Adriaan van Zeebergh

He studied law at Leiden University where he received his degree (cum laude) on 18 July 1766, with a dissertation entitled De exhibitione et custodiis reorum.

[5] When the political strife in the Dutch Republic came to a boil after the occupation by the Dutch States Army of the Patriot cities of Hattem and Elburg in September 1786, and the stadtholder was relieved of his offices of Captain-General and Admiral-General, van Zeebergh was appointed a member of the commission of the States of Holland that on 22 September 1786 took over his tasks.

[6] In October 1786 the Prussian mediators Chomel and von Goertz tried to get the stadtholder restored in his office of Captain-General, but in an interview with the latter on 10 November 1786 van Zeebergh, together with de Gijselaar, made clear that this would not happen.

On 30 January 1787 van Zeebergh introduced a resolution in the States of Holland to institute a commission to prepare a constitutional reform that would make "People's government by representation" possible.

Under the system of last en ruggespraak (mandate and consent) the Holland cities were then asked for their consent with this proposal, which precipitated a crisis in the Amsterdam city government, when the Amsterdam Free Corps put pressure on the vroedschap to go along with the proposal, and the vroedschap reluctantly agreed initially, but later refused.

A formal decision was therefore never taken, but a number of delegations of Holland cities in the States indeed moved to Amsterdam where they joined the three pensionaries on 17 September.

On 8 October the purged States of Holland asked the Princess meekly what kind of satisfaction she desired for the insult she had suffered.

[1] Van Zeebergh was made a Councillor of State in extraordinary service of the Kingdom of Holland and a Knight of the Order of the Union by king Louis Bonaparte.