page_title: Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck / Early career
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Familieportret van Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (1761-1825), gezant van de Bataafse Republiek te Parijs (1798-1802;1803-05), met zijn vrouw Catharina Nahuys (1770-1844) en zijn kinderen Catharina (1790-1842) en Gerrit (1794-1863) in een park of tuin. De vader zit links met een boek op schoot onder een boom, zijn vrouw staat naast hem met links de twee kinderen. De jongen heeft een geit bij zich, het meisje een bloemenkrans. Pierre Prud’hon (1758-1823), olieverf op doek, 1801-1802
context_page_description: Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, Lord of Nyenhuis, Peckedam and Gellicum, was a Dutch jurist, ambassador and politician who served as Grand Pensionary of the Batavian Republic from 1805 to 1806.
context_section_description: After the French invasion in the Batavian Revolution on 19 January 1795, Schimmelpenninck ended up in the temporary city government of Amsterdam. On 1 March 1796, he was elected into the 1st National Assembly for the electoral district Amsterdam-XIV. He seated with the Moderates, who opposed the Federalists and the Unitarians. The Federalists were conservative; they were satisfied with the departure of the stadtholder but opposed further reforms. They were proponents of provincial autonomy. The Unitarians, however, were radical, and wished to replace the provinces with departments and establish a powerful, democratic and centralised government for the Batavian Republic. Schimmelpenninck's Moderates took a central stance. They also wanted a centralised government like the Unitarians, but had no desire for profound broadening of electoral law. Schimmelpenninck presided the National Assembly from 17 May to 30 May 1796, and again from 15 May to 29 May 1797. In 1797, he was re-elected into the 2nd National Assembly, but immediately resigned when rumours spread that the "ultrademocrats" attempted to seize control with the aid of France. After the coup d'état of Herman Willem Daendels on 12 June 1798, Schimmelpenninck returned to the foreground. Although Daendels was an irascible Unitarian, he followed the line of "cautious tempering" and was supported by Schimmelpenninck.
  On 14 June 1798, Schimmelpenninck was appointed Batavian ambassador to Paris. After Napoleon's coup d'état on 9 November 1799, Schimmelpenninck became captivated with his personality. In 1801 and 1802 he took part in the negotiations preceding the Treaty of Amiens. He saw himself as an independent negotiator between the French and English plenipotentiaries, Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte and Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis respectively. In practice, the Batavian Republic had no independent foreign politics anymore, and had to comply to the wishes of France. On 8 December 1802, Schimmelpenninck was transferred to London, but he returned half a year later, on 14 June 1803, at the request of France. The battle between Great Britain and France and its allies, including the Batavian Republic which had endured another coup d'était in 1801, continued. He returned to his office as ambassador to France on 15 September 1803, where he was noticed by Napoleon.
caption: Schimmelpenninck with his wife and children in 1801-1802.
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