Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol

Joan Derk baron van der Capellen tot den Poll (November 2, 1741–June 6, 1784) was a Dutch nobleman who played a prominent role in the formation of the Batavian Republic and the revolutionary events that preceded its formation. As a member of the Patriots and inspired by the American Revolution , he wrote the famous pamphlet To the People of the Netherlands ( in Dutch: Aan het Volk van Nederland), in which reclaimed a more liberal society and the end of the Stadtholder regime, which had been marked by corruption and nepotism. He was also an ardent supporter in the legal recognition of the recently created United States.

Abolition of the Drostendiensten

As a member of the States Van der Capellen applied himself to the abolition of the so-called 'drostendiensten', which compelled the farmers of Overijssel to labour for a pittance a few days every year for the local magistrate, the Drost (bailiff). This relic from medieval times was wrongfully applied in his opinion.

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In an address to the States in 1778, he pointed out that these rights had been officially abolished in 1631. He ensured his statement was distributed widely and free of charge among the farmers in the Twenthe region.

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In the end he won his case but his fellow members in the States excluded him from particpation in their deliberations until 1782.

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