This publication contains the resolutions of the States General from the period from 1576 to1630 that have been opened up for historical research. The source material consists of the ordinary and secret resolutions of the States General and is located in the National Archive in The Hague. Contemporary indices have been added to the resolution registers but these are not very useful to researchers. Making the resolutions more easily accessible, enables them to better understand the functioning of the States General and the organization of the government of the Dutch Republic. For researchers looking into, for example, foreign policy, government finances, defence, the administration of justice and trade and industry, the resolutions constitute an essential gateway to the very extensive archive material of the States General. Moreover, the resolutions bring researchers into contact with the period in question, in all its various aspects. The first section edited by N. Japikse appeared in 1915 and constitutes the beginning of the so-called "Oude Reeks" (Old Series) covering the years 1576-1609. This publication (14 volumes) is based on subjects like foreign relations, central government, financial resources, relations with Holland, Zeeland and the Prince of Orange, trade, etc. The selected resolutions within these thematic categories are set out chronologically in summary, as transcriptions or listed. Thus, not all the resolutions have been included. In 2007, the print edition was succeeded by an electronic edition of the resolutions from 1 January 1626 to 15 May 1630. Apart from searching the complete text of the publication, you can also look for a specific period, secret resolutions, persons and the positions they held, institutions, places, ships' names, books and pamphlets, or do a combined search with any of these items.
M. Hell, C.O. van der Meij and J.E. Schooneveld-Oosterling
The lack of formal selection criteria gradually became considered unsatisfactory so that for the period after 1609, A.T. van Deursen consequently developed a new, less subjective approach. In this "Nieuwe Reeks" (New Series) that covers the years 1610-1625 and consists of 7 volumes, all the resolutions are summarised in modern Dutch in chronological order.
The editors have listed the location of the records in the archives of the States General. Easier access to the sources is provided by a general index and a system of cross-references.
