ABSTRACT
From the mid-eighteenth century onwards, Jews in the Dutch Republic were increasingly involved in national politics, especially in the conflict between the democratic Patriots and the supporters of Stadholder William V, known as Orangists. Partly inspired by Enlightenment ideals and the American Revolution, the Patriots resisted the weak policy of the stadholder and demanded a more democratic form of government. Jews emerged as fervent supporters of the House of Orange and its stadholder, and Jewish Orangism became more visible than ever in the ‘civil war’ of 17861787. In 1785 William V fled The Hague after the Patriots took power. The house of Benjamin Cohen (1726–1800) in Amersfoort served as the headquarters of the stadholder’sarmy and William himself stayed there from time to time, awaiting the arrival of Prussian troops who had been called upon to lead a counteroffensive against the Patriot army.
