Colonies of Benevolence, Netherlands

From 1818 onwards, hundreds of thousands of poor families, orphans, beggars and needy people were given a chance to build new lives as farmers in specially created agricultural settlements in rural areas of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (now the Netherlands and Belgium).

Along with work and housing, they were also provided with services like education and health care – revolutionary at the time. The idea was that in a strictly ordered environment, residents would, through work, get their lives back on track and become self-sufficient.

The Society of Benevolence, whose aim was to fight poverty in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, founded seven colonies between 1818 and 1825. Frederiksoord was the earliest colony, and the first to see poor families from the cities come to live and work on its small farms.

The plan to fight poverty fit with the rationalist Enlightenment notion that people could be “fixed”, and a key purpose of the colonies was to “elevate” inhabitants through work, education, and moral instruction in the church or synagogue. 

This was an experiment that was aimed at improving not only poor people, but also poor soil at the same time: a highly functional landscape was created out of isolated peat and heath wastelands that had previously been considered to be unfit for settlement.

The orthogonal layout of the colonies was meant to encourage rational, productive behaviour in residents. The straight avenues and orderly arrangement of buildings, with houses evenly spaced along parallel roads, facilitated efficient working- and control of the residents.

This system of discipline and control, which is visible in the layout of the landscape, made it easy to keep an eye on residents. It also influenced the development of institutions and custodial care in 19^th-century Europe.

In the so-called “unfree” colonies such as Veenhuizen, large complexes known as “institutions” each housed more than 1,000 orphans, beggars and vagrants who were deemed unable to run small farms on their own. These people worked the land in groups under constant supervision.

In contrast, in the “free” colonies such as Frederiksoord, families lived in small farmhouses with their own land that they could cultivate independently. Each dwelling comprised living quarters and a timber back section containing a barn.

Of the approximately 430 colony houses that once existed, around 50 of the houses of the free colonies of Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord are still standing.

The idea behind the colonies was that residents could be “relegated” from a free one to an unfree one or, alternatively, be “promoted” from unfree to free and manage a farm. However, far fewer colonists than expected managed to build independent lives.

The late-19^th-century official residences of Veenhuizen bore moralistic inscriptions on their facades. The assistant pharmacist lived at “Bitter and Sweet”, the teacher at “Education”. The size of each residence reflected the occupant’s status.

The Colonies were self-sufficient. Residents could buy goods in shops using a special currency. They had access to food, education, health care and recreation at a time when these weren’t taken for granted.

Every child who lived in the Colonies of Benevolence went to school from the age of six. Secondary agricultural education was also provided. Requiring poor children to attend school was unusual. It would be 80 years before education became compulsory in the Netherlands.

Colony life had strict rules and lacked individual freedom. The visitor centres in Veenhuizen and Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord tell the story.

Over time, the reputation of the Colonies of Benevolence deteriorated and families became ashamed of their ties to the settlements. The colonies eventually lost their relevance in the early 1900’s and evolved into ‘normal’ villages and areas with institutions for custodial care.