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Primary sourceDocument16 May 1795

Treaty of The Hague

16 May 1795

The 1795 peace treaty between France and the Batavian Republic, which Sieyès negotiated and signed on a diplomatic mission.

Sieyès negotiated and signed this treaty during his diplomatic mission, showing his role as a statesman abroad.

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Engraving of a formal interior with a tall draped flag at right. Five or six men in 18th-century dress stand and sit around a draped table; the seated men at right are writing with quills. Caption below reads: Alliantie der Fransche met de Bataafsche Republiek, gesloten den 16 Mei 1795, bl. 168.
Christiaan Josi after Cornelis van Cuylenburgh (II), Conclusion of alliance between France and the Batavian Republic, 1800 (depicting the 1795 treaty).

About this source

What it is

This is the Treaty of The Hague, signed on 16 May 1795 between representatives of the French First Republic and the Batavian Republic. Sieyès took part in negotiating and signing it during a diplomatic mission.

Why it matters

The treaty ended the war between France and the Dutch Republic and turned the Batavian Republic into a French ally, forcing it to cede territory, pay a large indemnity, and support French forces. It shows Sieyès acting not only as a political theorist but as a practical diplomat shaping France's relations with its neighbours during the Revolutionary wars.

Look closer

  • What does the engraving's formal setting suggest about how treaties were meant to look important?
  • Why might France have demanded money and territory as conditions of alliance?
  • What does this document reveal about Sieyès's roles beyond revolutionary theory?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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