Act of Guarantee

The Act of Guarantee (Dutch: Akte van Garantie) of the hereditary stadtholderate was a document from 1788, in which the seven provinces of the States General and the representative of Drenthe declared, amongst other things, that the admiralty and captain-generalship were hereditary, and together with the hereditary stadtholderate would henceforth be an integrated part of the constitution of the Dutch Republic. Moreover, members of the House of Orange-Nassau would have the exclusive privilege to hold the office. The Act was in force until the Batavian Republic was established in 1795.

In the second half of the 18th century, there were tensions all over Europe because of growing dissatisfaction against the ruling upper class. William V, Prince of Orange, succeeded his father as hereditary stadtholder of the United Netherlands in 1751, but the –otherwise intelligent– prince showed weak leadership, and was heavily influenced from abroad. Especially the Patriots, influenced by Enlightenment thought and the American Revolution, opposed his policies, and sought to reform the state and legal system. After the Netherlands got into war with Britain in 1780, criticism of the stadtholderian regime's functioning steadily increased, and the influence and prestige of the prince gradually crumbled. Tensions between Orangists and Patriots peaked, both parties started arming themselves and forming exercitiegenootschappen, and Republic teetered on the brink of civil war.

In subsequent years, violent incidents occurred between supporters of both camps, leading to lethal clashes as well. Patriot politicians managed to obtain positions of executive power in a great many cities, sometimes by the new system of democratic elections. This angered the Orangists, who together with the stadtholder saw their influence, and the wealth resulting from it, waning. Early September 1785, William V was deprived of his command of the garrison in The Hague, making him feel insecure. Two weeks later, he left for Friesland, where his wife and children had already gone to commemorate the University of Franeker. Thereafter, the stadtholder travelled via Groningen to Het Loo Palace near Apeldoorn. He even intended to return to his ancestral court in Dillenburg, but his wife dissuaded him, and they set up their residence at the Valkhof in Nijmegen. A return to the Binnenhof in The Hague seemed impossible, however.

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