Professionalization of Public Service: Civil Servants in Dordrecht, 1575-1795

Meerkerk, Elise van Nederveen

doi:10.1177/0096144209359146

Journal of Urban History

2010

DOI: 10.1177/0096144209359146

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Professionalization of Public Service: Civil Servants in Dordrecht, 1575-1795

Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk

Abstract: This article examines the extent to which bureaucratization and professionalization of public services occurred in early modern Dordrecht, a medium-sized town in the Dutch Republic. To this end, general developments in spending on public services are investigated, followed by more in-depth analysis of changes in three different professions of officials: Dordrecht’s city secretaries, city midwives, and gatekeepers. Three possible explanations for the bureaucratization and professionalization of public services … Show more

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Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

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Gender, Labour, and State Formation in Sixteenth-Century Sweden

Pihl

2015

Hist. J.

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A B S T R A C T . This article examines how the system for organizing resources created by the Swedish state in the sixteenth century was formed by, and intersected with, local societies. By looking at the organization of the local administration and economic production within crown demesnes and estates, this article nuances and broadens the understanding of the early phases of the fiscal-military state. It shows that notions about gender and especially the gender division of labour were important for the organization and further development of the state in its endeavour to mobilize and transform resources. This article argues that gendered divisions of labour and traditional ways of organizing work and administration played a crucial role in the first phases of early modern Swedish state formation; women's work affected the organization of the state and vice versa. By looking at the emergence of the male official and the all-male bureaucracy from a gender perspective, and by emphasizing the household as an organizational form, the present study contributes to the understanding of both state formation and gender relations in the early modern period.In the vast historical literature on early modern state formation, especially in the subfields of state finances and state bureaucracy, gender is a relatively neglected category of analysis. This is perhaps because of a seeming lack of women in this sector, both back then and in the modern period. However, this is not a valid reason. This article argues that womenand genderplayed a crucial role in the formation of the early modern state. And, of course, in an all-male context gender is also important, the lack of women also requiring * I am grateful to Jonas Lindström, Karin Hassan Jansson, Rosemarie Fiebranz, and Sheilagh Ogilvie who have read and commented on earlier versions of this article. Special thanks are due to Maria Ågren for her guidance and extensive feedback.

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Gender, Labour, and State Formation in Sixteenth-Century Sweden

Pihl

2015

Hist. J.

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Verwaltung per Brief. Die Korrespondenz des Utrechter Landkomturs mit seinen Angestellten, 1753‒1845

Bruin

2021

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Administration by mail: The correspondence of the Utrecht land commander with his staff, 1753‒1845 The correspondence between the land commanders of the Teutonic Order’s Bailiwick of Utrecht and their staff, the stewards and clerks, provides a detailed insight into the institution’s functioning between 1753 and 1845. The Bailiwick was administered from the Teutonic House in Utrecht by a resident steward who mostly communicated with his superior in writing, as the latter lived at a considerable distance and came to Utrecht at most once a year. A relationship of trust was essential for the proper functioning of this arrangement. In the first decades after the start of a reorganisation in 1753, this was certainly the case, but the lack of this relationship of trust led to major problems later on. The analysis of the correspondence paints a picture of the management of dispersed large estates in the pre-industrial era, before major advancements in both transportation and communication. The case study is also important for the knowledge of the Military Orders after the Reformation and during the Age of Revolution, when these institutions were seriously threatened. Additionally, the Bailiwick of Utrecht did not escape abolition by Napoleon, but this was reversed in 1815. The increasingly hostile correspondence between the land commander and the steward about the liquidation procedures in 1812‒1813 provides insight into the survival mechanism of the Bailiwick of Utrecht. The research presented in this article is part of a larger study of the Bailiwick of Utrecht between 1640 and the middle of the twentieth century.

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Professionalization of Public Service: Civil Servants in Dordrecht, 1575-1795

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

Gender, Labour, and State Formation in Sixteenth-Century Sweden

Gender, Labour, and State Formation in Sixteenth-Century Sweden

Verwaltung per Brief. Die Korrespondenz des Utrechter Landkomturs mit seinen Angestellten, 1753‒1845

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