but the country's history from capellian perspective was just setting the stage for what "aan het volk van nederland" was really about: criticism of the ills the republic was suffering from in 1781. the fact that the war against england was developing so disastrously was william v's fault. van der capellen also criticised the stadtholder's private life, his public drunkenness and his advances towards unmarried noblewoman stijn. it was not until the end that van der capellen proposed practical measures, his programme for reform: