Placcaert vande Staten Generael vande Gheunieerde Nederlanden

Date of creation

1581

Period

• 16e eeuw

Description

This pamphlet, commonly known as the ‘Plakkaat van Verlatinghe’ (Act of Abjuration), is one of the most important official texts in the Fagel Library, documenting the early struggle of the Dutch states. The original act was signed on 26 July 1581 by representatives of several Dutch provinces who declared themselves independent from royal authority. It was, in effect, the Dutch declaration of independence, and would be used as a model by the American rebels in 1776. The Plakkaat van Verlatinghe was immediately published in the same year, by Charles Silvius in Leiden, the recently-appointed printer of the States. The rebels new how to use the printing press to disseminate their ordinances and reinforce their authority. Many editions of the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe printed in 1581 are known, including an unique edition in the Fagel collection, printed in the eastern town of Arnhem by Willem Jansz van Campen, state printer of the province of Gelderland. This copy is bound in a volume with a number of other Fagel Collection political pamphlets.

Collection

Fagel collection

Institution

• Trinity College Dublin

Source

• Fag.H.3.8 no.3, TCD

Copyright

Public domain