The abolition of the guilds was naturally a direct threat to the social safety net provided by guild and apprentices’ funds in the Netherlands. However, political revolution did not diminish the need for solidarity and mutual support among the members of individual professions. New forms of solidarity soon emerged, under all manner of titles. These new organisations often built on the traditions of the craft guilds, in particular the journeymen's and apprentices’ associations. In some cases, the new organisations were actually a direct continuation of guilds, which were attempting to survive entirely or partly in secret and preserve their structures and operations during the difficult years, in the hope of better times.

The guilds are dead – long live the mutual societies

a. Ghent sets the trend

Only a few studies exist of the survival strategy of the guilds in the Southern Netherlands and in particular their funds during the first half of the nineteenth century. Two extensive studies of Ghent, which had a fl ourishing cotton industry that made it one of the main textile centres on the European continent, show that the French ban on guilds and coalitions was certainly enforced there, but after a number of years opportunities were created through loopholes and clever interpretations of the law. The Ghent city council also turned a blind eye to the transport guilds, and their monopoly was even restored in January 1803. This was not an isolated case. In other Flemish cities such as Antwerp, Malines, Brussels and Lierre, the guilds also retained their traditional privileges and monopolies. It is not difficult to understand why. On the one hand they were often production co-operatives avant la lettre, namely associations of equal co-operating partners. On the other hand, their specialised work (loading, unloading, weighing, measuring) was carried out on the basis of trust, and was of vital importance to traders and the urban economy. Local authorities therefore had no hesitation in allowing the transport workers’ associations to continue operating as fully fl edged guilds, either with the authorities’ approval and under their supervision, or even working directly for the city. The situation of the transport guilds was fully legalised in 1815 by a Royal Decree that authorised the local authorities, when required, to restore the guilds of certified workers who were responsible for the loading, unloading, measuring, weighing and processing of commercial goods.