The making of Batavian citizens: social organization of constitutional enlightenment in The Netherlands, 1795–98

Discusses the contribution of democratic political movements to the development of organized educational activities for adults in the Netherlands during the short-lived Batavian Republic of 1795-98. Research suggests that four distinct educative influences were apparent at this period: the organization of the educated middle class through self-education, the "public educators" among the elite of the democratic movement who were concerned to provide constitutional information for the less educated, the popular education promoted by the Society for the Common Benefit, and the development of autonomous educational activities among the tradesmen and artisans in corresponding societies, reading circles, political clubs, and taverns.