Carel de Vos van Steenwijk

Carel de Vos van Steenwijk (11 March 1759 - 2 January 1830) was a Dutch politician and diplomat.

He was born in Vollenhove in 1759 into a rich noble family from Overijssel - his father was Jan Arent Godert de Vos van Steenwijk, a representative in the Estates General of the United Provinces and landdrost of Vollenhove and Kuinre. Carel and his brothers Godert Willem and Jan Arend de Vos van Steenwijk all played a major part in the Batavian Revolution, whilst Carel's son Jan Arend Godert also became a politician.

An ardent Patriot, he began as secretary to Pieter Johan van Berckel, the Dutch Republic's first ambassador to the United States of America, from 26 June 1783 to 8 July 1784. From 1785 to 1787 he was intendant for the lands of Drenthe and member of the region's diet. He was also colonel of the exercitiegenootschap of the village of De Wijk, but after the Batavian Revolution was initially defeated he was dismissed from all his roles.

The Revolution broke out again early in 1795 when Patriots rose up (with French military support led by Pichegru) in all of the United Provinces. William V, Prince of Orange opted for exile on 19th January, leaving the field open for the Batavian Republic to be set up. Carel de Vos van Steenwijk formed a revolutionary committee in Drenthe on 7 February and twelve days later this became Drenthe's provisional assembly, of which he was elected president. A federalist, he played a major role in gaining a provincial statute for Drenthe, previously only one of the Generality Lands. On 27 January 1796 he was elected deputy for Meppel in the first national Batavian assembly and appointed to the committee charged with writing a new constitution. He was president of the assembly from 6 to 20 February 1797 and re-elected as a deputy in August 1797. A unitarist coup d'État on 22 January 1798 ejected the Federalists from the assembly - De Vos van Steenwijk was imprisoned at Huis ten Bosch until 10 July, after another coup toppled the unitarists on 12 June.

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