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De Kolonie (The Colony)
Before Emigration
In 1834 Scholte and many other ministers and
congregations seceded from the state church.
They believed that everyone should have the
freedom to worship as they pleased and they
should have equal protection under the law.
King Willem I didn't listen to their pleas
to accept their new denomination as a legal
one.
Scholte continued to preach in spite of
persecution and violence. His congregation
grew and many people were jailed, including
Scholte, for worshiping without permission
from the king. Sometimes Scholte preached
in farm fields and sometimes on a ship surrounded
by small boats filled with eager listeners.
In 1845 a potato blight broke out in the
Netherlands causing a shortage of good food
to eat. The poor and middle class families
had to eat food usually reserved for the
animals. In 1846-1847 this food shortage
became worse and many people decided to
leave their homeland.
Scholte and the other leaders of
the church decided that emigrating to America
would help relieve many of their followers'
problems. Scholte was convinced
a colony in America could be a Christian
community, and even though he didn't like
the idea of emigrating, he decided it was
the ethical thing to do.
Many of Scholte's followers began to sell
their possessions. Scholte was joined by
seventy well-to-do families who agreed to
help pay for the journey of less fortunate
families.
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