In the first half of the 1870s, he studied hydraulic engineering at Polytechnic School in Delft, during which he was introduced and became increasingly interested in socialism that supported colonialism.

He read Der Volksstaat, published by Wilhelm Liebknecht, and Das Kapital by Karl Marx, and other socialist publications.

[1] Born in the Netherlands, van Kol moved to the East Indian Archipelago and began his engineering career there.

[4] Their first child was a stillborn baby in 1884,[3] and he went on a medical leave of absence for a problem with his liver that required a stay in Europe for about a year.

In 1891, they had a son named after Domela Nieuwenhuis, the baby's godfather, in Cheribon (now Cirebon ), northern Java.

[3] Nellie was a socialist and feminist who argued for equal opportunities for women, sex education and birth control.

[3] Van Kol and Nellie separated in 1919, and he lived with Otawa Tomi, a journalist from Japan, in Aywaille.

He got to know Karl Marx's family when her was their guide and interpreter at the Congress of the International at The Hague in September 1872.

[1] He had several perspectives about socialism, scientific, utopian idealist, and emotional when acquiring examples of downtrodden workers.

[3] He met and supported Kartini in her quest to earn a scholarship to train to become a teacher in Indonesia.

[2] A Christian family oversaw the plantation, which had a school and church, and established Sunday as a day of rest.

Nieuwenhuis and van Kol's friendship suffered after arguing about dividend payments[2] and differences of opinion about socialism.

In this magnificent country we have to support these good people when they stumble in their suffering path to the Sublime!"