In the 17th century, Baruch Spinoza and Hugo Grotius advanced humanist ideas. The jurist Hugo Grotius focused on the law relating to war, peace and law. Internationally, he is regarded as the founder of modern human rights. During the Age of Enlightenment, humanist ideas expanded in the Netherlands. The modern organized humanist movement began in the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century with the establishment of freethinkers association De Dageraad (Dawn) influenced by writers such as Multatuli and later Anton Constandse. Marxism had a significant influence on the Dutch humanism of the 20th century.
