Studies in the history of physical education show that it was often promoted for socio-political reasons: to stimulate nation-building or increase economic productivity and/or military strength. By contrast, a different kind of motivation has received little attention in historical studies: the importance of physical education for the perfection of the individual, as expressed by the German neohumanistic word 'Bildung'. This article presents a case study in which the debate on the importance of physical education in the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century is examined. Ideas on the importance of Bildung in physical education especially existed within the freethinkers' movement. With arguments derived from their naturalistic worldview, freethinkers contested educational approaches that obstructed the natural development of the child. This case study aims to contribute to a better insight into the history of physical education in the Netherlands and into the diversity of reasons for promoting physical education in the past.
After several decades of political confl ict and turbulence, in 1815 the Netherlands became a constitutional monarchy. In the ensuing process of nationbuilding, history education was considered an important means to instill feelings of national unity and concord into the hearts of children. This article seeks to investigate how this was possible in view of the recent revolutionary past. It analyzes accounts in history textbooks for primary education of the Patriot Revolt against Stadholder William V that took place in the 1780s and was suppressed in 1787, and of the Batavian Revolution that took place in 1795 and put an end to his rule. Although in many cases the historical narratives of these politically controversial events were adapted to suit the purpose of nation-building, the revolutionary past was by no means forgotten.
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