders David and Fred Creagh, whose manuscript notation is on the back. Although the embargo was supposed to end June 1, 1704, Dallmeier correctly states that it actually lasted a bit longer, as evidenced by this letter.

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)

Because negotiations to end the War of Austrian Succession were dragging on endlessly, Louis XV ordered a French invasion force under German-born Marshal de Löwendal to invade southern areas of the Republic. The fortress of Bergen op Zoom had a unique defense system designed by Menno van Coehoorn (1641- 1704), Dutch nobleman and engineer. The lower sections of the walls surrounding the town consisted of bricks while the upper parts were constructed of sand, which was immune to the impact from cannonballs or mortars. The brick part became vulnerable only after the approach road and the defense line closest to the wall had been conquered by the attackers. Löwendal had a system of trenches constructed in a zigzag pattern but the French would need more Marshal de Löwendal than two months, from July 14 to September 16, 1747, incurring heavy casualties, to take the town.

Letters from de Löwendal's invasion force, "au Cam(p) de la Commandrie," dated July 18 and September 9, 1747; the rates are 9 and 18 French sols respectively. Usage of the two different ARMEE DU ROY markings on letters from French occupied Dutch territory is believed to be unique. (article CCP 86/1, January/February, 2007)

Slave Trade

A blight on the collective Dutch conscience to this day is the slave trade. The captain of the slaver Mercurius at the Surinam River, who wrote the letter shown below, reports that the ship had sailed from Apam (Gold Coast SW of Accra) July 15, to arrive in Surinam with a cargo of "202 good and healthy slaves." He regrets that "29 beautiful slaves died enroute (but I) expect the survivors will fetch a very good price if conditions remain as they are" (at the time of writing). The Mercurius is variously described as a bark (barque), a brigantijn (brigantine) and, mostly, a snauw, which would have measured about 70 feet and carried a crew of 30 in - addition to the original 232 slaves - across the Atlantic!

Letter dated September 9, 1754, from Surinam to Middelburg, with early use of the Amsterdam – Texel handstamp (1754-1791, Ø 21.5 mm). Rate structure: postage overland from Texel to Amsterdam (port van Texel): 6 (VI) stuivers; Amsterdam – Rotterdam 3 stuivers (subtotal 9); to Middelburg: 5 stuivers, total 14 stuivers equivalent to 2S2, that is 2 Schelling 2 Grooten in accountancy units.

1787: Darkening Clouds

Innkeepers' letter	Disturbances in the Amsterdam harbor area, Kattenburg

Innkeepers' letters such as this one were to be delivered and picked up by the addressee at a pre- arranged location. This example from Amsterdam, dated June 2, 1787, was addressed to a coffee house in The Hague. It carries the departure marking in use from 1782 to 1803 and a rate notation of 3 stuivers.

The ominous clouds on the horizon that heralded things to come in France were also gathering in the Dutch Republic. The writer describes the disturbances that had occurred in the Amsterdam harbor area, Kattenburg, three days earlier between the pro Orangist bijltjes (lit. ship-carpenters' axes, named after the equipment used by their owners) and patriots, in which the latter had the upper hand: "rioters tried to come into my house but could not do so because I kept the shutters locked. Three were killed by the militia, nine were taken prisoner. Some were subjected to the rack but did not confess." The writer signed NN (Latin: nomen nescio or nomen nominandum = name not known or name not to be revealed) to keep his identity a secret.

1794: French Invasion

After the French forces were initially forced to withdraw from the southern Netherlands in the spring of 1793, the Austrians were defeated at Fleurus on June 26, 1794, and the south was occupied once again. French troops advanced further north and their positions during the invasion of 1794 are reflected in the letters and the map.

a) The ARMÉE DU NORD was now close to the Dutch border, as evidenced by this letter to Paris, au bivouac près de Lierre, pays conquis, le 12 Thermidor, 2me an républicaine, July 30. 1794. Lier(re) is located just south of Antwerp, about twenty miles from the Dutch border; postage due in Paris was 7 French sols. The letter informs the addressee that no news is known about his brother since the peace talks 7 Floréal (April 26).

b) On October 9th, after a lengthy siege, the Armée du Nord conquered ‘sHertogenbosch (Bois le Duc) In this case (below left) Bois la Duc was a written departure marking in the prescribed color, violet. In accordance with the 1792 tariff*, postage on mail to and from the army was to be charged from the first French border office yet this was ignored because 13 French sols follows the postal tariff of 1759. Because the letter has military content and was written by the quartier maître due 3e de la ½ Brigade des Lombards, the manuscript Bois le Duc notation is possibly an army fieldpost marking.

c) From the text it is clear that by December 6, 1794, the writer's unit had advanced to St. Hubert in Dutch Brabant, not to be confused with its namesake further to the south. Use of the fieldpost marking 1^ere D^on de l'armee Sambre & Meuse is believed to be unique on a letter from the Dutch Republic (below middle). Sent route de Paris to Nouancourt in Bretagne, the rate was 8 French sols.*

Manuscript Bois le Duc notation	Fieldpost marking 1ere Don de l'armee Sambre & Meuse	British Forces Occupy Java

* Decree of June 23, 1792, whereby postage on letters to or from the army was to be calculated from the first French office, Valenciennes or Lille.

1811: British Forces Occupy Java

After the rest of the Dutch Republic was invaded and occupied in 1795 the country became a French puppet state, the Batavian Republic, until 1806. Napoleon, by now emperor, placed his brother Louis on the throne of the newly created Kingdom of Holland which would exist until 1810. Napoleon was quite dissatisfied with Louis and unceremoniously dropped him in 1810 when the country was annexed to become a part of France until Dutch independence was regained late 1813.

The British established mastery of the seas after the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. After Napoleon had established the Continental System in 1806 all contact with Great Britain was prohibited. This letter dated December 13, 1808, from The Hague to Batavia, was smuggled to England, possibly via Hamburg. A British vessel took it to Cape of Good Hope where it received the SHIP LETTER CAPE OF GOOD HOPE marking. This occurred around 1809, when the Netherlands East Indies were considered enemy territory as far as the British were concerned.

In 1811, after Java was occupied by Raffles, the British immediately introduced the double ring arrival markings in several towns including Batavia. It showed JAVA GENERAL POST OFFICE between the outer rings and within the inner circle BA-TAVIA with the rate of 1 dol-lors and 32 styvers "koper." According to a proclamation from 1813 1 dollar + 32 koper (copper) stuivers equaled 10 (old) stuivers in silver. This being the rate charged from South Africa to Batavia, it compared to the rate of 12 stuivers for a ship letter from The Netherlands.

Napoleonic Army Against the Spanish Guerillas

These two letters were sent by a Dutch fusilier (soldier carrying a fusil or flintlock musket) serving in Spain to defend the crown of Napoleon's brother Joseph. In the first letter, from 1808, he is in Vitoria fighting with the 10th French Army against the guerillas. This was the first conflict during which that name was used but certainly not the last. Then, 15 months later, he writes his parents in Limbricht (Sittard): "we shall leave Paris tomorrow and march to Spain." There is no record of his whereabouts between the two campaigns.

right: Vitoria, October 26, 1808. French rate 12 sous, total to destination 25½ stuivers (XXV); reverse: DÉB.7 SEDAN.

left: Paris, January 6, 1810. 60 PASSY and P in triangle; French rate 8 sous, changed to 7 sous, total to destination 15½ stuivers (XV-).

William of Orange with Wellington

William, hereditary Prince of Orange and later King of the Netherlands, served as an Aide-deCamp to Wellington during the Peninsular War and rose from Lieutenant Colonel (1811) to General in the British army. His nickname in the army was slender Billy. As a youth he had a military education at the Prussian court and afterwards he studied at the University of Oxford.

This letter, dated February 19, 1812, from Freneda, Spain, sent by Prince William to a friend in Oxford, went via Lisbon and from there to Falmouth after ten days sailing.

The charge was 2/4, made up from the 1/5 packet rate from Lisbon to Falmouth and 11d from there cross-country to Oxford (250-300 miles); both charges conform to the March 1805 Act. The handstamp color is the Falmouth green. The prince writes to a friend with the wonderful name John Bull: ... "We have not been idle the last months as you will have seen by the papers having taken Rodrigo by storm after a siege of 11 days, the Spanish government has in consequence created lord Wellington Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, what a barbarous title! His new Grace is in uncommon good health and spirits."

Cantinière Letters

Drawn entirely by hand	Woodblock images of soldiers

Cantinières (sutlers) sold liquor and writing paper with woodblock images of soldiers, often adding an artistic touch by coloring in the unit's uniform. The soldier's image on the left of the three was drawn entirely by hand and as such probably unique. (article CCP 84/1, January/February 2005).

Orphans in Napoleon's Imperial Guard

September 11, 1811, Napoleon ordered that all Dutch foundlings and abandoned orphans over 15 and under 25 be sent to Versailles to create a unit of 6,000 Pupilles du Garde Impériale. The writer of the letter shown right served in the 2nd Batallion, 3rd Company and would have been wearing, per Napoleon's order: vest of white cloth, white knitted pants, overcoat of beige cloth, headgear and cartridge belt decorated with an eagle, a ribbon and a tassel; copper buttons with the eagle emblem. The pupie wrote that he had gained weight and looked healthy.

Letter dated February 27, 1812, sent by a pupille serving in the French Imperial Guard in Cherbourg, to his sister, who still lived in the Alms Orphanage in Amsterdam. Because the country had been annexed by France, the French inland tariff applied. For a letter weighing 11 grams, carried over a distance of 500-600 km, the charge was 2½ x the base rate of 8, 20 décimes/stuivers.

Written by the sister of the imperial pupille who wrote the above letter, the date here is April 7, 1812; both form part of a small archive with letters exchanged between the two. (article CCP 83/1, January/February 2004).

Article 181 of the General Postal Instruction reads, translated: "Single letters addressed to Military Personnel serving on land or at sea enjoy the right to frank (letters) at 15 centimes. In accordance with Article 14 this only applied when the Military Personnel is not on active duty. In case of absence or leave, this privilege is not valid." February 8, 1810, this was increased to 25 centimes, still much lower than the regular rate. Prepayment is indicated by the written 25 on the back and by the P.118.P.AMSTERDAM stamp. Such mail was routed via Antwerp, Lille and Paris, where the red boxed transit P.(ort) P.(ayé) P.(asse) P.(aris) was placed to show postage had been paid to destination.

1812: Napoleon in Moscow

The last of the items selected from the exhibit is the only recorded letter to The Netherlands from occupied Moscow. Dated September 18, 1812, it was sent home by a Dutch mineur (engineer), sergeant Hubert Antoine van Sane. By this time the French internal tariff, based on distance, had to be adjusted to allow for the 2,000 km from Moscow to Amsterdam, 15 décimes.

Van Sane writes: "After we were here 2 days the (field) post was established. Enroute here all the villages were burnt down ... could not even sleep in a poor wooden shack ... I shall long remember the 7th 8th and 9th Sept. ... the famous Battle of Mosaiski will be remembered by the French and the Russians ... we lost many people but the enemy a lot more ... the Russians had burnt down the bridge over the river and as soon as that was discovered we had to go there and while we were at work we lost some brothers ... one (was shot) through his leg another through his head ... I stood next to the captain of a company couriers de Génie who had his leg shot off ... we were glad when the Russians withdrew from their fortifications ... we all longed to see Moscow ... we were treated well for 2 days but at night the whole town was in flames ... many (of the arsonists) were caught and shot or hanged ... as soon as the town was in flames looting started ... good champagnes and Bordeaux ..."

During the retreat many of the Dutch mineurs, bridgebuilders and part of the Génie, died while building bridges across the Berezina (November 26-29) or freezing to death. The exact number of Dutch soldiers who participated in the Russian campaign is not known; it varies from a low of 15,000 to several times that. The number that did return is known: 500. (article CCP 85/1, January/February 2006).

The Battle of Waterloo was still three years off but the Russian campaign marked the beginning of the end for Napoleon's territorial aspirations.