Noodhulp zonder natiestaat: Bovenlokaal geefgedrag in de Nederlandse Republiek, 1620 - circa 1800

Boersma, E.G.H.

How did early modern Dutch people relate to distant suffering? As charitable relief is as much a thing of the present as it is of the past, the question is still relevant in modern aid campaigns. This dissertation engages with the scholarly debate on early modern solidarity which presupposes that solidarity was confined to one’s own social or religious group. Therefore, aid to foreign fellow believers is commonly explained as religious brotherhood and long-distance solidarity with domestic disaster victims is thought to be absent, especially in the decentralised and particularistic Dutch Republic. This thesis demonstrates, first, that transnational aid to persecuted foreign fellow-believers was not just about confessional brotherhood but also about political interests and, second, it shows that long-distance solidarity with disaster victims was fairly common in the Dutch Republic. By analysing the arguments put forward by the victims in their aid requests, the reasons underlying...Show moreHow did early modern Dutch people relate to distant suffering? As charitable relief is as much a thing of the present as it is of the past, the question is still relevant in modern aid campaigns. This dissertation engages with the scholarly debate on early modern solidarity which presupposes that solidarity was confined to one’s own social or religious group. Therefore, aid to foreign fellow believers is commonly explained as religious brotherhood and long-distance solidarity with domestic disaster victims is thought to be absent, especially in the decentralised and particularistic Dutch Republic. This thesis demonstrates, first, that transnational aid to persecuted foreign fellow-believers was not just about confessional brotherhood but also about political interests and, second, it shows that long-distance solidarity with disaster victims was fairly common in the Dutch Republic. By analysing the arguments put forward by the victims in their aid requests, the reasons underlying the decisions of the civil authorities to support of reject these pleas, and the way in which the general public was persuaded to donate, this study reveals the multifaceted character of early modern aid. Furthermore, it provides insight into the emergence of humanitarian argumentation long before the Enlightenments ‘humanitarian revolution’.Show less

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Noodhulp zonder natiestaat: Bovenlokaal geefgedrag in de Nederlandse Republiek, 1620 - circa 1800