Aegidius van Braam
Aegidius van Braam | |
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 Coat of arms | |
| Born | 30 July 1758 |
| Died | 17 May 1822 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupation | Naval officer |
| Spouse(s) | Aletta van der Sleijden, Sophie Thierens |
Aegidius van Braam (30 July 1758 in
Life
Aegidius van Braam was born in the town of Gorinchem to Everhardus van Braam (1763–1812) and his first wife Aletta van der Sleijden (1729–1767). He left for Amsterdam and in 1783 joined the Dutch fleet as an officer.
Van Braam lived in Delft for much of his life, in a chic mansion on the Oude Delft canal, on the corner with Nickersteeg alley (house number 73, now 36). On 12 March 1783, he wed Sophie Thierens (1767–1825). After his death, Van Braam was buried in a niche in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Delft.
His sons also became naval officers. The noble line of the Van Braam family, his descendants, died out in 1939, but through the acknowledged children of his grandson George Marinus van Braam (1852-1921) a non-noble branch continues to exist.
Career
Patriotten era
In 1797, during the conflict between the
The Vlieter Incident
When the
In 1799, Van Braam held command over the Leyden, a ship of the line carrying 64 guns. The ship was part of a squadron that was to escort a force of some 5,000 men under the command of General Daendels to Java. Another Orangist naval officer who had left the fleet in 1795, Carel Hendrik Ver Huell, contacted Van Braam and another captain, Theodorus Frederik van Capellen. Ver Huell proposed that they mount a mutiny on board the ships of the squadron.[1] Around the same time, a British-Russian force invaded the North Holland peninsula (see further Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland).
The crews of the Batavian war ships could see that in the distance, orange flags were being raised on the forts and church steeples of allied-overrun Den Helder as a sign of loyalty to the House of Orange-Nassau. Mutiny broke out on a number of ships, including Van Braam's ship, the Leyden. Van Braam later admitted that he could have easily crushed the mutiny, but decided to do nothing. He did however notify his commanding officer, Rear Admiral Story, of the "dangerous situation" on board the other ships of the fleet.[2]
Confronted with a British ultimatum on one hand and mutiny on his ship on the other, Story on 30 August 1799 surrendered his squadron to the British. This surrender was such a blow for the Dutch fleet that it would never again play a role of any significance in the subsequent French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
Van Braam, Story, and other officers were taken back to England as British prisoners of war. Following the
Restoration
In 1814, following the restoration of the House of Orange-Nassau and the coronation of
In 1815, he commanded a squadron which sailed from Vlissingen to Surinam.[4] In 1817 he sailed with the frigate Frederika to the Mediterranean to assume command of Vice-Admiral Van de Capellen's squadron, which had taken part in the bombardment of Algiers a year earlier. Later, he likely held command over a squadron in the West Indies. In 1822, he ended his naval career, and died soon after.
Sources
- A.J. van der Aa, Biografisch woordenboek der Nederlanden. Vol. 2 (Dutch)
- Genealogie familie van Braam (Dutch)
- M. van der Tas, Kwartierstaat van der Tas-Einthoven. Genealogische Vereniging Prometheus (Dutch, PDF)
- Roodhuyzen, T. (1998) In woelig vaarwater: marineofficieren in de jaren 1779-1802, De Bataafsche Leeuw, ISBN 90-6707-477-2(Dutch)
References
- ^ Roodhuyzen, p. 164
- ^ Roodhuyzen, p. 166
- ^ Archives of Hoge Militaire Rechtspraak 1795-1813, Nationaal Archief, No. 95; 101 Sententiën
- ^ M.A. van Alphen, Kroniek der Zeemacht (2003)
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