Publicatie over het Burgerrecht der Jooden (Publication Concerning the Civil Rights of the Jews), The Hague: Lands Drukkery van Holland, 1796

8 pages (8 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.; 225 x 132 mm) on paper; single-column text; periodic italics and all-caps-lettering; catchwords. Woodcut printer’s device on title. Slight scattered staining; edges slightly worn. Uncut, unbound pamphlet.

In January 1795, the people of the Netherlands, with the support of the French, overthrew the old Dutch regime and established in its place the Batavian Republic. Committed to the egalitarian principles of the French Revolution, this new government quickly turned to the question of granting equal civil rights to religious minorities. At the request of some members of the predominantly Jewish Felix Libertate society, submitted March 26, 1796, the National Assembly debated the issue of Jewish citizenship for several months, ultimately promulgating its Emancipation Decree on September 2, 1796. From then on, Jews could vote, be elected, serve as justices, settle anywhere in the Republic, and enter all economic fields, just like other Batavian citizens.

The present document, issued almost four weeks later, reaffirmed the declarations of its predecessor and applied them to the Province of Holland. It was signed by J. A. van der Spyk, president of the Provincial Government, and C. Scheffer. This copy is one of only a very small number of exemplars to have survived to the present day.

Literature

Anon., “Acktenstücke, die Emancipation der Israeliten in den Niederlanden betreffend,” Oesterreichisches Central-Organ für Glaubensfreiheit, Cultur, Geschichte und Literatur der Juden 2-4 (1848): 24-27, 39-41, 54-56, at pp. 55-56.

J.M.M. Ramakers, “Parallel Processes? The Emancipation of Jews and Catholics in the Netherlands 1795/1796-1848,” Studia Rosenthaliana 30,1 (1996): 33-40.