{"id":141731,"date":"2025-02-27T18:47:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T16:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/niet-gecategoriseerd\/liberal-gift-of-1748\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:21:25","slug":"liberal-gift-of-1748","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/en\/government\/taxes\/liberal-gift-of-1748\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberal Gift of 1748"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Liberal Gift was a one-time tax introduced in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in September 1747 to cover the escalating defense costs caused by the war with France.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740\u20131748), the Republic was involved in a conflict against France and Spain as an ally of Great Britain and Austria. The military threat increased significantly in 1747 when French troops occupied large parts of the Southern Netherlands and even parts of the Republic, including Zeeland and Maastricht. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republic was poorly prepared for a large-scale war and was in a deep financial crisis. To finance the military expenditures, a one-time tax was established: the Liberal Gift<\/strong>, also known as the fiftieth penny<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the Liberal Gift?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tax was called a ‘liberal’ or ‘voluntary’ gift, but in practice, it was not entirely optional. Every household\u2014both poor and wealthy\u2014was expected to contribute. The wealthy had to pay two percent of their assets (hence the name fiftieth penny). Those who possessed less than 500 guilders could determine for themselves how much they ‘furnished’ (gave). Residents had to declare under oath how much they owned. The contribution to the Liberal Gift could then be paid in four installments. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Registration of the Liberal Gift in Aalten and Bredevoort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"'Liberale\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The collection of the Liberal Gift took place in 1748 and was meticulously recorded in special registers (tax rolls). In the parish of Aalten, the registration was organized by village and rural districts, and further subdivided by ‘rot’ (district). The tax roll for the town of Bredevoort is likewise subdivided by district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the tax rolls, information was recorded per house, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n