The Logic of Charity

Transcription

1 The Logic of Charity

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3 The Logic of Charity Amsterdam, Marco H. D. van Leeuwen Senior Researcher Netherlands Economic History Archives Amsterdam The Netherlands Translated by Arnold J. Pomerans

4 First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y ISBN Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Leeuwen, Marco H. D. van, 1958 [Bijstand in Amsterdam, ca English] The logic of charity : Amsterdam, / Marco H.D. van Leeuwen ; translated by Arnold J. Pomerans. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN (cloth) 1. Public welfare Netherlands Amsterdam History 19th century. 2. Amsterdam (Netherlands) Social policy. I. Title. HV310.A6L '392 dc CIP Marco H. D. van Leeuwen 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources

5 To Henk and Joyce

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7 Contents List of Tables List of Figures List of Plates List of Maps Preface Acknowledgements ix xi xii xiii xiv xv 1 A Simple Model of Poor Relief in Preindustrial Europe Simple questions and general principles The elites and poor relief The poor and poor relief Interdependence The effects of poor relief Procedure Summary 31 2 Poverty and Riches General outline Income structure Social segregation The organization of poor relief Summary 53 3 Poor Relief as a Control Strategy Charity administrators Relief policies Collective interests Individual interests Who paid the bill? Summary 96 4 Poor Relief as a Survival Strategy Registration Recipients of benefits Type and extent of relief 118 vii

8 viii Contents 4.4 Fraud and its prevention Summary The Role of Poor Relief in Society Alternative control strategies Alternative survival strategies Interdependence Summary Concluding Remarks Which groups provided poor relief and why? Which groups received poor relief and why? What were the effects of poor relief on society? How useful was the simple model of poor relief in preindustrial Europe? 190 Appendix A: The Anatomy of Charitable Power 192 Appendix B: A Short Survey of European Charity: Recipients and the Value of their Relief 196 Notes 201 Archives Consulted 221 References 222 Index 235

9 List of Tables 2.1 Number of paupers based on one-off donations in Distribution of heads of households by income in Interlocking directorates of charity administrators during the first half of the nineteenth century Social status of charity administrators during the first half of the nineteenth century Occupation of charity administrators in Incomes of charity administrators in Occupation of Reformed deacons, Waiting time for Reformed deacons by occupation, Age on taking office as charity administrator, Term of office as charity administrator during the first half of the nineteenth century Service as a charity administrator as a stepping stone to political office during the first half of the nineteenth century Income and expenditure of the five leading poor-relief institutions, Number of indoor- and outdoor-relief recipients by type of institution, Number of paupers on outdoor relief per charity, Adults receiving poor relief from the Ashkenazi Charity in Newly registered adults granted poor relief by the Municipal Charity ( ) and by the Lutheran Charity ( ) Port-related work by men on relief and by the total male labour force Most common occupations of adults drawing relief from the Ashkenazi Charity in Most common occupations of newly enrolled adults drawing relief from the Municipal Charity ( ) and from the Lutheran Charity ( ) 112 ix

10 x List of Tables 4.8 Cost of relief borne by four large outdoor-relief charities, Cost of indoor poor relief to four institutions, Most common occupations of account holders with the Municipal Savings Bank, Reasons for terminating assistance to families assisted by the Municipal Charity ( ) and by the Lutheran Charity ( ) 179

11 List of Figures 1.1 A simple model of poor relief in preindustrial Europe Total number of recipients of poor relief expressed as percentages of the total population, by age and sex, Total number of recipients of poor relief expressed as percentages of the total population, by age and with a distinction between paupers on indoor and those on outdoor relief, Value of municipal poor relief during winter as a percentage of winter wages, Value of municipal poor relief during summer as a percentage of summer wages, Bread and grain prices, xi

12 List of Plates 1 View of the harbour in the winter of 1830 (drawing attributed to J. van Leeuwen, Amsterdam Municipal Archives (GAA), Atlas of Historical Topography). 2 The poor district: the Goudsbloemgracht, 1853 (lithograph; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 3 The prosperous Golden Bend of the Herengracht, ca (drawing by Augustus Wijnands; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 4 Interior of the Catholic Old Poor Office (GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 5 The Regents of the Oudezijds Municipal Charity in 1806 (painting by Adriaan de Lelie; Amsterdam Historical Museum). 6 The Deacons pews and offertory, ca (drawing by unknown artist; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 7 Sketches of Amsterdammers, 1843 (drawing by Christiaan Andriessen; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 8 Various ways of dispensing charity (engraving after sketches by the French artist A. Darjou, ca. 1869; Amsterdam Historical Museum). 9 Portraits of Mennonite women on poor relief (pen drawings; GAA PA 565, no. B 920/9). 10 Jewish fish and pickle sellers, 1806 (drawing by C. Meijer; Amsterdam Historical Museum). 11 Beggar woman under arrest, 1806 (drawing by Christiaan Andriessen; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). 12 A begging musician, ca (drawing by Christiaan Andriessen; GAA, Atlas of Historical Topography). xii

13 List of Maps 2.1 Pauper index in Elite index in Social segregation ca xiii

14 Preface This study began as a Dutch doctoral thesis. Through every stage of its progress I was supported with much advice and assistance by Henk van Leeuwen, which was most gratifying to me and stood the thesis in particularly good stead. The draft versions of the thesis were discussed with him, with Joyce van Leeuwen-de Witt, Clé Lesger and with my supervisors, Joop Faber and Reinhard Wippler. I also went over the drafts with Carine van Oosteren, who at other times kept me from my work and was a great help, not least because of that. Constructive suggestions were also made by Wim Blockmans, Henk Flap, Leo Noordegraaf, Werner Raub, Tom Snijders, Theo van Tijn, Wout Ultee, Albert Verbeek, Jan de Vries and Jeroen Weesie. I learned a great deal from these probing and useful consultations. On completion of my studies in the Netherlands I presented papers at a number of international congresses. Two of these papers were published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History and in Social History, respectively. I am grateful to the editors for allowing me to reprint extracts from these articles. The English versions have been commented on by Julia Adams, Peter Burke, Chris Gordon, Paul Johnson, Lynn Kiesling, Henk van Leeuwen, Lynn Lees, Clé Lesger, Anne McCants, Akira Motomura, Maarten Prak, Richard Smith, Peter Solar, David Thomson, Charles Tilly, Louise Tilly, Jan de Vries, Richard Wall and Jan-Luiten van Zanden. Rab Houston introduced me to Macmillan. I am grateful to them all, and also to those of my colleagues who took the trouble to comment on the papers I presented at the International Economic History Conferences in Louvain and Milan; at meetings of the Social Science History Association in New Orleans, Chicago and Baltimore; and on my lectures to the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, the European University Institute, the Maison des Sciences de l Homme, and the Center for Studies of Social Change of the New School for Social Research. The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) provided not only travelling grants but also a translation subsidy. Arnold Pomerans has most ably rendered my text into English. I am greatly indebted to all those who, whether mentioned here or not, have contributed to the writing of this study. xiv M.v.L.

15 Acknowledgements This book has been translated from the Dutch by Arnold J. Pomerans and I should like to acknowledge the work he has done. The translation has been funded by NWO, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Chapter 1 contains material that has appeared in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History, XXIV (1994), pp ( 1994 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the editors of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History). Chapter 3 and Appendix B contain material that has appeared in Social History, 18 (1993), pp xv