La fabrication d'honnêtes hommes. Of hoe Maria-Theresia voorbeeldige burgers wilde boetseren in de colleges van de Oostenrijkse Nederlanden (1777-1789)

Abstract

La fabrication d’honnêtes homes. Or how Maria-Theresia tried to create model citizens in the colleges of Austrian Netherlands (1777-1789)
During the second half of the 18th century, education became a political issue in large areas of Europe. The Austrian Netherlands whole-heartedly took part in this movement. Here, the government shared the optimistic believe of enlightened philosophers that education was able to mould youth and to change society in a specific way. In this article, we take a closer look at the moral and the religious education that young people received in the colleges. Focussing both on normative documents and on sources that unveil day-to-day reality in the schools, we sketch the ideal of the honest men the government wanted to fabricate, and we evaluate the results of this undertaking at different levels.

This article is part of the special issue 'De menselijke canon en de Lage Landen'.