Getting caught in the rain: saving for old age during the Dutch Revolt

The past month many Greeks withdrew their money from banks, in anticipation of the collapse of the financial system and a ‘Grexit’. They now keep their money hidden in their homes, in a way quite similar to the way this was done several centuries ago.

Testimonies from the Dutch Revolt

Two testimonies from war-torn Holland, and taken in 1574, provide a unique insight in the practise of hoarding, and some of the risks this involved. In the midst of the Dutch Revolt against the King of Spain, in the year 1573, the woman Maritgen Keijsersdr. feared she would lose her valuables to plundering soldiers. She asked a man, Gerard van Hogeveen to look after her briefcase filled with letters, including a few contracts. This Gerard thought it best to put the briefcase in a kettle and bury it in the ground. He asked his acquaintance Gerrit Aelbrechtsz. to assist him in doing this.

Water damage

Gerrit testified that the two men had asked a mason to bury the kettle under a shed in Gerard’s backyard ‘at a place where the letters would certainly be dry’. To make sure there would not be any damage, the mason buried briefcase and kettle in a wooden box. However, in spite of these precautions, when the treasure was dug up again, a couple of months later, it turned out there was a problem. The homeowner Gerard testified ‘that water had leaked into the said briefcase and kettle, ruining several contracts and financial instruments, and making only a few still legible’. Gerard immediately took action, ‘taking the wet contracts and financial instruments apart and letting them dry’. This was confirmed by Gerrit, who added that even after drying it turned out the wax seals attached to the contracts had been gone and ‘many papers were damaged, torn and illegible’.

Saving for a rainy day

In spite of attempts to save the contents of the briefcase, it was clear that the owner of the letters, the woman Maritgen, faced considerable problems. She had planned to retire into one of Leiden’s large hospitals, using one of the now ruined financial instruments to pay for admission. Maritgen explained that since ‘she had been robbed of her clothes, furniture and food by soldiers and looters’, retiring into a hospital was an even more pressing issue. Without the damaged financial instrument she stood no chance of getting in though.

Damsel in distress

A solution was found by sending Gerard to the town of Dordrecht, the place where the financial instrument in question had been issued, to ask for a copy. Since town governments had to keep registers of the financial instruments that had been issued in their jurisdictions, it was possible to get such a copy after the original contract was lost due to theft, fire or flood. However, Gerard did not manage to enter the city because it was closed off due to war activity.

Hoarding in practise

We are unaware of the ending of this story. However, the testimonies do provide some valuable insights into the practise of hoarding: hiding money, letters and other valuables in the ground. The two men responsible for keeping Maritgen’s valuables took this task very seriously, even hiring a mason to make sure the job was done properly. The testimonies also indicate that in case of damage to contracts, such as by water, it was possible to retrieve a copy from the town government where the contract had been issued. Finally, they show how the woman Maritgen had prepared for old age by holding on to a financial instrument she would use to pay for admission to a retirement home.

Based on an entry in the Cartularium of Leiden's Catherine's hospital, edited by A. van der Tuijn, and available at www.hogenda.nl.