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DUTCH MAIL IN TIMES OF TURMOIL: 1568 - 1815

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

wrote, adding a poignant relevance.

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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. Duke of Alba

King Philip II of Spain

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.

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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.

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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.

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THE GALLEY SLAVE

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).

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WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION (1702-1714)

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.

The routing: first north to Amsterdam

then south to Antwerp via Roosendaal.

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.

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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 15th

, 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

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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’ 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 Amsterdam, May

30, 1787: the ‘Bijltjes’ Riots the upper hand: “rioters tried to come into my

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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 9

th ,

after a lengthy siege, the

Armée du Nord conquered

‘sHertogenbosch (Bois le

Duc) In this case 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.

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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 1ere

Don

de l’armee Sambre &

Meuse is believed to be unique on a

letter from the Dutch Republic.

Sent route de Paris to Nouancourt in

Bretagne, the rate was 8 French sols.*

* 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.

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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 sty-

vers “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.

top: Vitoria, October 26, 1808. French rate 12

sous, total to destination 25½ stuivers (XXV);

reverse: DÉB.7 SEDAN.

below: Paris, January 6, 1810. 60 PASSY and P in

triangle; French rate 8 sous, changed to 7 sous,

total to destination 15½ stuivers (XV-).

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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

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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

below 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.

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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.