Cornelis "Kees" de Gijselaar (9 February 1751 - 29 May 1815) was a Dutch politician and patriot, and a leader in the rebellion during the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

against the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...

Biography

Born in

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...

, De Gijselaar was educated at the Latin School in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

and earned a doctorate in Roman and Modern Law from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

in 1774.Mr. C. de Gijselaar
at www.parlement.com, retrieved 26 July 2014 . He was a

pensionary A pensionary was a name given to the leading functionary and legal adviser of the principal town corporations in the Low Countries because they received a salary or pension. History The office originated in Flanders. Initially, the role was refe ...

(civil servant) in Gorinchem from 26 May 1776 until 1779. From 1779 until 11 October 1787, he was a pensionary of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

. Together with Adriaan van Zeebergh and Engelbert François van Berckel, pensionaries of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, he supported the Dutch Patriots faction, which sought greater autonomy for citizens and less power for the

during the time of the

. In the 1780s, he was considered one of the leaders of the faction, and the patriots were nicknamed ''Kezen'' after his first name. Kees had a little dog that followed him everywhere, and with the time became the symbol of this faction, and was known as

Keeshond The Keeshond ( , plur. Keeshonden) is a medium-sized dog with a plush, two-layer coat of silver and black fur with a ruff and a curled tail. It originated in Holland, and its closest relatives are the German spitzes such as the ''Großspi ...

(Kees' dog). The patriots wore

pins to signal their allegiance, whereas the Orangists used the orange (tawny)

pug The Pug is a breed of dog originally from China, with physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most often light brown (Fawn (colour) ...

as a symbol.Keeshond

Historical Museum of the Hague History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, retrieved 3 Jan 2017 . After the Prussian intervention and the restoration of the Oranges in 1787, he lost his leading role and moved to Brussels, where he lived for ten years. He declined offers to become politically active again in 1795 and 1814. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1809. Cornelis de Gijselaar moved to

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

after his wife's death, and died there in 1815.

References

External links

Cornelis de Gijselaar
at www.biografischportaal.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Gijselaar, Cornelis de 1751 births 1815 deaths People from Gorinchem Members of the Dutch Patriots faction Dutch politicians Leiden University alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences