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More than 200 years ago, the Netherlands decided to create a number of sites specifically for poor people, known as the Colonies of Benevolence. This unique plan was devised by General Johannes van den Bosch and supported by King William I. Van den Bosch purchased cheap wastelands in the north-eastern provinces of Drenthe, Groningen and Overijssel, establishing agrarian colonies where poor people could live, learn and work. The colonists drastically altered the landscape.
Colonies of Benevolence
These former agrarian colonies are so remarkable that the colony villages have not only been awarded the European Heritage Label, but are also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Experience the story of the first colonists in Museum De Proefkolonie, of the orphans in the Nationaal Gevangenismuseum, and of the beggars in the Ommerschans visitors centre.
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The poor families came from all over the Netherlands, but mainly from the bigger cities. In exchange for agricultural work they could live in colony houses. There was a doctor and a church, and the children were obliged to attend school, which was not yet standard practice in the rest of the country. In these ‘free colonies’, the inhabitants were provided with all basic amenities, giving them the opportunity to build a new future. It was the first nation-wide plan to tackle poverty.
Colonies for beggars in Ommerschans and for orphans, foundlings and abandoned children in Veenhuizen soon followed. The children were housed in large buildings, where they were expected to work hard and where strict rules applied. If they did well, they could be permitted to move to the ‘Free Colonies’. But there, too, the rules were strict and those who failed to obey them could be moved to the ‘unfree’ colonies in Ommerschans or Veenhuizen. Van den Bosch also established similar colonies in present-day Belgium, for why not expand a good plan?
Many people saw it as an experiment. Would it be possible to definitively end poverty? Notables from all across Europe visited the Colonies of Benevolence to see how it worked out in practice, and travelled back home with enthusiastic reports. Could we do so in our own country as well? Many were inspired to attempt to solve their own country’s problems with similar domestic colonies. The Colonies of Benevolence thus stimulated new ways of looking at poverty, and of giving people a dignified role in society.
Do you need to prepare an oral presentation or an essay about the Colonies? Visit the websites of the museums for suggestions!
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