Social Democratic League
Dutch political party
The Social Democratic League (Dutch: Sociaal-Democratische Bond, SDB) was a socialist political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1881 by Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, the SDB was the first socialist party to enter the House of Representatives.
Party history
Before 1881
In the 1860s, a socialist movement began to develop in the Netherlands. The development was aided by the foundation of the Dutch section First International, the foundation of the first trade unions and strong social tendencies among free-thinking circles.
Most of those unions however were united in the moderate Algemeen Nederlandsch Werklieden Verbond (General Dutch Workingmans' Association; ANWV) in 1871, which was founded by Protestants and liberals to combat the influence of the Dutch section of the First International. Some prominent Dutch representatives of the First International joined the ANWV in order to radicalise the organisation. In 1878 they, led by Willem Ansigh, left the ANWV to found the Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging (Social-Democratic Association; SDV). It had branches in major cities like Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem and Rotterdam.
1881–1893: Social Democratic League
The SDB was founded in 1881 by members of the SDV and similar local socialist parties. The strongest of these local socialist parties were located in the poor rural province Friesland.
“Social Democratic League” enters the record as dutch political party. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Social, Democratic and League can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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