Cornelis de Gijselaar

Cornelis "Kees" de Gijselaar (9 February 1751 - 29 May 1815) was a Dutch politician and patriot, and a leader in the rebellion during the Dutch Republic against the House of Orange. Biography Born in Gorinchem, De Gijselaar was educated at the Latin School in Breda and earned a doctorate in Roman and Modern Law from Leiden University in 1774. He was a pensionary (civil servant) in Gorinchem from 26 May 1776 until 1779. From 1779 until 11 October 1787, he was a pensionary of Dordrecht. Together with Adriaan van Zeebergh and Engelbert François van Berckel, pensionaries of Haarlem and Amsterdam, he supported the Dutch Patriots faction, which sought greater autonomy for citizens and less power for the House of Orange during the time of the Dutch Republic. In the 1780s, he was considered one of the leaders of the faction, and the patriots were nicknamed Kezen after his first name. Kees had a little dog that followed him everywhere, and with the time became the symbol of this faction, and was known as Keeshond (Kees' dog). The patriots wore Keeshond pins to signal their allegiance, whereas the Orangists used the orange (tawny) pug as a symbol.