Gedicht op de verdediging van de Citadel van Antwerpen door generaal Chassé, 1832 1833

This is the title page for a poem by Cornelis Loots, printed in Amsterdam in 1833. It commemorates the defense of the Citadel of Antwerp by General Chassé during the Belgian Revolution. The poem, published in the aftermath of the siege, reflects the complex political landscape of the time. Belgium had just seceded from the Netherlands, and the Dutch, under Chassé's command, fiercely defended their stronghold. Loots, as a member of the Royal Dutch Institute, was part of the Dutch cultural establishment, and his poem served a public role, celebrating Dutch military heroism during a moment of national crisis. The design is simple, with the typography doing the work of conveying a sense of national pride. To fully understand its significance, one would want to research the poem’s reception at the time. What was the relationship between poets and military leaders? How did the public respond to this celebration of a military figure? These are the kinds of questions that help us understand the cultural work this poem performed.