Pieter Corbeels (

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, 12 March 1755 –

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

, 21 June 1799) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

book printer and resistance leader. He was a founder of the Belgian-based publishing company

Brepols Brepols is a Belgian publishing house. Once, it was one of the largest printing companies in the world and one of the main employers in Turnhout (Belgium). Besides its printing business, Brepols is also active as a publisher. Formerly well known ...

. He commanded part of the Brabantine forces during a revolt against the French Revolutionary regime known as the '' Boerenkrijg'' ("Peasants' War"). He was executed for his role in the war.

Service in Austrian Army

Corbeels, was a corporal in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n army. He fought in the rebel army of Jean-André van der Mersch, who won the Battle of Turnhout against the Austrians in 1789. After the defeat of the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austr ...

, he started a printing business in Leuven in 1790. He established his printing business in the Gommarushuis in the Tiensestraat in Leuven. Corbeels printed besides the ordinary, ordered printed papers, also a large number of inciting leaflets and almanacs. For this he was arrested by the French, on 28 November 1792, and transferred to

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

in France. On 15 December 1792, he was released whereupon he resumed printing. In 1793 he moved into the house called ''Hertog van Brabant'' on the ''Grote Markt'' of Leuven. In 1796, he moved with his wife, Barbara Panz, and assistant,

Philippus Jacobus Brepols Philippus Jacobus Brepols (1778 – 1845) was a Belgian publisher and founder of the Brepols printing family-business in Turnhout, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in ...

, to

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

, where he was less impeded by the French. On 16 September 1797, his wife died and on 31 October he remarried with Joanna Antonia Servaes.

Life in Turnhout and Peasants War

Corbeels remarried while living in Turnhout, and he left Turnhout in the summer of 1798 as a leader of the ''Boerenkrijg'' also known as the

Peasants' War (1798) The Peasants' War (french: Guerre des Paysans, nl, Boerenkrijg, german: Klöppelkrieg, lb, Klëppelkrich) was a peasant revolt in 1798 against the French occupiers of the Southern Netherlands, a region which now includes Belgium, Luxembourg, a ...

against the French. On 25 November 1798, he was caught in Postel and taken by the French, whereupon he ended up in the prison, and was executed, together with Albert Meulemans, on 21 June 1799 in Tournai. His widow initially continued the printing business, together with Philippus Jacobus Brepols, but in 1800 he bought the business from her. The

printing business in Turnhout grew out of this.

References

* MARTENS, Erik, ''"De Boerenkrijg in Brabant (1798-1799). De opstand van het jaar 7 in het Dijledepartement"'', Uitgeverij De Krijger, 2005, blz. 50, 55–56, 111, 112, 118, 125, 127, 135, 194.\ Source used in Belgian Wikipedia biography entry 1755 births Corbeels, Pieter People from Turnhout 1799 deaths People of the Brabant Revolution {{military-bio-stub