Cornelis Rudolphus Theodorus Krayenhoff
Encyclopedia
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, hydraulic engineer
Hydraulic engineering
This article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...
, cartographer and - against his will and for only a short time - Dutch Minister of War.
Biography
His father was a hydraulic engineer and soldier in Nijmegen, with brewingBrewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
as a sideline. Krayenhoff was educated in Nijmegen, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
and Harderwijk
Harderwijk
' is a municipality and a small city in the eastern Netherlands.- The history of Harderwijk :Harderwijk received city rights from Count Otto II of Guelders in 1231. A defensive wall surrounding the city was completed by the end of that century. The oldest part of the city is near where the...
. In the latter city he met Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels was a Dutch politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811....
, later a fellow-revolutionary. He had been intended to study law, but began to study philosophy and medicine instead (1777–1783). He wrote his dissertations on the theory of the imagination and a medical survey of the dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
epidemic that raged in Nijmegen in 1783. He established himself as a physician in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, after he had declined an offer of a professorate in medicine at Franeker
Franeker
Franeker is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Franekeradeel. It is located about 20 km west of Leeuwarden on the Van Harinxma Canal. As of 1 January 2006, it had 12,996 inhabitants. The city is famous for the Eisinga Planetarium from around...
university. He was a member of the Concordia et Libertate genootschap
Genootschap
A genootschap is a specifically Dutch form of company, association, society or cooperative, named after the pursuit for which its members gather.-Definition:...
and of Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen. In the Felix Meritis genootschap he presented physics experiments and lectured on art history, while taking lessons in painting. He refused a request to take charge of organizing military inundations around Amsterdam during the Patriot Revolt
Patriots (faction)
The Patriots were a political faction in the Dutch Republic in the second half of the 18th century. They were led by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, gaining power from November 1782....
of 1785-7. This may have contributed to the fall of Amsterdam to the Prussians in 1787, when they intervened in favor of stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
.
Krayenhoff was an authority on electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. The spire of the Grote or Martinikerk (a church in Doesburg
Doesburg
Doesburg Doesburg Doesburg (Dutch is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Gelderland. Doesburg received city rights in 1237 and currently has 11,602 inhabitants (1 January 2007, source: CBS). The city is situated on the right bank of river IJssel, at the...
) was, in 1782, the first building in the Netherlands to be equipped with a lightning conductor
Lightning rod
A lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod or conductor mounted on top of a building and electrically connected to the ground through a wire, to protect the building in the event of lightning...
. He and Adriaan Paets van Troostwijk in 1787 won first prize for their article on electricity. In 1791 he became a member of the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen (a scientific genootschap, one of the predecessors of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
).
The Batavian Republic
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...
and general Daendels were invading the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. In October, 1794, the revolutionaries attempted an insurrection in Amsterdam, in which Krayenhoff, together with Alexander Gogel was involved as a ringleader (he acted as Military Officer of the Revolutionary Committee). After its suppression he had to flee Amsterdam secretly because he had been involved in gathering weapons in Amsterdam. He joined the Patriot Revolutionary Committee with the French headquarters in 's-Hertogenbosch.
The French advanced rapidly after the Waal river froze over in late December, 1794. Soon important cities, like Nijmegen and Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
capitulated. The Patriot Revolutionary Committee (with Samuel Iperusz. Wiselius
Samuel Iperusz. Wiselius
Samuel Iperusz, Knight Wiselius was a successful Dutch lawyer and a prominent Patriot and democrat, involved in the dismantling of the Dutch East India Company and the negotiations over the Cape. Wiselius was a witty, Voltairian spirit with political views far ahead of his time who would end his...
and Nicolaas van Staphorst
Nicolaas van Staphorst
Nicolaas van Staphorst was a Dutch banker and a conservative republican. Up till 1794 he was involved in a total of eleven loans that were granted in Amsterdam to the United States with a value of 29 million guilders, and in the Holland Land Company.-Life:In 1782, the brothers led discussions with...
) deemed it important to liberate an important city itself, without direct French aid, to support its claims to independent authority in the Netherlands. It therefore sent Krayenhoff to Amsterdam, in a French lieutenant's uniform, to organize another insurrection.
On Sunday afternoon 18 January 1795 - at Daendels' instruction - he came to tell Amsterdam's burgomasters that they had better resign the next day. Intimidated by large crowds of Patriot sympathizers (who threatened President-Burgomaster Straalman's personal safety) and demoralized by the fact that the commander of the Amsterdam garrison, Col. Golowkin, refused to intervene, the city government handed over command of the garrison to Krayenhoff at midnight. The next morning, the Amsterdam Revolutionary Committee triumphantly rode to city hall, while exultant crowds planted a liberty tree
Liberty pole
A liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap. They are associated with the Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century.-American Revolution:...
on Dam Square
Dam Square
Dam Square, or simply the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.- Location and description :...
.
In 1796 he became head of Dutch fortifications and moved to Muiden
Muiden
Muiden is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht and is in an area called the Vechtstreek.-Population centres :...
. From 1798 he was involved in organising the new Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat, is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management...
, after the establishment of the unitary state. He was involved in the campaign against the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland
Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland
The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland refers to the campaign of 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and Russian troops invaded the North-Holland peninsula in the Batavian Republic...
of 1799 as commander of the Batavian Engineer
Combat engineering
A combat engineer, also called pioneer or sapper in many armies, is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions...
s (see Battle of Castricum
Battle of Castricum
The Battle of Castricum saw a Franco-Dutch force defeat an Anglo-Russian force near Castricum, Netherlands. The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France between French and Dutch forces under the command of General Guillaume Brune and Herman Willem...
) and advised the army leadership. After the Convention of Alkmaar of October 18, 1799, in which the evacuation of the invasion troops was agreed, Krayenhoff, on behalf of the Batavian command inspected the fortifications which the British had promised to leave intact as part of the capitulation.
Krayenhoff was meanwhile beginning his life's work : setting up a system of triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
, so that the Netherlands could be mapped in detail.
Krayenhoff busied himself with determining the Amsterdam Level
Normaal Amsterdams Peil
Normaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Mayor Johannes Hudde of Amsterdam in...
. King Louis Bonaparte
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...
(the ruler of the Kingdom of Holland
Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...
after 1806) was very taken with him and gave him various positions. Krayenhoff was for ten months Minister of War and organized Amsterdam's defensive fortifications against a feared invasion by the king's brother Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. Krayenhoff in this context initiated the construction of the Stelling van Amsterdam
Stelling van Amsterdam
The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam is a 135 km long ring of fortifications around Amsterdam, consisting of 42 forts located between 10 to 15 kilometers the centre, and lowlands that can easily be flooded in time of war...
, at this time called the Posten van Krayenhoff, or the Oude Stelling van Amsterdam. When Napoleon became aware of this, Krayenhoff had to be fired. However, in a later personal encounter after the annexation of the Netherlands to France in 1810, Napoleon still showed interest in him and gave him an appointment in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Krayenhoff got an attractive offer from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, but feared the tsar
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, for his two sons had been captured during the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
in 1812 and were still in captivity. His eldest son fought in the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
against Napoleon, and was wounded.
However, Krayenhoff became increasingly disaffected with the French. As an illustration, Willem de Clercq
Willem de Clercq
Willem de Clercq was secretary and later director of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij . He is also known as a poet and as a leader of the Réveil, the Protestant Revival in the Netherlands. He left behind a gigantic diary, with extensive reports of the events he witnessed...
mentions in his diary that Krayenhoff, during the Dutch insurrection against France in 1813, gave the order that, should there be a French attack, "...everybody should take up the cobblestones before his front door, carry them to his parlour, and greet the attacking French lovingly with a hail of stones" (aan iedereen om de stenen voor zijn deur op te nemen, dezelve op zijn voorkamer te transporteren en daarmee de aanvallende Fransen lieflijk met een steenregen te begroeten). In 1813 he worked diligently for the Restoration and in 1815 he was made a baron by the new king.
In that same year, he took the initiative for the construction of the New Dutch Water Line
Dutch Water Line
The Dutch Water Line was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry...
, assisted by Jan Blanken. In 1818, Krayenhoff got into problems regarding the building of defence works in Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
. His youngest son, Johan Krayenhoff, was involved in the building of fort Batavia in Nijmegen. In 1826 king William I of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands
William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....
honored Krayenhoff by renaming it after him. In 1825 he travelled on a frigate to Surinam and Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
Krayenhoff got into more problems in 1826 over alleged malversations committed during the construction work of fortifications in Ieper and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, but was acquitted at a trial in 1830.
On 12 May 1823, Krayenhoff was appointed Knight Grand Cross in the Order of William
Order of William
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William , is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order's motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw...
for his contribution to the strengthening of the Netherlands' southern border. From 1826 on he left active service and wrote his memoirs.
Krayenhoff died at the age of 82 and was initially buried in the fortress at Nijmegen that was named after him (his headstone is still there). In 1916 he was reburied at Rustoord cemetery in Nijmegen.
Works
- Paets van Troostwijk, A. & C.R.T. Krayenhoff (1787) De l'application de l'electricité à la physique et à la médecine.
- Verz. van hydrogr. en topogr. waarnemingen in Holland (1813)
- Précis historique des opérations géodésiques et astronomiques faites en Hollande (1815)
- Proeve van een ontwerp tot scheiding der rivieren de Waal en de Boven-Maas (1823)
- Geschiedk. beschouwing van den oorlog op het grondgebied der Bat. Republiek in 1799 (1825)
- De Lt.-gen. Bn. Krayenhoff voor het Hoog Mil. Geregtshof beschreven en vrijgesproken (1830)
- Bijdr. tot de Vaderl. gesch. van 1808 en 1809 (1838)
Sources
- This article is based entirely or partially on its equivalent on Dutch Wikipedia. Akihary, H. & M. Behagel (1982) De verdedigingsbouw in Nederland tussen 1795 en 1914. In: Vesting. Vier eeuwen vestingbouw in Nederland, onder redactie van J. Sneep, H.A. Treu en M. Tydeman. Clerq, W. de (1813) Woelige weken, November - December 1813, p. 94-5. (1832) Geschiedkundige Beschouwing van den Oorlog op het grondgebied der Bataafsche Republiek in 1799. J.C. Vieweg http://books.google.com/books?id=vFtKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=Guericke+Keeten&source=bl&ots=Ng0K4OxDRd&sig=SwRgFQxbDVeVqlWDPn6dJIENn8s&hl=en&ei=sDLmSbGnEaPoswPOsJj1AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPA68,M1 Levensbijzonderheden van de luitenant-generaal C.R.T. Krayenhoff door hem zelven in schrift gesteld, en op zijn verlangen in het licht gegeven door Mr H.W. Tijdeman (1844).
- Schama, S.Simon SchamaSimon Michael Schama, CBE is a British historian and art historian. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He is best known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC documentary series A History of Britain...
(1977), Patriots and Liberators. Revolution in the Netherlands 1780-1813. New York, Vintage books, ISBN 0679729496 Turksma, L. (2005) Wisselend lot in een woelige tijd. Van Hogendorp, Krayenhoff, Chassé en Janssens, generaals in Bataafs-Franse dienst.