Goetgevonden

Goetgevonden was created by the project REPUBLIC, a project implemented at the Huygens Institute for Dutch History and Culture between 2019 and 2024. The Huygens Institute collaborated with several partners, such as the National Archives and the KNAW Humanities Cluster.  

The application Goetgevonden allows you to search hundreds of thousands of resolutions (decrees) made by the States General between 1576 and 1796. The resolutions deal with private matters of individual citizens as well as matters of national importance.  

The resolutions are searchable at word level and can be viewed as scans and as transcriptions. In addition, several aspects are searchable: the transcriptions recognise entities that provide access to the topics in the resolutions, such as persons, locations and organisations. For some entities, extra information is available. In total there are about 1 million digitised pages.  

Goetgevonden allows you to search the ordinary resolutions that appeared in printed form from 1703 onwards, since complete series of printed resolutions are present in the archive starting in that year. Of all other resolutions, including secret and special resolutions, Goetgevonden offers the handwritten fair copies.  

The States General decided on war, peace and trade and were considered the sovereign by foreign monarchs and diplomats. In addition, they dealt with all matters concerning the ‘Generalty’: for instance, they had the right of grace, were responsible for the currency system and took care of the maintenance of rivers and dykes. They also exercised supreme authority over the ‘Generalty Lands’, territories within the borders of the Republic that did not belong to one of the regions, and the conquered territories in the East and West Indies.