International audience ; Mathematics teaching took place long before the formation of teacher education institutes and university courses for mathematics teachers. Very little is known about the ways teachers acquired the necessary knowledge and skills before the mid-19th century. In the Netherlands, from the late 16th century on, a tendency is noticeable to have all children taught reading, writing and increasingly often some arithmetic. Moreover, as was the case in England, there was an expanding group of mathematical practitioners who needed some knowledge of the relevant mathematics. Consequently there were many small schools with lowly paid primary teachers, and there were many private mathematics teachers and small private schools where some mathematics was taught. In the 18th and 19th century many journals were published in the Netherlands, including mathematics journals for teachers. In this paper the relevance of such journals for teachers’improvement of their mathematical skills and position in society is discussed.