View source for Fagel, Francois (1659-1746)

François Fagel, a Dutch statesman, nephew of [[Fagel, Caspar (1634-1688)|Caspar Fagel]], and like him a defender of religious toleration, did much for the Mennonites in Europe. He was born at The Hague in 1659, died there in 1746. In 1690-1744 he was clerk of the Dutch States-General. François Fagel threw himself into the cause of the oppressed Mennonites in the [[Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany)|Palatinate]], [[Switzerland|Switzerland]], and [[Prussia|Prussia]]. At the insistence of the Dutch Mennonites, especially the congregations of [[Amsterdam (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)|Amsterdam]] and Rotterdam, and in accord with the resolutions of the States-General, Fagel, who warmly promoted this intercession, induced [[William III, Prince of Orange (1650-1702)|Prince William of Orange]] to write a letter to [[Johann II Wilhelm, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (1658-1716)|Elector Johann Wilhelm]] of the Palatinate in 1694, and again in 1697 in favor of the Mennonites living there, who were suffering many hardships. On 15 March 1710 Fagel in the name of the States-General made a strong protest to the republic of [[Bern (Switzerland)|Bern]], Switzerland, in behalf of the persecuted Mennonites, many of whom had been thrown into prison and others sold to [[Venice (Provincia di Venezia, Italy)|Venice]] and elsewhere to serve on the [[Galleys|galleys]]. It was Fagel who proudly declared that the Mennonites, who were being forcibly shipped by the Bern government to the English colony of Carolina in America in 1710, would be set free when passing the Dutch border (which indeed happened), because this country did not allow suppression or persecution for the sake of religion. And when the King of Prussia, [[Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia (1688-1740)|Frederick William I]], adopted harsh measures against the Lithuanian Mennonites in 1732, it was again Fagel who, at the request of a number of Mennonite congregations in [[Netherlands|Holland]], moved the States-General to instruct the Dutch ambassador in Berlin to make a strong protest against this persecution. The [[Amsterdam Mennonite Library (Bibliotheek en Archief van de Vereenigde
Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam)|Mennonite archives at Amsterdam]] contain a large number of letters exchanged between Fagel and the Dutch ambassador in Switzerland, Johann Ludwig Runckel, who by order and at the expense of the Dutch States was active in the cause of emigration of the [[Swiss Brethren|Swiss Brethren]]. Of special interest is a document of 22 March 1710, which states that the [[Fonds voor Buitenlandsche Nooden (Dutch Relief Fund for Foreign Needs) |Dutch Committee of Foreign Needs]] thanked François Fagel for promoting the intercession for the Mennonites of Bern. It was Fagel too, who in 1720 successfully intervened with the Duke of Jülich on behalf of [[Grahe, Jakob and Wilhelm (17th/18th century)|Wilhelm Grahe]] and other [[Dompelaars|Dompelaars]], who had been imprisoned.
= Bibliography =
<em>Doopsgezinde Bijdragen </em>(1861): 80; (1909): 136-137, 146, note 1.

Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. <em>Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam,</em> 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, No. 1758, 1763, 1764, 1768.

Molhuysen, P.C. and P.J. Blok. <em>Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek, </em>10 vols. Leiden, 1911-1937: III, 382.
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