Source selection

Goetgevonden is based on various series of resolutions in the archives of the States General, which are kept in the National Archives in The Hague. We distinguish between the series of ordinary resolutions, the series of secret resolutions and the series of ordinary and secret resolutions on special subjects. These series have various forms: handwritten clerks’ copies (minutes), handwritten fair copies (written by clerks) and printed copies.

Goetgevonden uses the handwritten fair copies of all these series with one exception: for the ordinary decisions from the period 1703-1796, the printed version was chosen. Technological reasons determined the choice for fair and printed copies. In contrast to the widely varying handwriting of the various clerks of the States General, the handwriting of the numerous clerks who wrote the resolutions at the secretarial office of the States General enjoyed a high degree of uniformity throughout the entire period.

At the start of the project in 2019, it was still unclear what recognition percentage for the handwriting could be expected, while for OCR this was already at an acceptable level. That is why Goetgevonden used the printed Ordinary Decrees as soon as they became fully available, in addition to the handwritten version, from 1703 onwards.