admired by the forces behind both the American and French revolutions,
in an ocean of monarchies incessantly at war over dynasty and territory,
a tiny republic defended "true freedom" for over two centuries
~ napoleon its final demise:
the Dutch Republic
a land representative but not democratic
Lessons of a Dutch Republic
in the years after the middle fifteenth century, two political theaters in the Lowlands of the
Rhineland delta were parted by the great rivers where ~ north and south, the game for hegemony was
played out between different spheres of influence, interest, and profit
changing portions of it were variously territories in monarchial expansionist policies, but
continued to hold ancient privileges and rights, the defense of which ~ over the course of more
than a century, led from opposition to demonstrance, rebellion and revolution
a Spanish crown named in 1540 the first of the house of Orange as Stadhouder [literally city-holder]
of Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland en Holland (the house of Orange is the monarchy of a twenty-first
century kingdom)
in 1548 the Netherlands States General with authority in the name of the Holy Roman Empire(!)
issued a proclamation recognizing the seventeen regions (or provinces) currently represented as the
whole and separate territory of a Habsburg empire ~ since known as the Seventeen Provinces, and
ended a centuries-long period of disorder and lawlessness, and substantially changed politics,
economics, and culture
but by the 1560s the States of the provinces, everywhere in the cities and on the land, the people
were at the edge of riot and rebellion against a Spanish occupation that became a metaphor for
gruesome cruelty and fuelled a mounting revolution in the 1570s
while war engulfed the land, a Union of Holland and Zeeland was signed in 1575 that for the first
time formed a framework for politics, armed forces, and religion ~ in seed the coming state (by
1579 the union encompassed the territory that was to become the republic)
in the United Provinces freedom of the individual was the highest ideal: freedom of belief,
equality of women, servants, jews, and little sense of class, which was expressed in politics,
business life, on the farms, in technology
foreign observers noted the remarkable freedom in the Netherlands but also that it had a
complicated appearance with roots deep in an acceptance of order and discipline, but nothing of
this freedom was more noted than that of women ~ for even young, unmarried females could go
wherever they wished, alone and unchaperoned, to work, do business, and engage in discussions
nearly as men, and in this society women were far less subordinated to men than anywhere else
the reason for the freedom of women was the same as for that of a man alone or for a traveller from
foreign soil, who by day or by night could roam city and country with little fear of being robbed
or assaulted ~ the individual was (and felt that way) safe and secure, for crime was scarce, doors
need not be locked, servants were not mistreated, and if a man beat his wife in his own house
neighbors would not suffer it but accuse him before the authorities
the protection of women and servants laid then in the strict approach of society in which
discipline could be seen at home, school, in church, on ships and in the army, and the greatest
pressure on seafarers, students, soldiers, and also on orphans and apprentices, came from the main
cities and their councils
there were differing ranks of police and other representatives for punishment, but the most
important supervision was through citizens' neighborhood watches which served for pay under
elected leaders (in late 17th century Amsterdam several hundred lightly armed citizens made regular
rounds through their streets for which they received a wage), and these citizens-watches saw their
task not only to guard their neighborhood against breakin and theft and crime, but also to control
decency and good manners and report all unacceptable behavior to the schout (Sheriff), schepen
(Alderman), or church-council
it had to be done this way for the schutterij ~ the Shooting Squad, responsible for order and to
guard city-hall, the walls and gates ~ would only respond to serious disturbances; the sheriff was
at the head of a police force and made arrests in serious matters but were far too few (in
Amsterdam ~ with over 200 000 population towards the end of the seventeenth century, the sheriff
and his personnel counted but eighteen people)
the reformed church councils were a decisive factor of societal discipline ~ supported by the
neighbourhood-watch and with help of house visits by preachers and their helpers (the sick-consolers)
, and continually raised a finger against immodesty, free love, roughness, too much drink, dishonest
bankruptcy
an unusual structure of state came about under the enormous influence for independence of the
provinces and cities ~ and the most important and influential people in the Dutch Republic were
its citizens (the burgers)
to the world, the 'high gentlemen' of the States General appeared in charge but was in reality only
a representative conference of sovereign mini-states
exercising the most power in the States General in practice was the States Holland where six out of
ten of the population lived in small walled and independent cities, and the unusually quick growth
of these cities after 1590 was partly the result of greater prosperity and improved living
conditions ~ from which also flowed improvements in care of the sick, diet, housing, support for
the poor, and higher health standards amongst the urban populations
first in this society of citizens stood the regents who formed an elite by occupying important
positions within the bureaucracy through which they reigned over city life ~ as members of local
councils (the vroedschap ~ Wisemeet in Holland, the raad ~ Counsel in the northeast, or baljuw ~
the Bailiffs in southern Brabant)
also important were elite traders ~ prominent and rich businessmen, but working life in the cities
everywhere in the Lowlands (and in northwest Germany) was largely tied to the system of gilds (the
unions of the time) for every trade, craft, art, occupation and position ~ and the most important
of the gilds had (as in centuries past) the most prominent role as city councils supported and lent
power to gild statutes which therefor exercised a strong influence on city life
another important group was the schutterij ~ the Shooting Squad, a citizens militia that kept order
in the municipality and when needed stood ready to defend the city-walls (the keys to the gates
held by them and not the burgomasters of the council); these 'shooters' were the most prosperous
gild members and not wage earners or the poor
outside of the cities, civil armed forces (the landweer), apart from regular army units the main
defense force, also had standing in political life, while on the land feudalism had never (or
barely) developed and farmers owned homestead and field ~ and here existed colleges of
gemeenslieden (common folk) ~ which provided tribunals for the citizenry, farmers and the gilds,
that had centuries-old privileges of consultation, and considered it a duty to ensure that only
properly qualified people had seats in city councils so that lawful and proper municipal leadership
be maintained
each of these citizen groups had rights of consultation and participation in the governance of the
cities and the provincial States, and thus by extension in the States General ~ for already since
1566 existed a strong inclination that the authority of the regents derived from and was maintained
by the prominent citizenry, the schutterij, the burgerwacht and landweer, and that the regentry
consult "not only the captains and lieutenants but al the citizenry and seafarers which are our
greatest source of power", and the ideal of "the real freedom" demanded during the life of the
republic continuing redistribution and devolution of power and influence
closely tied to the republic was the establishment of the Leiden university in 1575 as a proving
ground for the intellect that aimed to the education of bureaucrats, protestant clerics, and
others for the positions needed in the new state and as a bulwark against tyranny and religious
repression; it stood not (as opposed to most large European universities) under a church synod,
which arrangement had been expressly rejected; thirty years later Leiden's university was one of
the largest on the continent, and soon the Netherlands had four universities with large
international student bodies
much before the revolution the Netherlands enjoyed higher levels of literacy among its population
than any of its neighboring countries ~ thanks in large part because of the large proportion of
citizens living in cities, but it is clear that in the Netherlands Republic men and women reached
levels of literacy ~ and a literate culture, that was exceptional in Europe where this was not
accomplished until centuries later, and foreign observers were astonished to find that even
servant girls could read and write
as a result, technical sciences spread over larger segments of the population and gave greatly
expanded opportunities to youth of limited backgrounds, while at the same time ordinary people
were able to follow secular and clerical developments by reading pamphlets and the like which came
in large numbers off the printing presses
education north of the great rivers was regulated by the States General in public schools attended
even by children of the poor, and had as its main element discipline and respect for church and
society ~ a child on the street was expected to step aside and doff its headcovering to adults
before the republican era some 30 to 40 percent of urban residents were exempted from property
taxes because of poverty which had become a growing problem; the church, gilds, and individuals
set up charitable organizations and insurance for housing and institutes for the poor, sick, and
orphaned
much of what happened in the Netherlands Republic was impressive and much that was unusual, but
nothing in the Netherlands of the 17th and 18th centuries was more marked than the extensive
system of support for the poor ~ (so exceptional, in European terms, that it propably shall never
be equalled nor followed anywhere else)
charitable institutions were administered week to week by committees of regents, prominent
citizens and their wives, under the oversight of the city's council, to ensure the highest order,
economy, morality, and piety ~ and this was done without reward but the standing in city and
church communities it fostered them
city pride built hospitals and old peoples' homes, and naturally also in the 'house of god' each
city wished to show how concerned, responsible, and in what good order its institutions, and
strict regimens were placed on orphanages and poorhouses with intractable discipline, regular
prayer in the reformed church, uniforms, and hard work
the main hospital in every city was a feature of municipal life and a consideration of standing
vis a vis other cities ~ which often paid the salaries of several university-trained doctors and
had it overseen as other charitable institutions, and it was not only to serve the citizenry but
also to treat the wounded of the armed forces that the hospital was large enough, well equipped,
and with sufficient expertise, so that these actually had a national function
one of the most notable differences in the Netherlands with elsewhere in Europe was the insane
asylum because it was thought that the disorder resulting from overcrowding in dilapidated
buildings, that the neglect of sufferers would reflect poorly on the entire city, and it is clear
that in the dutch institutions as much dignity and order prevailed as possible
Luther's reformation was the foundation upon which the republic was erected, and from its inception
accepted the need for a protected reformed state church but not that society and the individual
stood in strict subservience to it
while preachers wanted society under the strict rule of theology, the republic held that freedom
and general welfare can not flourish without restricting the influence of the church in the public
domain ~ it was declared that "the Almighty is the only master of our belief", without authority
of the church over the individual and asked by which right the public church would seek to exercise
power over life in society
the hallmarks of republican society were the unusual, cleanliness, prosperity, the beauty of the
cities, and the relative absence of poverty; the so-called new world of the Netherlands Republic
created a society and a culture that fascinated and enchanted with its art, philosophy and science,
that to this day has a large meaning in the history of civilization
