Need for unity
There was a lot of political unrest in the nineteenth century: after the Batavian Revolution (1794-1799) came the separation from Belgium (1830) and revolution in 1848. The social elite wanted to strengthen their position and therefore created a sense of unity, that was well received in the aftermath of disasters.
“Disasters were seized upon to stir up feelings of national unity in the population”, says Meijer. The researcher calls this ‘disaster nationalism’. Leaders like Emperor Napoleon made use of the disasters. In 1807, he organised one of the first national collections. In commemorative books, the king was presented as the father who helps his family (the country) to get on its feet again.
In this way the idea of national solidarity was shaped further with each disaster. Even though this was not unconditional solidarity according to Meijer. “Only the worst damage from disasters was compensated, otherwise people would become lazy. The charity institutions made this point too. But there was a sense of duty: you helped your countrymen, even though they were catholic, and you were protestant.”
Help to South Limburg
The use of disasters to give rise to national feelings is something Meijer also sees today. “Relief actions were also set up after the river floods of 2021. These were aimed at South Limburg, while this was actually a European disaster, with floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. But in the call for help, an appeal is made not so much to our humanity, but rather to our sense of Dutch identity: we help our countrymen. In this way we once more turn the disaster into a national event.”
Fons Meijer is one of the four PhD candidates from the research group ‘Dealing with Disasters’ by Lotte Jensen, Professor of Dutch Literature and Cultural History. Meijer will obtain his PhD on 28 June 2022 at Radboud University
