He rose quickly in the ranks, to captain of the cavalry (1768), major (1779), and finally lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of dragoons.

During the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in 1799, this brigade was part of the Batavian 1st Division under the command of Herman Willem Daendels.

[5] That same year, he moved into a mansion on the canals of Amsterdam, De Vergulde Turkse Keyser at Herengracht 527, which King Louis Bonaparte had purchased for him at a price of 100,000 guilders.

By royal decree, he was recognized as a member of the nobility of the Netherlands on 17 October 1822, with the hereditary titles of baron and count.

[7] He wrote that he hated openings "with all those annoying, constantly repeating patterns" and therefore thought of randomizing the starting positions of the chess pieces.

[1] In his final years, Zuylen van Nijevelt also wrote a treatise on astronomy, L'Attraction détruite par le mouvement primordial.

They had seven children:[9][10] His firstborn son Pieter Hendrik fought in the Battle of Ocaña (1809) as a captain on the French side.

In the Battle of Waterloo (1815), Pieter Hendrik served on the allied side as a colonel and chief of staff of the 2nd Dutch Division.