5.9 New diplomatic discomfort
Findings in the archives of the Dutch legation to the Holy See prove that this interpretation of Koelman’s ‘radical’ sentiments is not an isolated case. Just five years after the fuss about his Prix de Rome, Jan Hendrik once again caused the Dutch envoy Liedekerke de Beaufort headaches [25]. As early as the spring of 1849, when the envoy had followed the papal court into exile in Gaeta, he received a note by his secretary Paolo Emilio Magrini, who had offered the Dutch in Rome shelter in the embassy, now Rome would soon be under siege:
'as for the Koelman brothers from The Hague, they are far too convinced republicans to want to take refuge [in the embassy]; they have actually assured me that, if the opportunity arises, they want to serve in General Garibaldi’s ranks to fight for the preservation of the Republic.'1
Two years later, when papal authority had been restored in Rome and a witch hunt was going on against former republicans, the envoy himself expressed his concerns in a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Herman van Sonsbeeck (1796-1865). As a moderate liberal,2 he had been horrified to hear rumours about the Koelman brothers:
'When the self-proclaimed Roman Republic was established, Messrs Koelman felt compelled to present themselves as its passionate advocates […] In those times of anarchy and sad memories, they were even seen roaming the streets of Rome in the most bizarre clothing and armed to the teeth, declaring their willingness to fight and die to defend the despicable regime that held the Papal States in its grip at the time.'3
While such suspicions led to Philip being questioned by the police and almost banished from the Papal States, it is not known whether they also had consequences for Jan Hendrik. He may have kept a lower profile. As the head of a Roman family, he certainly had more to lose, and it is plausible that he did not want to place himself in a dependency relationship with the Dutch authorities.4
25
Anonymous,
The Porto di Ripetta, 1865. To the left of the church of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni the Palazzo Valdambrini, seat of the Dutch Legation in Rome,
photography, (albumen print), 24 × 31 cm,
Royal Danish Library –The Danish National Art Library,
Notes
1 ‘et pour ce qui regarde messieurs les frères Koelman de La Haye, ce sont des Républicains trop décidés pour y chercher un asile; il m’ont même dit que si l’occasion s’en presentait, il se mettraient dans les rangs de la troupe du general Garibaldi pour combattre en secours de la République.’ P.E. Magrini to A. Liedekerke-de Beaufort, 21 May 1849, ISRI/FLPB Ms. 299, fol. 342.
2 For Liedekerke’s position on the Risorgimento, see the introduction to Liedekerke 1949, pp. xii-xviii and Guggisberg 1988.
3 ‘Entretemps la soi-disante république romaine étant venue à s’établir, ces messieurs Koelman ont jugé à propos de prendre chaleureusement fait et cause pour elle […] On les a même vus, à cette époque d’anarchie et de triste mémoire, parcourir les rues de cette capitale bizarrement vêtus, et armés jusqu’aux dents, voulant, disaient-ils, combattre et mourir pour défendre l’odieux régime qui pesait alors sur les Etats de l’Eglise.’ A. Liedekerke-de Beaufort to H. van Sonsbeeck, 11 February 1851, ISRI/FLPB Ms. 308, fol. 176-178.
4 For Philip Koelman’s encounter with the Roman police, see Koelman 2023, pp. 496-499 and 535-536. In the letter cited above, Liedekerke suggests Philip was summoned by the police because he was a more ardent republican than Jan Hendrik.