Pieter Vreede

Pieter Vreede (October 8, 1750– September 21, 1837) was a Dutch politician of the Batavian Republic in the 18th century.

Pieter Vreede was member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (organization of writers and readers) and published some writings about the bad shape of the Dutch society.

[citation needed] The patriotic revolution broke out in the 1780s in the Netherlands and Pieter Vreede was one of the enthusiastic participants.

Revolution broke out in the Austrian Netherlands as well in 1790, when the United States of Belgium were proclaimed.

He was chosen in the first democratically elected parliament of the Netherlands, the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic in 1796 for the district of Bergen op Zoom.

The unitarian democrats were in favour of a centralized government and of general elections for all adult men.

Pieter Vreede and Wijbo Fijnje did a coupe d'état in January 1798 and ruled for a few months, alienating both enemies and friends.

Another coupe d'état in June made an end to his rule and Vreede had to flee from the Netherlands to Lier, which was French territory at that time.