Vroedschap

The vroedschap () was the name for the (all male)

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in the early modern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vaderen'', the "wise fathers" Most early modern Dutch cities were ruled by a government of male burghers or ''

poorter Poorter () is an historical term for a type of Dutch, or Flemish, burgher who had acquired the right to live within the walls of a city with city rights. In the Dutch Republic, this ''poorterrecht'' or ''poorterschap'' (citizenship) could be ...

s'' (bourgeois) who were members of the regent class, the ruling elite. During late Medieval times, the regents had in all cities gradually managed to exclude men of the artisan class from membership, making themselves a sort of hereditary city nobility. In the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, a city administration consisted of the magistrate and the ''vroedschap''. The magistrate (or city government) consisted of a number, often four, of

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...

s assisted by a number of aldermen (''

schepenen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

''), and looked after the daily administration of the city. In most cities, the mayors were chosen for a period of four years. The previous (and usually the youngest) mayor was responsible for the

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

, the civil militia. The vroedschap appointed the magistrate, mostly from its own ranks; sometimes other members of the regent class were proposed. There was a complicated system of drawing lots and in many cities a shortlist was made from which the stadtholder, the highest provincial executive official, could choose; from 1748 this became a general system for the Dutch Republic. The vroedschap was convened on financial questions, sometimes on national politics, and always for elections for the appointment of important local posts, such as governor appointments for institutions like the poor house, orphanage, and almshouses. The vroedschap thus served the economic interests in which its members had an important share. In contrast to magistrates, ''vroedschapsleden'' ("members of the city council") were appointed for life. The council consisted of ten to forty citizens, that met weekly or less often. They chose one or two new mayors and representatives to the Provincial States in January each year. Membership was based on ''uitverkiezing'' (

cooptation Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings. It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite Social group, group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition ...

) and inheritance. Family ties were important, as were good breeding and social status in the community. ''Vroedmannen'' had to satisfy three basic conditions: male, membership of the Calvinist church and ownership of a house. Although city administrations, by present standards, were more

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

than

meritocratic Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achi ...

, family ties never formed a formal legal basis for election. In times of crisis, the stadholder sometimes appointed new ''vroedschapsleden'' in a province, to ensure that his followers were in power, a so-called ''wetsverzetting'' ("change of the legislative"). This happened in 1619, 1672, 1748 and 1787. There was no legal basis for such an act. {{Dutch republic institutions Dutch words and phrases Political history of the Netherlands Early Modern Netherlands