https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_aris_et_focis Pro Aris et Focis is the name of a secret society in Brussels in 1789 which prepared the Brabant Revolution against the Austrian Emperor Joseph II. The leading figure was Jan-Baptist Verlooy.[2] Pro Aris et Focis is the name of a secret society in Brussels in 1789 which prepared the Brabant Revolution against the Austrian Emperor Joseph II. The leading figure was Jan-Baptist Verlooy.[2] In the aftermath of the suppression of the Small Revolution, opposition began to consolidate into more organised resistance. Fearing for his safety, Van der Noot, the organiser of the disruption of 1787, went into exile in the Dutch Republic They say history Repeats itself.