Labadists
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The Labadists were a pietist sect of the 17th and 18th centuries founded by Jean de Labadie.
The group focused on the inner presence of God rather than scripture (see Quakerism and the inner light). Labadists were considered born again free from sin. Sacraments were reserved for such holy people, so they objected to infant baptism and did not consider marriage to a person outside the community binding. The communities practiced communal property in imitation of the early Christianity.
Labadie and his followers moved through various places. They began in Veere, the Netherlands, then moved to Amsterdam where Labadie recruited Anna Maria van Schurman. In 1670, Labadie and fifty-five followers moved upon invitation to Herford, Germany in Westphalia. The community was banished from Herford and moved to Altona in 1672. After Labadie's death, 162 Labadists moved to Wieuwert, a small village in Littenseradiel where the group remained centered until its dissolution in 1732.
The group made several attempts to establish communities in the Americas. The Dutch governor of Surinam invited the group to form a mission in 1680. The resulting colony of "Providence" dissolved in 1688. A similar attempt on the Hudson river in the area then known as New Bohemia also failed. A hundred Labadists also attempted to establish a colony in Northern Maryland.[1]
