Maatschappij Tot Nut Van 't Algemeen
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The Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen (Nut for short; Society for Public Welfare) is a non-profit organization in the Netherlands founded in 1784 with the purpose of developing individuals and society, primarily through education. It had great influence in improving public education through better textbooks, model schools and teacher's training. The society continues to be involved in extracurricular education.


Origins

At the end of the 18th century, there were many freethinkers and believers in democracy in the Netherlands, who felt that better education would bring greater prosperity for all. A group of friends of the Baptist minister Jan Nieuwenhuijzen from
Monnickendam Monnickendam () is a city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and lies on the coast of the Markermeer, about southeast of Purmerend. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city ...
and Edam in North Holland decided to found a society that would help underprivileged people gain education by providing them with books written in simple language. The minister's son, doctor Martinus Nieuwenhuijzen, took the lead in founding a society with the goal of "improving the school system and the education of youth as the main basis for the formation, improvement and civilization of the citizen."


Foundation

An inaugural meeting for the Society was held in the minister's house of 16 November 1784. Local branches of the Society were formed in other parts of
North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...
,
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
and
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
, and then in the rest of the northern Netherlands. Guiding principles were that the organization was humanitarian, run for the public benefit and open to all. Most activity took place at the local level, with a Board at the national level to contribute to public debate and assist the local groups. The objective was not to help the lower classes to rise in social status, but to help them develop and contribute economically and socially to the community. It is hard to estimate how effective the Society was in helping working people, but there is no doubt that the Society was a vehicle for the middle classes to create social networks. The Society aimed to promote the well-being of the people through higher levels of cultivation and civilization, and specifically through better education. The Society was not against the church, but aimed to provide education that conformed to general Christian ethical principles and that was not dogmatic about doctrine. Thus in 1785 the Society awarded the Catholic Peter Schouten first prize in a contest for a treatise on the existence of God and the need to serve him. Although very liberal, the Society did not willing extend its membership to Jews, or receive Jewish pupils. At first Nut was confined to the mainly Protestant north. The first southern branch was opened in
Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...
, West Flanders, in 1819, followed the same year with branches in
Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
,
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, Nieuwpoort and
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
, and later by other southern branches. Apart from
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, the southern branches were all small. In 1825 there were about 12,000 members in the north and less than 500 in the south.


Activities

The Society aimed to provide education to all by establishing elementary schools, publishing textbooks and founding teacher's training establishments. It also founded libraries, set up savings banks and insurance funds, and undertook other social development activities. While Jan Nieuwenhuijzen saw education of adults as a way to bring them to a higher spiritual level, his son Martinus Nieuwenhuijzen put more emphasis on improving education of children. At the time the state of education was very poor, with under-qualified and underpaid teachers, outdated material, run-down and uncomfortable school buildings and harsh discipline. The Society at first concentrated on publishing new textbooks. Martinus Nieuwenhuijzen wrote the first of these, written in simple language for children, very different from the turgid style that was fashionable at the time. The Society also founded schools to serve as examples to the public schools of modern methods of education. The Society held an essay competition for the best answer to the question, "What are the best means of turning children into sociable people while they are still at school." One of the answers included a "behavioral table", a scorecard that listed positive and negative actions. With the proclamation of the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
in 1795 the Netherlands became a unitary state and it became possible to enact educational laws for the whole country. Many of the members of the Society were sympathetic to the democratic patriots who led the Batavian Republic. The Society contributed to the law of 1806 which established the national education system. Local branches of the Society founded schools for design in
Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...
(1800),
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(1806),
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
(1809),
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(1809) and
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(1814). These were mainly concerned with the fine arts, and not with practical arts. After the Act of 1806 the Society became involved in industrial education, but without great enthusiasm. Local branches did set up labor schools including spinning schools in
Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...
(1810),
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
(1814),
Middelharnis Middelharnis () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee. The town had a population of about 6,800 in 2012. On 1 January 2013, Middelharnis merged with Goe ...
(1815) and
Sommelsdijk Sommelsdijk is a village on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, South Holland, the Netherlands, and part of the municipality of the same name. Sommelsdijk has (1 January 2022) 7,195 inhabitants which makes it the second largest settlement after Midd ...
(1815), spinning and knitting schools in
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
and
Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...
, and a flax mill in
Nieuwenhoorn Nieuwenhoorn is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located in the municipality of Voorne aan Zee, about 3 km north of Hellevoetsluis city centre. History The village was first mentioned in 1390 as "van den nuwen hoern ...
. The Act of 1806 was confirmed by King
William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...
, with about 1,100 schools established between 1815 and 1830. After the independence of Belgium in 1830 the educational activity of the Society there was taken over in 1851 by
Willemsfonds The Willemsfonds, named after Jan Frans Willems, is a non-profit cultural organisation founded in the 19th century to promote Flemish culture and language in Belgium. In order to achieve this goal, the organisation encouraged Flemish folk song, org ...
. Under a reform of 1857 the principles of education established by the Society were proscribed for all schools, and the state took responsibility for education throughout the country. In most cases the Society's schools were taken over by the municipalities. The Society remained involved in education, running vocational schools, organizing courses and pushing for further reforms. Thus in 1875 a committee of the Society published a report on the laws related to primary and secondary education. The report was critical of citizen day schools, which gave courses that did not cover practical work techniques. The committee recommended an overhaul to education for the working classes, with emphasis on vocational training. In 1907 the Society published a report on the apprenticeship system, and recommended craft schools and practical vocational training on the job. In 1913 they founded the Dutch Folk University with its first location in Amsterdam. Until 2010 the secretariat of the Society was located in the original home of Martinus Nieuwenhuijzen in Edam. The Society continues to operate, with 70 local groups and about 7,000 members as of 2014. It arranges lectures, courses, educational excursions, cultural tours and other cultural activities.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen Clubs and societies in the Netherlands Organizations established in 1784 1784 establishments in the Dutch Republic