Early Life
Sneevliet was born in Rotterdam and grew up in 's-Hertogenbosch. After finishing his education, he started working for the Dutch railways in 1900 and became a member of the Sociaal Democratische Arbeiders Partij (SDAP, the predecessor of the Dutch Labour Party) and the railway union. From 1906, Sneevliet was active for the SDAP in Zwolle, where he became the first social democrat city council member in the elections of 1907.
Sneevliet was also active in the Dutch railway union, the NV and in 1911 he became its chairman. In the union, Sneevliet was one of the more radical voices. When an international sailor strike was called in 1911, several of the more radical Dutch unions took part, but the majority of the union movement and the majority within the SDAP were against it. For Sneevliet, this led to his alienation from both and strengthened him in his decision to leave the Netherlands for the Dutch East Indies.
Read more about this topic: Henk Sneevliet
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