Beverwijk was an electoral district of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1918.
The electoral district of Beverwijk was created in 1888 out of parts of the Alkmaar and Haarlem districts, which were reduced from two seats to one. Fully located in the province of North Holland, it was centred on the city of Beverwijk and corresponded roughly to the Kennemerland region, running along the province's west coast, including the surroundings of Haarlem. Aside from Beverwijk, it included the municipalities of Akersloot, Assendelft, Bloemendaal, Castricum, Egmond aan Zee, Egmond-Binnen, Haarlemmerliede, Heemskerk, Krommenie, Limmen, Schoten, Spaarndam, Uitgeest, Velsen, Westzaan, Wijk aan Zee en Duin and Zandvoort. While it did not contain any large cities, it was a predominantly urban district.[1] [2]
The district's population increased considerably during its existence, from 45,363 in 1888 to 78,739 in 1909. A plurality of the population was Catholic, though its share of the population dropped slightly from 45% in 1888 to 41% in 1909. Members of the Dutch Reformed Church made up some 43% of the population in 1888, which also dropped to 37% to 1909. Gereformeerden made up a small minority in the district, though growing from 2% to 6%. The share of "Others" rose from 10% in 1888 to 16% in 1909, including 6% belonging to no denomination.[3] [4]
The district of Beverwijk was abolished upon the introduction of party-list proportional representation in 1918.
Beverwijk was a highly contested district, with control alternating between the Liberals and Free-thinking Democrats (VD) on the parliamentary left and the Catholics (Ka) on the parliamentary right. The district's most notable representative was the Liberal interior minister Johannes Tak van Poortvliet, who was elected in 1897 but resigned his seat in 1901 after his election to the Senate. The subsequent by-election was won by the Catholic Willem Passtoors, who would go on to represent Beverwijk for the following twelve years, becoming its longest-serving representative.
| Election | Member | Party | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888 | J. W. G. Boreel van Hogelanden | Lib | [5] | |
| 1891 | ||||
| 1893 | T.L.M.H. Borret | [6] | ||
| 1894 | ||||
| 1897 | Johannes Tak van Poortvliet | Lib | [7] | |
| 1901 | Willem Passtoors | Ka | [8] | |
| 1901 | ||||
| 1905 | ||||
| 1909 | ||||
| 1913 | Leendert Nicolaas Roodenburg | VD | [9] | |
| 1917 | ||||