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The Christian Historical Voters' League (in Dutch: Christelijk Historische Kiezersbond, CHK) was a Dutch conservative protestant political party. The CHK is historically linked to the Christian Democratic Appeal which is currently one of the major parties of the Netherlands.
The CHK was founded in 1897. [1] It was a continuation of the National Party, which was founded in 1888 but had never gained a seat in parliament. They were founded as one of several parties that were founded in the 1890s, which all turned again the leadership and ideology of Abraham Kuyper, the leader of the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party. Kuyper had initiated a new political course for Protestantism in the Netherlands, which included cooperation with the Catholics, in the coalition, strategical support for extension of suffrage a rejection of theocracy in favour of a specific conception of state neutrality, sphere sovereignty and a strong party organization and party discipline.
The party was led by two reformed ministers Bronsveld and de Visser. In the election of 1897 de Visser was elected to the House of Representatives for the district of Rotterdam, while Bronsveld became chair. A conflict between Bronsveld and de Visser develops, while de Visser wanted to cooperated with other Christian-Historical parties, such as the Frisian League and Free Anti Revolutionary Party (VAR), while Bronsveld did not.
In 1901 de Visser was elected for one of the Amsterdam districts. In the same year de Visser succeeded Bronsveld as chair and opened talks with the VAR and in April 1903 the VAR and the CHK merged to form the Christian Historical Party (CHP); in 1908 the CHP would merge with the Frisian League to form the Christian Historical Union. In 1977 the CHU merged with the Anti Revolutionary Party and Catholic People's Party to form the Christian Democratic Appeal. [2]
The term "Christian Historical" was used before 1897 to denote supporters of the main Protestant party, the Anti Revolutionary Party, emphasizing the Protestant nature of the history of the Netherlands. Furthermore the CHK styled itself a voters' league, a caucus, instead of a conventional political party.
The CHK was formed as a result of dissent within the main Protestant party the Anti Revolutionary Party, unlike that party the CHK did not recognize Catholicism as a legitimate religion. The party was strong anti-papist.
Furthermore the party opposed general suffrage. The party was divided over the issue of religious education, with Bronsveld advocating Protestant-inspired public education and de Visser advocating separate Protestant schools.
This table show the DHK's results in elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, the chair of the parliamentary party . It also possible that the party leader is member of cabinet, if the CHK was part of the governing coalition, the "highest ranking" minister is listed.
| Year | HoR | S | Fractievoorzitter | Cabinet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | opposition |
| 1898 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | opposition |
| 1899 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | opposition |
| 1900 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | opposition |
| 1901 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | supports cabinet of Kuyper |
| 1902 | 1 | 0 | Johannes de Visser | supports cabinet of Kuyper |
The electorate of the CHK was mainly constituted by adherents of the Dutch Reformed Church from the upper class.
As a party for Protestant dissenters of a catholic-Protestant alliance the CHK is a unique phenomenon in international perspective. Its political course, which included support of limited government, rejection of universal suffrage and hostility against Catholicism, is comparable to the course of the British Conservative Party in the late 1800s and to some extent American Party of the United States.
The Anti-Revolutionary Party was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and minister. In 1980 the party merged with the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and the Christian Historical Union (CHU) to form the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
Abraham Kuyper was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upon its foundation became the second largest Calvinist denomination in the country behind the state-supported Dutch Reformed Church.
The Free-thinking Democratic League 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, Wim Schermerhorn. The League is a predecessor of two of the major Dutch political parties, the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social democratic Labour Party (PvdA). The social liberal Democrats 66 also claims that it and the VDB are ideologically connected.
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 5 July 1922. They were the first elections held under universal suffrage, which became reality after the acceptance of a proposal by Henri Marchant in 1919 that gave women full voting rights. Almost all major parties had a woman elected. The number of female representatives increased from one to seven. Only the Anti-Revolutionary Party principally excluded women from the House of Representatives. Another amendment to the electoral law increased the electoral threshold from 0.5% to 0.75%, after six parties had won seats with less than 0.75% of the vote in the previous elections.
The Christian Historical Union was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980.
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was the second largest Protestant church in the Netherlands and one of the two major Calvinist denominations along with the Dutch Reformed Church since 1892 until being merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) in 2004. The PKN is the continuation of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Roman Catholic State Party was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses. During its entire existence, the party was in government. In 1945 the party became the Catholic People's Party (KVP).
The General League of Roman Catholic Riding Associations, informally called the General League, was a Catholic political party in the Netherlands. It is one of the ancestors of the Christian Democratic Appeal, currently a major party in the Netherlands.
The Social Democratic Workers' Party was a Dutch socialist political party existing from 1894 to 1946, and a predecessor of the social democratic Labour Party.
The Liberal Union was a conservative liberal and progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. A major party in its time, the Liberals were one of the historic predecessors of the Liberal State Party, and therefore of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.
The Free Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch conservative Reformed political party, which existed from 1898 to 1903. The VAR is historically linked to the Christian Democratic Appeal which is currently one of the major parties of the Netherlands.
The League of caucuses on Christian Historical foundation in the province of Friesland is a Dutch conservative Reformed political party. The Frisian League is historically linked to the Christian Democratic Appeal, which is currently one of the major parties of the Netherlands.
The Christian Historical Party was a Dutch conservative Reformed political party, which existed from 1903 to 1908. The CHP is historically linked to the Christian Democratic Appeal which is currently one of the major parties of the Netherlands.
The Christian Democratic Party was a Dutch left-wing Christian-democratic political party. The CDP played only a minor role in parliament. It is historically linked to both the Labour Party and the Christian Democratic Appeal.
The Christian Social Party was a Dutch Christian socialist political party. The CSP played only a minor role in Dutch politics and is historically linked to the Labour Party.
This article gives an overview of Christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessionalism, including political Catholicism and Protestantism. It is limited to Christian democratic parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme.
The school struggle is a historical conflict in the Netherlands between 1848 and 1917 over the equalization of public financing for religious schools.
Jhr. Alexander Frederik de Savornin Lohman was a Dutch politician and leader of the Christian Historical Union during the first quarter of the 20th century.
Pillarisation is the vertical separation of citizens into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were divided into two or more groups known as pillars. The best-known examples of this have historically occurred in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Parliamentary caucuses merged in 1976, and in 1977 the three parties submitted a joint electoral list under the Christian Democratic banner.
