The Iron Century — Season 1, Episode 3: Land without paupers
45 min • 1 season, 13 episodes
Episode synopsis
In the 19th century, the class society was still a major fact, yet pioneers of equal opportunities dreamed of a better society and some took action. With royal assent, private Dutch initiative bought cheap land in Drenthe province to establish vagrant colonies, where lower class dropouts got another chance. Initially it was all hopeful, optimistic and liberal for its time, but soon the project got into trouble as funds ran out, many of the (in)voluntary recruits -often dumped opportunistically from cities- failed to live up to expectations and a paternalistic regime
About The Iron Century
In 13 episodes presenter Hans Goedkoop takes us back to the 19th century, in which a country came to be which we still know today - the start of the modern Netherlands.