Vogels family

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The Vogels family is one of the most famous families in Knootoss, perhaps the most important political dynasty following the Knootcap family which provided the stewards and the Stadtholders and is intrinsically linked to the very existence of the state. (See the history of the stewards.) While the Knootcap family was aristocratic, the Vogels family can be traced back to a new class of 'burghers' that gained power following the formation of the United Provinces and the succes of the Knootian East India Company. Traditionally, members of the family are more liberal and keen to defend upper-middle class interests in whatever position they have.

The most notable family member of all, perhaps, is Johan Rudolf Vogels, who laid the foundations for democracy in the Knootian republic in the nineteenth century. Several members of the Vogels family had the function of Governor-General in the Knootian East Indies and, indeed, much of the history of the family seems to revolve around the colonies. A mountain pass in the colony (Vogelskop) was named after the family. Nowadays, however, it is known as Kepala Burung. In the beginning of the 20th century a governor-general Vogels signed a treaty with loyalist Burungi nobility that declared an armistice in order to prevent Tanah Burung Independence.

In contemporary politics, 'Vogels' usually refers to the Prime minister Vogels who headed two cabinets in the DDR. More recent family members of note are Magda Vogels, the granddaughter of the last governor-general and the ambassador to Tanah Burung and (in a way) Tim de Boer, a student who had a relationship with the Prime Minister before he was assasinated.

'Vogels' means 'Birds' in Dutch.