Nieuwe Pekela
village in Pekela, Netherlands, Netherlands
Nieuwe Pekela (Gronings: Nij Pekel) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Pekela, about 7 km (5 miles) southeast of Veendam. The village started as a peat colony, and was named after the river Pekel A. During the 19th century, the village was active in the maritime trade, and contains a museum dedicated to the maritime history. In December 1969, the first women strike of the Netherlands occurred in Nieuwe Pekela.
History
In the 1590s, the Friesche Compagnie (Frisian Company) was founded to exploit the peat in the area. In 1599, the raised bog around the River Pekel A was bought and subdivided in 101 lots. Houses were built along the river for the workers. In 1635, it became part of the Groninger Peat Colonies, and was controlled by the city of Groningen as a colony. In 1704, the linear settlement was split into Oude Pekela (Old) and Nieuwe Pekela (New), because a second Dutch Reformed Church was built.
In 1801, all towns and villages had to be governed by a municipality, and the peat colony came to an end.
“Nieuwe Pekela” enters the record as village in Pekela, Netherlands, Netherlands. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Nieuwe, Pekela and village can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Nieuwe Pekela” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Nieuwe, Pekela and village provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 14, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2900922. VIAF identifies the subject as 154908523. The Library of Congress control number is n91110176. Authority coordinates are 53.079, 6.964. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1599, 1635 and 1704.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Nieuwe Pekela”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Nieuwe Pekela primary sources, Nieuwe Pekela archive and Nieuwe research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Nieuwe Pekela”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Nieuwe Pekela” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.