Martinus Stuart (

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, 4 October 1765 –

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, 22 November 1826) was a Dutch pastor and historian. He was appointed by King William I as ''historian of the kingdom''.

Life and work

Stuart was born in Rotterdam in 1765 as the son of merchant Jacob Stuart and Johanna van Eyk. He studied theology at the

remonstrants The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his or ...

seminar in Amsterdam. In 1787 he was confirmed as remonstrants pastor in Dokkum and in 1790 as remonstrants pastor in Utrecht. From 1793 until his death in 1826, Stuart was a Remonstrants pastor in Amsterdam, but he worked and attracted to non-remonstrants. Politically, he was

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

Protestant. He was an advocate of a merger of all Protestant churches. An idea that he tried to realize in vain. Stuart was not only a pastor but also a historian. He has published, among other things, a thirty-part work on Roman history and various historical works on national history. Both King

Louis Napoleon Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and King William I appreciated his historical knowledge. He received assignments from both of them to describe national history. Louis Napoleon appointed him Knight in the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

and member of the Royal Institute. King William I appointed him "historian of the kingdom." From this assignment arose the '' Yearbooks of the Kingdom of the Netherlands '', a sixteen volume. According to the biographical lexicon for the history of Dutch Protestantism, "his work was characterized by a less critical treatment of matter". Stuart married Theodora Magdalena Robbé on 19 September 1787 in Steenwijk. Fourteen children were born from their marriage. Stuart died in November 1826 in his hometown Amsterdam. The eulogy by Cornelis Willem Westerbaen on 31 December 1826 in the Remonstrant church of Amsterdam appeared in 1827 in print.

Bibliography (selection)

* '' Roman history '' (Romeinsche geschiedenis), 30 volumes, Amsterdam, 1793–1810, reissue in 20 volumes, 1824-1826 * '' Patriotic History from 1752 to 1784 '' (Vaderlandsche Historie van 1752 tot 1784), Amsterdam, 1826 * '' Yearbooks of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1814 to 1822 '' (Jaarboeken van het Koningrijk der Nederlanden van 1814 tot 1822), 16 volumes, Amsterdam, 1826 * ''New Dutch Yearbooks'' (Nieuwe Nederlandsche Jaarboeken), 6 volumes, Amsterdam, 1813/1814
''Man as he appears on the known globe'' (De mensch zoo als hij voorkomt op den bekenden aardbol), original print, Amsterdam, 1802–1807, reissued in 1818 and in 1835/1836

Life and work

Bibliography (selection)

Notes and references

Citations

Sources

Further reading