Committees

From the second quarter of the seventeenth century, the States General began appointing deputies from among themselves in ‘besognes’, that is to say: committees. The task of a committee was to prepare or implement policy; only a few committees could make decisions themselves. The committees are mentioned in the resolutions when a document is forwarded to them for further ‘examination’, and when the committee returns with a report on it shortly afterwards. Thus we read on Thursday 28 April 1678 in the conclusion of a resolution:

Having deliberated upon it, it has been approved and understood that a copy of the aforementioned request will be placed in the hands of the Lords van der Meer and other of the States General’s Deputies for the affairs of the small Seal, to inspect, examine, review the retroacta, hear the former Commissioner Baillij on it, and report on everything here at the Assembly.

Three weeks later, on Tuesday 17 May 1678, the commission reported:

The report of the gentleman van Heeckeren and other Deputies of the States General’s committee for the affairs of the small seal of the Generality has been heard, having, in accordance with and in compliance with the States General commissarial resolution of the twenty-ninth of April last, inspected and examined the request of Aert van Hoven, Draftsman of the prescribed small seal, holding that[…]

In Goetgevonden we consider committees as entities. The mention of committees as in the resolutions of the States General can serve as an entry point for research into the committee system, but also as a tool for searching within specific policy areas and subjects. It is good to know that the committee system of the States General underwent a strong development, especially in the seventeenth century. Between 1650 and 1672, many committees were established, mostly ad hoc, for a single deliberation. The dataset does not provide a complete picture of this period, because it only includes committees that existed for a longer period. After 1672, this method was radically reformed and permanent committees with broader remit were created. For example, from that time on there was a committee for Financial Affairs, and the various committees for all kinds of foreign countries were merged into one committee for Foreign Affairs. Finally, the administrative reforms at the end of the eighteenth century produced a number of new committees.

For these reasons, the committees collected here do not form a uniform group. For the sake of clarity, committees that (in different periods) concern the same subject have been grouped together in one of the following categories. The categorisation is diachronic and does not follow the classification used by the States General. It concerns the following categories:

Domestic

Foreign

Diplomacy

Financial

Generality

Ecclesiastical

Colonial

Maritime

Military