Robert Jasper, Baron van der Capellen tot den Marsch (30 April 1743 – 7 June 1814) was a scion from the noble

regenten In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the regenten (the Dutch plural for ''regent'') were the rulers of the Dutch Republic, the leaders of the Dutch cities or the heads of organisations (e.g. "regent of an orphanage"). Though not formally a heredi ...

family Van der Capellen from

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

, who became a

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

, and leader of the movement's democratic wing. He succeeded his cousin

Joan Derk van der Capellen tot den Pol Joan Derk, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol (; 2 November 1741, Tiel – 6 June 1784, Zwolle) was a Dutch nobleman who played a prominent role in the revolutionary events that preceded the formation of the Batavian Republic. As a member of the ...

after his death in 1784.

Family

Robert Jasper was born on 30 April 1743 at the Boedelhof in

Eefde Eefde is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Lochem, about 3 km northeast of the city of Zutphen.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Overview It was f ...

near

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 1 ...

as the son of Frederik Robert Evert van der Capellen (1710–1755) and Anna Margaretha van Lijnden d'Aspermont (1707–1785). He was the fifth of eight children. Like his full cousin and close friend Joan Derk, who clearly influenced him, Robert Jasper was a fierce opponent of stadtholder

William V, Prince of Orange William V (Willem Batavus; 8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806) was a prince of Orange and the last stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. He was furthermore ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau until his death in ...

. His opposition to the ruling class in general is remarkable, however, because he came from that class himself, owning four castles, marrying an extremely wealthy lady and holding excessive dinner parties with fellow aristocrats. Van der Capellen's brothers never understood his and Joan Derk's political activism against their own class and the Orangists; his youngest brother was even a

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

of William V himself. Van der Capellen died on 7 June 1814 in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

Literature

*,
Robert Jasper baron van der Capellen tot den Marsch (1743-1814). Regent, democraat en huisvader
' (Hilversum 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capellen, Robert Jasper 1743 births 1814 deaths Dutch nobility Members of the Dutch Patriots faction People from Lochem