Right To Vote Meeting in Het Meer

In 1890, the Het Meer district in Heerenveen hosted a meeting. As many as 15,000 people travelled from all over the country to attend this special meeting. Pier Haitzes de Vries allowed the meeting to be held on his land. He was an ardent supporter of the Dutch socialist politician Domela Nieuwenhuis who was not present. Domela had sent word that he was unable to attend because he needed to rest.

In the audience was a Frisian farm labourer named Imke Klaver who sailed to Het Meer with a group of labourers. Imke later claimed that he had heard Domela speak. But this could not have been true because Domela was never at the meeting. However, it tells us a lot about Domela’s reputation and the popularity he enjoyed in southeast Friesland.