Coert or Court Lambertus van Beyma (Harlingen, 5 February 1753 - Dronrijp, 7 September 1820) was a notary and auctioneer, delegate and representative of the Frisian States, leader of the Frisian patriots, coup leader and in exile in northern France. On his return to the Netherlands in 1795, he became a delegate to the Batavian Republic's National Assembly.
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His father was secretary to the Admiralty of Friesland in Harlingen, and his mother was descended from a Frisian noble family. As a law student, Van Beyma in 1769 gave a speech on the visit of stadholder William V at Franeker. He continued his studies in 1774 in Leiden University. Court Lambertus became public-attorney to the Frisian States in 1776. In 1780, he was frustrated by his failure to become grietman of West-Dongeradeel, though he did become its secretary. In that position, he corresponded with Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol. Together they considered petitioning for the organizing of a provincial army, acknowledgement of the new United States of America and restrictions in the power of the stadhouder. In February 1782 Van Beyma made an attempt in the Frisian States to put into practice article VIII of the Union of Utrecht, that is, to effect a general arming of the people.[1] When Van Beyma had in 1783 created a successful alliance between eight cities, the Patriots in the Frisian cities won influence and power.[2] Through the setting up of a time-table, the important posts within the Provincial States were granted in a more democratic manner.
A provincial army was formed a few months after the departure of Ludwig Ernst van Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern and the Kettle War in 1784/85, vehemently resisted the aristocrats. Most aristocrats were republican, with no qualms about the democratising. The Frisian States were more and more divided over the newly-formed local and provincial militia. Within a few weeks of the stadholder and his family coming to Leeuwarden on 15 October, a new city council regulation was presented, to come into effect on 1 June 1787, with stricter requirements for the new members of the vroedschap, (i.e. banning Catholics, Mennonites and poor Patriots from being appointed).[3]
At the beginning of August 1786 Van Beyma, J. Roorda, A.C.J. de Beere, Cornelis van den Burg and J. L. Huber visited the national meeting of the vrijcorpsen and exercitiegenootschappen in Utrecht, calling it 'alleen om te hooren en te zien' ('only to hear and to see'). The Utrecht Patriots made skilful use of the visit by more than 13,000 members and so many major figures. Not only H.W. Daendels, a young lawyer from Hattem, but also Gerrit Paape, the journalist from Delft, Pieter Vreede, a textile manufacturer from Leiden, and John Adams, American envoy, were present. On Wednesday morning, 2 August 1786, in the presence of the assembled exercitiegenootschappen, sixteen "democratically" chosen Patriots in the Utrecht vroedschap were elected. Van Beyma left the next day and gave over the presidency to Jacob van Manen, secretary of the Utrecht vrijcorps.[4] It is possible that Van Beyma, who - according to advertisements in the "Leeuwarder Courant" from those days - led weekly public auctions, no longer could or wanted to be present in person at the parades and celebrations.
In August 1787, disallowed from supporting Holland (Holland was then threatened with an occupation by a Prussian army of 26.000 men, because it did not offer apologies after the apprehension of Wilhelmina of Prussia), Van Beyma led a coup in the Frisian States. With ten supporters, Van Beyma resided in Franeker, a small university city. Meanwhile they organized a waggon-train of munitions via Makkum, a small port. A flying-column of volunteers occupied a number of the Frisian cities, putting the divided vroedschappen under pressure to recognise the Pretense Staten in Franeker. On the approach of the Prussian troops, Van Beyma panicked and threatened to breach the dike near Lemmer, so that the Prussians would be stopped by the resultant flooding. On Sunday afternoon, 23 September 1787 - after the religious service - the Patriots in Friesland realised that there was insufficient support, that their financial means were limited, and that France would not come to their aid, and so they decided to flee and defend Amsterdam. As a consequence of their hurried retreat, Van Beyma, or his secretary Van Altena, forgot to take a bundle of important and highly compromising petitions for the recovery of rights and freedoms from a cabinet, so that two years later it was very easy for a court to convict a group of Patriots from Friesland (19 from Franeker, 12 from Bolsward and two from Leeuwarden). Johan Valckenaer, the ex-professor from Franeker, van Beyma's travelling-companion between Amsterdam and Brussels, took not only the coup but also van Beyma's carelessness very hard.[5]
During a visit at Paris, Van Beyma gained the management of the payments to the Patriots in northern France, but another quarrel arose with Valckenaer. The exiles, divided into Valckenaeristen and Beymanisten, fought it out in pamphlets. The dispute reached a climax in 1791, with Valckenaer - still not getting payment from Van Beyma - thinking of emigrating to the USA but in the end winning the support of the Patriots who had been members of the former political establishment.