Kaat Mossel

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Kaat Mossel, painting by Johannes Bergsi , after her death based on a print from 1784

Kaat Mossel (actually Catharina Mulder ; born March 25, 1723 in Rotterdam ; † June 29, 1798 ibid) was a Dutch shell dealer . In 1783 and 1784 she is said to have been involved in riots in support of the House of Orange in Rotterdam and was imprisoned for three years. In the Netherlands she is considered a folk heroine .

biography

Kaat Mossel celebrates the birthday of Wilhelm V in her prison cell, caricature from 1784

Catharina Mulder was a daughter of Caetje Wouters van der Wapen († 1743) and Willem Jansz; the family had a total of nine children. In 1745 she married the cooperage farmhand Pieter van Wijngaarden. With him she had three daughters and two sons. Pieter van Wijngaarden died in March 1764, and Catharina was left with her five minor children. In January 1765 she married Leendert de Lange, a porter and widower with four young children. With him she had another daughter. The family lived in a poor part of the city.

Catharina Mulder was a shell dealer and inspector , which is why she was nicknamed Kaat Mossel . Daily, except Sundays, she went to Mosseltrap ( Shell stairs ) on the Roobrug to there from Zeeland to inspect the delivered shells to distribute the catch and to ensure the proper conduct among the mussel dealers; she herself also sold mussels from a cart. She was paid 30 guilders a year for her work as an inspector , and she enjoyed a reputation in the city.

At that time the Netherlands was ruled by a conflict between two groups: on the one hand the Orangists , the "common people" who belonged to the House of Orange , on the other hand the wealthy and educated classes, the patriots , who had a republican government with larger ones Demanded rights for the citizens and wanted to depose the Orange as governors . There were repeated violent arguments between the two parties. Governor Wilhelm V had to flee the Netherlands temporarily when French troops approached in support of the Patriots.

Kaat Mossel was a passionate Orangistin that adorned her shell carts with orange bands. In 1783 there were riots and looting during exuberant celebrations on the occasion of Wilhelm V's birthday on March 8th. Rotterdam citizens who allegedly didn't wear enough orange were beaten up. With the approval of the Vroedschap , an armed vigilante group consisting of patriots was set up to patrol. Kaat Mossel is said to have incited rioters from the ranks of the orangists, for example by promising to give out wine to anyone who disrupted the vigilante group on their patrol. On the night of April 3rd to 4th, 1784, the unrest escalated; shots were fired and four people were killed. The Staten van Holland set up a commission of inquiry, which should also restore peace in the city.

On September 1, 1784, Kaat Mossel and her friend Keet Zwenke were arrested for their alleged involvement in the unrest and interrogated 24 times by the committee. She was suspected of having been bribed by circles around Wilhelm V with 800 guilders to stir up the unrest. While she was in custody, the patriots used caricatures and defamatory reports in the city to stir up the mood against her. On September 3, 1785, the prosecution in the trial against Kaat Mossel demanded her public flogging and branding as well as ten years imprisonment and subsequent banishment from Rotterdam. Mossel's attorney Willem Bilderdijk , also a staunch orangist, appealed and she was imprisoned for two more years. After Wilhelm V moved into Rotterdam on September 20, 1787, Mossel - like other convicts from the ranks of the Orangists - was pardoned. She thanked them for the pardon, but did not accept it because, in her opinion, she had not done anything wrong. On October 5, 1787, she had to appear before the court for the last time and was released. On November 5, 1787, she received compensation from the State of Holland in the amount of 3,642 guilders and 15 pfennigs. Bilderdijk described Kaat Mossel in his later book Geschiedenis des vaderlands as a “rough, ordinary woman”.

Nothing is known about the further years of Kaat Mossel's life after her release from prison - at the time she was 64 years old. She died on June 29, 1798 at the age of 75 and was buried on July 4. She left four grown children. The daughter Trijntje became her successor as mussel inspector.

reception

Opening of the 1957 mussel season, with Heintje Davids as Kaat Mossel

Kaat Mossel is considered a representative of popular orangism. On the occasion of Inhuldigung of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, a picture was given a prominent place in her Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid 1898 , alongside, among others kenau simonsdochter hasselaer . Both women had in common that they were publicly involved at a time when women were actually limited to private life. In 1904 Anthonie van Sprinkhuyzen wrote a five-act comedy about Kaat Mossel, which was performed at the Tivoli Theater in Rotterdam . After the Second World War , Van Sprinkhuyzen's comedy was performed several times as a so-called wagenspel on Queen's Day in an adaptation by Gerard van Veen . Van Veen drew a parallel between the story of Kaat Mossel and the occupation years between 1940 and 1945. In 1994 the story of Kaat Mossel was performed as a musical . In Rotterdam, a well-known fish restaurant on the Nieuwe Maas is named after her, which was run from 1990 to 2008 by the popular Derny pacemaker Joop Zijlaard . A flat bottom ship bears her name.

On the Nieuwe Markt in Rotterdam there is a statue of Maagd van Holland , which was unveiled in 1872 and is equated by the Rotterdamers with Kaat Mossel.

literature

  • Kees van Baardewijk: Kaat, Keet en de Kezen. Rotterdamse vrouwen in opstand . Bredewold, 1980, ISBN 978-90-71097-11-9 (Dutch).
  • E. Palms: Kaat Mossel helleveeg van Rotterdam: volk en verlichting in de achttiende eeuw . Bert Bakker, 2009, ISBN 978-90-351-3396-9 (Dutch).

Web links

Commons : Kaat Mossel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Eric Palmen: Mulder, Catharina (1723-1798). In: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. January 13, 2014, accessed December 26, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Kaat Mossel: from common rioters to heroine. gevangenpoort.nl, September 2012, accessed on December 26, 2020 (English).
  3. ↑ Aries van Meeteren: Kaat Mossel - heroine of helleveeg. In: vergetenverhalen.nl. September 20, 2015, accessed December 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ Kaat Mossel (1723-1798) - Een Pittige tante uit Rotterdam. In: Historiek. August 18, 2016, accessed December 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  5. ↑ Jarige Joop Zijlaard (65) gaat met pensioen. rijnmond.nl, October 29, 2008, accessed December 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  6. ↑ Kaat Mossel confirms 30 jaar: 'Dat voelt nu heel raar'. friendsinbusiness.nl, April 2, 2020, accessed on December 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  7. ↑ The ship Kaat Mossel. kaat-mossel.com, December 4, 2014, accessed December 26, 2020 (Dutch).
  8. ↑ Rotterdam - De Maagd van Holland. standbeelden.vanderkrogt.net, accessed December 26, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Mossel, Kaat
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mulder, Catharina (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch folk heroine
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1723
PLACE OF BIRTH Rotterdam
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1798
Place of death Rotterdam