De koets van de prins aangehouden door burgers te Dordrecht, 1672 1788

Reinier Vinkeles created this print, *De koets van de prins aangehouden door burgers te Dordrecht, 1672,* depicting a pivotal moment of political tension in the Dutch Republic. Vinkeles made this print well over a hundred years after the event it depicts. It signals the ways the Dutch Republic would continue to contend with class tensions, and the relationship between the aristocracy and the common citizen. The print captures the halting of the Prince's carriage by armed citizens in Dordrecht. It encapsulates the complex dynamics between the ruling elite and the burgeoning sense of civic power. These citizens, identifiable by their arms and determined expressions, embody the rising merchant class asserting their rights. What we see here is more than a historical event. It represents the ongoing negotiation of power, class, and identity within Dutch society, a negotiation that continues to echo through the ages. It leaves us to consider how similar tensions play out in our own time.