The electoral district of Den Helder was created in 1888 out of part of the Alkmaar district, which was reduced from two seats to one. Den Helder's boundaries remained the same throughout the electoral district's existence. Fully located in the province of North Holland, it included the city of Den Helder and the rural municipalities of Anna Paulowna, Callantsoog, Petten and Zijpe to its south, as well of the Wadden Islands of Texel, Vlieland and Terschelling and the island of Wieringen. Roughly a quarter of the district's working age population was connected to the Willemsoord naval base.[1][2]
The district's population increased slightly during its existence, from 43,483 in 1888 to 49,904 in 1909. A majority of around 60% the population was Reformed, with another 17.5% being Catholic and some 7% being Gereformeerd. The share of "Others" rose from 11.5% in 1888 to 16.4% in 1909.[3]
Den Helder was represented mostly by Liberal and Free-thinking Democratic members. The only exception is Andries Staalman, who was elected as an Anti-Revolutionary in 1894 and in all subsequent elections, but sat as an independent in parliament. He broke with the party in 1903 and founded the Christian Democratic Party, but subsequently failed to get re-elected. Carel Victor Gerritsen, elected in 1905, died before he was installed as member of parliament.
^De Jong, Ron; Van der Kolk, Henk; Voerman, Gerrit (2011). Verkiezingen op de kaart 1848-2010: Tweede Kamerverkiezingen vanuit geografisch perspectief [Elections on the map 1848-2010: House of Representative elections from a geographic perspective] (in Dutch). Utrecht: Uitgeverij Matrijs. ISBN9789053454374.
