ABSTRACT
Schimmelpenninck disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived, and Napoleon’s brother Louis became king of Holland in 1806. This change was part of the family system of Napoleon who liked to consolidate his position by surrounding France with vassal kingdoms and principalities where his relatives and his trusted friends reigned. King Louis’ reign need not be examined from the point of view of Napoleonic policy. What gives it importance in an historic survey of the evolution of Dutch national sentiment is the fact that this foreign adventurer discovered the inwardness of Dutch nationhood, admired it and loved it. He was, and not unwillingly, one of the men who were instrumental in the national regeneration of the Dutch. Napoleon wanted to tighten his grip on Holland, and to intensify the part played by this country in the blockade of England.
