Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol

Joan Derk baron van der Capellen tot den Poll (1741-1784)was a Dutch nobleman, who played a prominent role in the formation of the Batavian Republic and the revolutionary events that preceeded its formation. As a member of the Patriots (faction) 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, marked by corruption and nepotism. Furthermore, he was an ardent supporter in the legal recognition of the recently created United States.