Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch revolutionary, general and politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811. Early life Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on 21 October 1762, Daendels was the son of Burchard Johan Daendels, the mayoral secretary, and Josina Christina Tulleken. He studied law at the University of Harderwijk, acquiring his doctorate on 10 April 1783. Political activity In 1785, Daendels sided with the Patriots, who had seized power in several Dutch cities. In September 1786, he defended the city of Hattem against stadholderian troops. In September 1787, he defended Amsterdam against the Prussian army that invaded the Netherlands to restore William V of Orange. After William V had his power restored, Daendels fled to Pas-de-Calais because of a death sentence due to the defeat of the Patriots. He was a close witness to the French Revolution. Daendels returned to the Netherlands in 1794 as a general in the French revolutionary army of general Charles Pichegru and commander of the Batavian Legion. He helped unitarian politician Pieter Vreede to power in a coup d'état on 25 January 1798. The group behind Vreede was dissatisfied with the conservative-moderate majority in parliament, which tried to prevent the formulation of a more democratic, centralistic constitution. Vreede's rule did not bring the expected results, however, and Daendels supported another coup d'état against Vreede on 14 June 1798. In the Batavian Republic he occupied several political offices, but had to step down when he failed to prevent the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in 1799. Daendels later engaged in farming in Heerde, Gelderland. Military and colonial career Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies Louis Bonaparte made Daendels colonel-general in 1806 and Governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in 1807. After a long voyage, he arrived in the city of Batavia (now Jakarta) on 5 January 1808 and relieved the former Governor General, Albertus Henricus Wiese. His primary task was to rid the island of Java of the British Army. He built new hospitals and military barracks, a new arms factories in Surabaya and Semarang, and a new military college in Batavia. He demolished the Castle in Batavia and replaced it with a new fort at Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), and built Fort Lodewijk (Fort Ludwig) in Surabaya. He also moved the central government from Old Batavia to Weltevreden, with a