Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt

Philip (or Philippus) Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt (Rotterdam, 5 January 1743 – Utrecht, 20 February 1826) was a Dutch general, nobleman and politician. He was appointed Marshal of Holland in the Kingdom of Holland and served as French senator following the annexation of Holland by the Napoleonic Empire. Van Zuylen van Nijevelt was also an amateur scientist and became known for his treatise on chess.

Life and career

Old Dutch Republic

Philip Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt was a member of the prominent Rotterdam patrician (regenten) family of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt. His parents were Jacob van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1699–1753) and Aletta Johanna Timmers.

He studied mathematics and in 1767 joined the army as a volunteer ensign in the Regiment Karabiniers Oranje-Friesland (Orange-Frisia Regiment of Carabiniers). He rose quickly in the ranks, to captain of the cavalry (1768), major (1779), and finally lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of dragoons.

In 1795, he gained promotion to major general and was given responsibility for the organisation of the Dutch cavalry. On 21 August 1799, he was injured in battle. That same year, he moved into a mansion on the canals of Amsterdam, De Vergulde Turkse Keyser at Herengracht 527, which King Louis Bonaparte had purchased for him at a price of 100,000 guilders. Emperor Napoleon may have stayed at the house when he visited Amsterdam in 1811.

Van Zuylen van Nijevelt was one of three Dutch generals who were named Marshal of Holland (Maarschalk van Holland). On 21 December 1806, King Louis Bonaparte promoted both Van Zuylen van Nijevelt and Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau to marshal; Daendels received the title a few months later. Napoleon was infuriated by these appointments and they were annulled on 4 February 1810.

First French Empire Following the French annexation of Holland in 1810, Napoleon appointed Van Zuylen van Nijevelt to the French Senate.

He was appointed an officer of the Légion d'honneur and also received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Union in the Kingdom of Holland and the Order of the Golden Eagle in Württemberg. He wrote that he hated openings "with all those annoying, constantly repeating patterns" and therefore thought of randomizing the starting positions of the chess pieces. "This produces a huge number of different situations, so that no one can study them beforehand," according to Van Zuylen van Nijevelt.

In Zwolle, a chess society was founded in his honour.

Adelaide Jeanne van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1780-) Pieter Hendrik van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1782–1825) Julie van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1783–1864) Jeanne Marie Catherine van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1786–1848) Susanne Henriette van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1787–1831) Arnoud Jacob van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1788–1821) Henriette Catherine Martha van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1792–1878)

His firstborn son Pieter Hendrik fought in the Battle of Ocaña (1809) as a captain on the French side. In the Battle of Waterloo (1815), Pieter Hendrik served on the allied side as a colonel and chief of staff of the 2nd Dutch Division. Later he became, like his father, major general of the Dutch cavalry. Pieter Hendrik's son Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1819–1894) served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1866 to 1868.

(1807–1891), son of Adelaide Jeanne van Zuylen van Nijevelt, served as minister of interior affairs (1846–1848) and as minister of foreign affairs (1848).