oa Kondschappen

Petitions, public opinion, and personal connections. The three Ps of lobbying in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic

This article argues that lobbying was an essential element in political decision-making in the early modern period. There were three main ways of lobbying: by issuing petitions, influencing public opinion, and through personal connections. While petitions were used to convince political mandataries, public opinion was used to pressure decision-makers. Use of personal connections and social credit were essential to secure the support of a majority of decision-makers. Studying these lobbying networks shows that they were alliances based on shared interests. These alliances transcended other barriers and brought together individuals from different genders, belief systems, nationalities, races, and classes.