After the Prussian invasion, Stadtholder William V’s political power was restored and he returned to The Hague from his exile in Nijmegen. The restoration of power came to be known as the ‘Orange Restoration’ of 1787.
Sharp measures were taken against the patriots. It was a physical and symbolic purge, to restore the power that had been taken over in the previous years.
Copper engraving, made by J.C. Schultz in 1787
The celebration of the Orange Restoration in Amsterdam. In September 1787 there was an Orangist revelry at the Kattenburgerbridge in Amsterdam. The Orange Restoration is celebrated exuberantly by the axes (ship carpenters).
