ABSTRACT
This contribution presents a study on the case of one multiply attacked character within the time span of one lifetime in two different countries: Adam Gerard Mappa (1754–1828) a Dutch-American revolutionary who fled the Netherlands in 1789, after the Dutch Patriot Revolution of the 1780s failed to democratize the Dutch Republic by transferring power from both the Stadholder of Orange and the regents to the people. Bringing together the Dutch and American historiographical versions of the history of Mappa’s life, which have, until today, largely remained separated, it becomes evident that what, from the viewpoint of character traits, was socially acceptable or fiercely rejected in the Netherlands, was not necessarily socially acceptable or fiercely rejected in America, and vice versa, despite the many overlaps between the political cultures of both countries.
