Introduction

The journeymen’s boxes-database has been made using Microsoft Access® 2003. Sandra Bos composed this database for her dissertation at the International Institute of Social History (IISH) ‘”Uyt liefde tot malcander”: onderlinge hulpverlening binnen de Noord-Nederlandse gilden in internationaal perspectief (1570-1820)’ (1998). The database consists of five sub datasets. The first main dataset is called ‘Boxes’. It contains all central information on guild boxes and mutual benefit associations established in the period approximately between 1500 and 1820 in the Northern Netherlands. For this dataset all current Dutch provinces have been researched, except for Limburg, part of Noord-Brabant and for obvious reasons the Flevopolder. With a one-to-many relationship the ‘Main table’ links to the other tables: the sub-tables ‘Nature of the box’, ‘Products’ and ‘Analyzed Remarks’ and to the sub-table ‘Caisses de secours et de prévoyance’. A single box in the ‘Main table’ can refer to several records, for example in the members or product tables, because the box can have different types of members and products. Conversely, these different types of members or products link up to only one box, because they are specific to that box.

The sub-table ‘Caisses de secours et de prévoyance’ constitutes of a complete sub dataset in itself, with  a ‘Main Table’ linking to the sub-tables ‘Members’ and ‘Products’. The tables ‘Members’ and ‘Products’ have a many-to-one relationship with the ‘Main Table’. A box in the ‘Main Table’ can relate to multiple types of members and products in their linked tables. These members and products are specific for that box, thus they only relate to one box in the ‘Main Table’. The dataset ‘Caisses’ is an Access database created on the basis of the source ‘Caisses de secours et de prévoyance’, an 1812 French questionnaire. Nico Slokker gathered the data from different municipal and state archives throughout the Netherlands and made a first compilation of the database. He used the data for his MA thesis ‘Ziekengeldkassen in Nederland, 1812-1930. Een onderzoek naar de omvang, betekenis, en funkties van Nederlandse ziekengeldkassen in Nederland’ (Utrecht University,1992). Sandra Bos completed the dataset, naming it ‘Caisses’ and used it as a basis for the compilation of the dataset ‘Boxes’. Both datasets were compiled for her dissertation at the IISH (International Institute of Social History) ‘”Uyt liefde tot malcander”: onderlinge hulpverlening binnen de Noord-Nederlandse gilden in internationaal perspectief (1570-1820)’ (1998).

Even though some information found in ‘Caisses’ can also be found in ‘Boxes’, we have chosen to integrate the ‘Caisses de secours et de prévoyance’  in total in a subdataset, because it provides more detailed information than the ‘Boxes’ dataset. Especially, more detailed information can be found on (specific amounts of) benefits and methods of administration (though this column is not complete). The ‘Caisses’ sub-dataset can be seen as a deepening of information in ‘Boxes’.

Main table

The ‘Main table’ provides us with basic information on mutual benefit societies and in particular on gildebussen (guild boxes) and on knechtsbussen (journeymen’s boxes) established in the period between approximately 1500 and 1820.

ID Boxes	Unique identification number for the Boxes_Main Table dataset.
Location	The standardized location.
Name of the box	The name of the box (sometimes abbreviated).
Relation to guild	Is there a relation to a craft guild? (Yes/No)
Name guild	If so: the name of the guild.
Obligation	Is box membership compulsory to guild members? (Yes/No).
Start	Founding year or year of first reference.
End	Termination year or year of last reference.
Occupational code	Occupational code provided according to the Standaard-Bedrijfs-Indeling (SBI) of the CBS in 1974 (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Standaardbedrijfsindeling (1974, 47) (to be found at the IISH: [EHB Br Ned/XX:217]), as found in the Access tabel beroepen (01.1 – landbouw tot 98.9 – groefridders).
Source	Contains the different sources on which the record is based. In a few cases, we were unable to retrieve the source of information of the record.
Remarks	Information that does not fit in with any other description. This field was split up in the table ‘Remarks’i It contains i.a. observations on predecessors and successors of the box, the number and nature of the members, box properties, contributions and benefit information and other more specific information about the box.
Caisses	Information on whether the box can be found in the table Caisses or not. (Y/N, but also ‘NN’ when the record is not in Caisses, and the City is not in Caisses either). This column will be removed after the datasets ‘Caisses’ and ‘Boxes’ are linked.

Table ‘Box characteristics’

The table ‘Box characteristics’ provides information on the nature or characteristics of the box and the type of members involved. The different member options are Apprentice, City worker, Journeyman, Master and Sailor. These types of members tell us something about the nature of the box, but it is also possible that more than one type of member is allowed or that the box is a funeral box and open to everyone. If no information about the box or its members can be identified the box will sometimes be simply labeled ‘Box’.

ID_Box_characteristics	Unique identification number for Boxes_SUB_Box characteristics.
ID_Boxes	Unique identification number relating to the Boxes_Main table.
Aard Bus/Aard leden (NL)	The different characteristics of the members or the box, in Dutch. In case of uncertainty, a question mark is added to the column ‘Nature uncertain (?)’.
Box/members characteristics (ENG)	The different characteristics of the members or the box, in English.  In case of uncertainty, a question mark is added to the column ‘Nature uncertain (?)’.
Character uncertain (?)	A question mark indicates the uncertainty in the character of the box. It relates to both ‘Aard bus/Aard leden (NL)’ and ‘Box / members characteristics (ENG)’.

Table ‘Products’

The ‘Products’ table provides information on the different products the box offers. The products are an interesting and central focal point of the Boxes-database and are therefore discussed in more detail below (see Bos, 1998).

Contributing members to the box gained the right to receive certain benefits in times of need. The guild and journeymen’s boxes offered an ‘all-in-one package’. The member would simply pay contributions and the cash available in the box would determine whether or not he or she would receive a benefit. Box regulations defined what a member could expect to receive at what times. The most common benefits were funeral and sickness benefits. The sickness benefit was subdivided into two types: wage compensation or payment of medical expenses (though a combination was also possible). Wage compensation made up for only a part of the normal wage (see Bos, 1998, 69; 100; 123). Please see the glossary and the section ‘Types’ on the main page for a more extensive explanation of the different mutual benefits. 

ID_Products	Unique identification number for Boxes_SUB_Products.
ID_Boxes	Unique identification number relating to the Boxes_Main table.
Product (NL)	Products or benefits provided by the box. In Dutch. In case of uncertainty, a question mark is added to the column ‘Product uncertain’.
Product (ENG)	Products or benefits provided by the box. In English. In case of uncertainty, a question mark is added to the column ‘Product uncertain’.
Product uncertain	A question mark indicates an uncertainty about the product. Relates to both ‘Product (NL)’ and ‘Product (ENG)’.

Table ‘Analyzed remarks’

The ‘Analyzed remarks’ table supplies a great variety of information on the different boxes. It provides extra information on start and end years, as well as amounts of benefits, member contributions and possessions and resources. It records whether the box is a continuation of another box, or merges into a new one. In addition, it provides some numbers on general and drawing members. Other more specific remarks were put in the ‘remarks’ column.

ID_Analyzed Remarks	Unique identification number for ‘Analyzed remarks’.
ID_Remarks	Unique identification number for ‘Remarks’.
ID_Boxes	Unique identification number for the Boxes Main Table.
Benefit type	Type of benefit.
Start year	Start year or year of first reference, concerning the remark.
Before/after Start year	Addition to column ‘Start year’. Can indicate before (<) or after (>) the given year.
End year	End year or year of first reference, concerning the remark.
Before/after End year	Addition to column ‘End year’. Can indicate before (<) or after (>) the given year.
Member contributions	Member contributions: yearly contribution, weakly contribution and entrance fees.
Depending on	Specification of the column ‘Member contributions’. Dependent on the type of member, the age, the salary and the total number of sick (drawing) members.
Property and resources	Property of the box / guild, assets and obligations.
Amount	Amount specification to the columns ‘Benefit type’, ‘Member contributions’ and ‘Possessions and resources’. In some exceptional cases, the quantity refers to the column ‘Remarks’.
Currency	Currency used in the column ‘Amount’.
Members	Number of (ordinary) members. View the column ‘type of members’ for the type of members concerned. No specification in that column means the ‘Members’ column represent the number of ordinary members.
Type of members	Specification of the ‘type of members’. The number of members in this column constitutes a part of the number of ordinary members. The one exception is when this column represents drawing members and the ordinary member number is 0 (dead fund).
Continuation of	The current box originated from this previous organization. When the box either merged or was absorbed into a larger box, that box can be found in the column ‘Merged with /Absorbed into’.
Merged with/Absorbed into	The current box merges with or gets absorbed into another box or fund. This signifies either the end of the box (see year at ‘year end’) or the continuation with another box merged into this one (year of merge in ‘year start’).
Remarks	Remarks and supplementary informationconcerning members, contributions, benefits, meeting places, start and end years, etc.
Source	Sources on which the record is based, specifically concerning the remark. Sometimes the source is the only remark, emphasizing the existence of this source.

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