The Radical League ( nl, Radicale Bond) was a progressive liberal

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

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 ...

from its founding in 1892 until it merged with the left wing of the Liberal Union to form the

Free-thinking Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League ( nl, Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relatively large role in Dutch politics, supplying one Prime Minister, W ...

in 1901.

History

The Radical League originated out of the local progressive liberal caucus "Amsterdam". Leaders of this caucus initiated the formation of a national political party in July 1892, and this resulted in the founding of the Radical League on 9 November 1892. The foremost leader of the new party was the Amsterdam

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

Willem Treub Marie Willem Frederik Treub (30 November 1858, Voorschoten – 24 July 1931, The Hague) was a Dutch politician. Biography Marie Willem Frederik Treub was born to Jacobus Petrus Treub, mayor of Voorschoten, and his wife Marie Louise Cornaz. Toget ...

. The party focused on the extension of universal suffrage as well as combating social deprivation. In 1893 the party won the

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of ...

seat in a by-election. The newly elected MP was former Amsterdam alderman

Carel Victor Gerritsen Carel Victor Gerritsen (2 February 1850 – 5 July 1905) was a Dutch politician known for his radical views. The husband of Aletta Jacobs, he was a proponent of open government, fair wages and birth control. He served as an alderman in Amsterdam ...

, who was also the husband of feminist

Aletta Jacobs Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. I ...

. In 1894 the party won two additional seats. They played a minor role in parliament. In 1897 they won an additional seat. The Radicals supported the progressive liberal

Pierson cabinet The Pierson cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 27 July 1897 until 1 August 1901. The cabinet was formed by the List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party Liberal Union (Netherlands), Liberal Union (CU) after the ...

, although they were not necessary for its majority. On 17 March 1901, the League merged with another group of progressive former Liberal Union members to form the

Ideology & issues

The League was a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

party, committed to implementation of

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

and social laws. The party was inspired by ''kathedersocialisme'', the progressive politics professed by

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...

preachers. It championed democratisation of the political system by abolishing the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

and the implementation of a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

. It favoured the nationalisation of crucial industries like the railways.

Election results

This table shows the League's results in elections to the House of Representatives.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1395

Local government

The party was particularly strong in Amsterdam. Treub was

there.

Electorate

The League's electorate centered on Amsterdam, where intellectuals, journalists, teachers and educated workers supported the party.

Pillarisation

The small and localised Radical League lacked a system of pillarised organisations around it. The weekly magazine ''De Amsterdammer'' ("The Amsterdammer") sympathised with the party however.

References

{{Dutch liberal political parties Netherlands 1892 Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Liberal parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1892 Radical parties Political parties disestablished in 1901 1892 establishments in the Netherlands 1901 disestablishments in the Netherlands