- Willem Benjamin Craan
Willem Benjamin Craan (Batavia,
August 23 ,1776 —Schaerbeek ,June 16 ,1848 ) was a Dutch (and later Belgian) surveyor and cartographer, who is best known for his 1816 map of the battlefield of theBattle of Waterloo in which he provided the initial dispositions of all armies concerned, based on information gleaned from many participants in the battle from all sides.Biography
Early career
Craan was born in the
Dutch East Indies , a colony of theDutch East India Company in those days. He was the son of Jacobus Johannes Craan and Johanna Henriëtte Breekpot. His father was an "opperkoopman" (chief merchant), employed by the company. He married Joanna Frederika Hahn on October 4, 1795 inHillegom [cite web|url=http://www.hamape.com/getperson.php?personID=I1008&tree=hamape&PHPSESSID=138d82eea398a338447872940992e80a|title=Willem Benjamin Craan|accessdate=2008-08-25] . Craan studied atLeiden University and obtained a doctorate in law on August 27, 1795 (theBatavian Republic had just been established). He was not very interested in the law profession, however, dedicating himself in the next fifteen years to mathematical studies and musicHeuschling, p. 74] .When he found himself in Aix-la-Chapelle in December, 1810, he was appointed by the local prefect to the position of cadastral surveyor for the "département de la Roer" (one of the "départements" of the
First French Empire to which the Netherlands had by then been annexed [The fact that the French state defaulted on the public debt of the former Netherlands state, causing the instant evaporation of much of the wealth of the bondholders, may have had something to do with Craan's sudden interest in gainful employment. SeeFinancial history of the Dutch Republic ] ). He performed so well in this function that the next year he was promoted and put in charge of the Cadastre of the "département de la Lippe" (in Germany).The fall of the Empire in 1814 put him out of work, so he travelled to
Brussels , then the capital of the formerAustrian Netherlands , which now were about to become part of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands . The Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands (the future kingWilliam I of the Netherlands ) appointed him as chief of the Cadastre of the department of the Dyle on October 21, 1814 [Heuschling, p. 75] .Map of the Battle of Waterloo
On June 18, 1815 the Battle of Waterloo was fought. As the battlefield was close to Brussels, and many wounded of all armies were taken to that city, Craan was able to interview many prominent French and Allied wounded officers about their experiences during the battle. On the basis of information gained in this way he published a detailed map of the battle, with an explanatory note in September, 1816, under the title "Plan du champ de bataille de Waterloo, avec notice historique". In the explanatory note he mentions the names of generals Mouton, Lobau, Excelmans and Gérard on the French side. He also mentions a number of high British, Dutch-Belgian and Prussian officers, though he does not give their names. Colonel
François Aimé Mellinet (chief-of-staff of the Young Guard Division [Société des bibliophiles bretons et de l'histoire de Bretagne, Nantes, "Revue de Bretagne, de Vendée & d'Anjou. Vols. 17-18" (1897), p. 268] ) advised him on the map, as did "a number of Prussian generals" to whom he was introduced byPrince Frederick of the Netherlands . The Prince of Orange, who had commanded an army corps at the battle later viewed the map and approved of it (as did the Duke of Wellington ["Wellington, Supplementary Despatches", vol. X, p. 513] ). Finally, EmperorAlexander I of Russia was so enamored of the map that he presented Craan with a precious ring [Heuschling, pp. 78-82] .The map and explanatory note are still relevant, because they contradict a number of "facts" that have been assumed by many historians about the battle. For instance, though in many accounts of the battle the Dutch-Belgian Bijlandt brigade is assumed to have stood "in front of" a ridge (and so exposed to the opening bombardment of the French artillery), Craan's map shows the brigade "behind" the ridge (which is commensurate with the after-battle report of the chief-of-staff of the 2nd Netherlands Division, of which the Bijlandt brigade was a part [see aut|Hamilton-Williams, D. (1993) "Waterloo. New Perspectives. The Great Battle Reappraised", John Wiley & sons, ISBN 0-471-05225-6, p. 26, for this controversy] ).
Introduction of Lithography
Craan is also credited with having introduced the printing technique of
Lithography in Belgium in 1817. A brother of the inventor of the technique,Alois Senefelder , visited Brussels in that year. He soon left forThe Hague , but left his son-in-law and together with that gentleman Craan put the new print shop on a sure footing. This helped convince the minister of Public Education,Anton Reinhard Falck , of its value. Though Craan soon shifted his attention to other subjects, this early support helped to establish the technique in Belgium [Heuschling, pp. 76-78] .City plan of Brussels and other scientific contributions
In the 18th century the science of surveying made rapid advances, and many countries were completely overlaid with triangles, using the surveying method of triangulation. In the United Kingdom of the Netherlands such a survey was partially completed by general Krayenhoff, but the
Belgian Revolution prevented its completion in Belgium. Craan helped to give new impetus to this effort. His main contribution was his "Plan géométrique de la ville de Bruxelles avec ses faubourgs et communes limitrophes" (in 4 folios, 1836). He had made the measurements for this city plan already in 1821 [Heuschling, pp. 86-87] .Craan also helped establish the first series of meteorological measurements in Belgium by starting barometric soundings on the steeple of the Brussels city hall in 1825 [Heusling, p. 90] .
Craan died in 1848, survived by a wife and daughter: Virginie Frederique Wilhelmine Aspasia. The latter, known in Brussels as "la belle hollandaise", was married to major-general
Willem Frederik van Bylandt , the commander of the Bijlandt brigade at Waterloo [Heuschling, p. 75; [http://www.hamape.com/getperson.php?personID=I1044&tree=hamape&PHPSESSID=138d82eea398a338447872940992e80a] ] .References
ources
* "Craan (Willem Benjamin)", in: "Nouvelle biographie générale depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours, avec les renseignements bibliographiques et l'indication des sources á consulter. Tomes 11-12 (1856)", p. 327
* aut|Heuschling, X. (1850) "Notice biographique sur Guillaume-Benjamin Craan, auteur du plan de la bataille de Waterloo, etc.", in: "Bulletin du Bibliophile belge, série 1, tome 7", pp. 73-90External Links
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm1383 Craan's 1816 Map of the battlefield of Waterloo]
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