[i] An excellent online English language description of what transpired can be found here:http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/koss002text01_01/koss002text01_01_0002.php . As these Dutch authors point out, “The expansion of Calvinism in the Southern Netherlands, particularly in Flanders, took place long before it achieved success in what were later to become its strongholds: Holland, Zeeland and Friesland.” E.H. Kossmann & A.F. Mellink, Texts Concerning the Revolt of the Netherlands. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1974) http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/koss002text01_01/koss002text01_01_0002.php p.8

[ii] For those interested in a deeper dive into that historical context – at least in so far as the political and religious milieu in the Low Countries intersected at that time, I would recommend a look at Alastair Duke,Reformation and Revolt in the Low Countries, (London: Hambledon & London, 2003). For the Anabaptist side of the story in Flanders, please see A. L. E. Verheyden,Anabaptism in Flanders, 1530-1650, (Sottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1961). For the Calvinist bit, please see Guido Marnef, “The Changing Face of Calvinism in Antwerp, 1550-1585”, in Andrew Pettegree, Alastair Duke, and Gillian Lewis, eds.,Calvinism in Europe, 1540-1620, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp.143-159. Another excellent perspective is in Martin Van Gelderen.The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt,1555-1590, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).Lastly but hardly least, is the excellent (and supremely relevant) work by Peter Arnade,Beggars, Iconoclasts, & Civic Patriots: The Political Culture of the Dutch Revolt, (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008).

[iii] The small Flemish village where the iconoclasm (“beeldenstorm”) began was Steenvoorde (since 1688, with few interruptions, under French occupation). The trigger for the iconoclasm that began the “Dutch Revolt” was the preaching of Sebastian Matte, a hatmaker from Ieper who, returning from exile in England (to where he had fled in 1563), delivered a fiery speech outside the St. Laurence monastery in Steenvoorde. Immediately afterwards, an ex-Augustinian monk (also from Ieper) by the name of Jacob de Buzere, led twenty toughs into the convent there where they began smashing and wrecking. So began the “Dutch” Revolt. See Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt, (Middlesex: Penguin, 1979), pp.74-75. For graphics seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm

[iv]Those who began the iconoclasm were radicalized not only by their religious inclinations (uncompromising Calvinism) but also because, like political refugees the world over, they had been dispossessed of their livelihood and homes. “It is no coincidence that one of those who began the image-breaking in August 1566 was Jacob de Buzere [native of Ieper/Ypres], minister of the Dutch [language] church at Sandwich [England], and after the collapse of the Revolt in the spring of 1567 resistance was continued by a band of marauders recruited in Norwich and Sandwich, who carried out a series of brutal attacks in Flanders.” Andrew Pettegree,Foreign Protestant Communities in Sixteenth-Century London, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), pp. 252-253. Kindly note that this and other studies of the so-called “Dutch” Protestant churches in England at this time carry overwhelming proof that the Low Countries’ origin of the “Dutch” in England was overwhelmingly Flemish and that they actively gave their money and men to the cause of the “Dutch” Revolt. For example, in referring to the so-called “Dutch” church at Sandwich, the authoritative historian on that community declared that: “With very few exceptions they [Dutch-speaking exiles in Sandwich] were all natives from East and West Flanders or Brabant...They came from localities such as Antwerp, Axel, Bethune, Bruges, Deinze, Ghent, Hulst, Izegem, Kortrijk, Moorsele, Ostend, Oudenaarde, Pamel, Roeselare, Ronse, Turnhout, Wervik, the Westkwartier of Flanders.” Marcel Backhouse,The Flemish and Walloon Communities at Sandwich during the Reign of Elizabeth I (1561-1603), (Brussel: Paleis der Academien, 1995), p. 18.

[v]“The new creeds upset the authorities not only for the religious reasons, but also because they bred lawlessness.” John J. Murray, Antwerp in the Age of Plantin and Brueghel, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970), p.36. “The term beeldenstorm usually conjures up a scene of indiscriminatedestruction with wreckers and looters running amuck in the churches. Such outbreaks were in fact comparatively rare in the northern Netherlands.” Alastair Duke, Reformation and Revolt in the Low Countries, (London: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p.162.

[vi] My explanation here is incredibly condensed and simplistic. Those with an interest in a more thoughtful treatment of the subject matter in English may want to pick up the classic: The Dutch Revolt, by Geoffrey Parker (Cambridge, 1977). For an online sequence please see my series “The Flemish Influence on the Pilgrims” in my blog, Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. A further note is in order here. While today the Dutch-speakers of the Netherlands (which is a corruption of the Dutch language term for the ‘Low Countries’ – Nederland) are called “Dutch” and those of Flanders called “Flemish” in reality, they were originally united by government, language, and culture. Even today, all children in the Netherlands and Flanders officially study the same language, “ABN” (General Refined Dutch). Thus, in many respects, the difference between the Dutch and Flemish is akin to that between (say) North Koreans and South Koreans.

[vii] Geoffrey Parker, Philip II, (Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1978), 1^st ed., pp. 74-78.

[viii]Geoffrey Parker, "New Light on an Old Theme: Spain and the Netherlands 1550-1650."European History Quarterly1985 15(2): 219-236; p. 226

[ix]“Cologne…while it may not seem a particularly obvious conduit for the Dutch or Flemish precursors of New Netherland colonists, was shared as such by, for example, the Beeckman family [from Deinze], the ten Eyck family (via their Boel ancestry)[from Antwerp], and by the Nevius family (via their Becks ancestry).” John Blythe Dobson, “The Ver Veelen Family in Cologne and Amsterdam,” pp.123-127 in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, April, 2002; pp.123-124. The Ver Veelens were from Antwerp.

[x]“On 17 August 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, conquered Antwerp….Included among these refugees [from Antwerp] were members of the Boel family who chose Cologne, Germany as their new home. Although many Boel baptisms were found in the register of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Antwerp, only two were children of Adriaen Boel and his wife Cornelia....It was not unusual for Protestants to have a few of their children baptized in the Catholic Church to give the impression [that] they were devout Catholics.” Gwenn F. Epperson, New Netherland Roots, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994), p.129.

[xi]“The strangers [alien immigrants in England] undoubtedly made an important contribution to the war effort across the narrow seas [in the Low Countries].” The author goes on to cite examples of funds raised from the Flemish and Walloon Protestant communities in England as well as the troops raised continuosly from the late 1560s through the early 1600s. To cite but one Flemish example: Adolf Van Meetkeercke was born in Brugge and had four sons. A scholar of Greek, he became the liaison between the government of the United Provinces and Queen Elizabeth’s chief representative there, the Earl of Leicester. Although the entire family was forced to flee to England (in 1580, in part because of his Anglophile sentiments), each son returned at the head of an English military unit. Two died in the wars. Of the two that survived, one continued to serve – eventually under the command of Sir Francis Drake. Drake commended this son (Baldwin, Adolf’s second) for bravery off Cadiz in 1596, for which service he was knighted. See D.J.B. Trim, “Protestant Refugees in Elizabethan England and Confessional Conflict in France and the Netherlands, 1562-c.1610,” pp. 68-79, in Randolph Vigne and Charles Littleton, eds., From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrat Communities in Britain, Ireland and Colonial America, 1550-1750, (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2001).

[xii] Please see my earlier post on the extensive role that émigré Flemings played in the Sea Beggar attacks and especially the key victory at Den Briel in 1572 and in the liberation of Leiden in 1574. See my post here on the connection between the Flemish, the liberation of Leiden, and the Flemish connection to the two, please see http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/11/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-5.html. Note also Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985), “Table XXI: Immigratie in de Noordelijke Nederlanden-Samenvatting”, p. 214. Several other cities, such as Haarlem and Middelburg, also had more than 50% non natives in 1622. This has prompted Gusaaf Asaert, in 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p.156, to call Haarlem (for example) “een half-Vlaamse stad”.

[xiii] See especially Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980), 2^nd Ed., pp.180-202.

[xiv] While the association between Flemish Protestants and Contra-Remonstrant (=”hard-core”) Calvinism was strong, it was not absolute. As Professor J.G. Van Dillen noted, 40 of the 250 Arminian preachers he identified in Amsterdam in the 1620s were “Zuidnederlanders”. See “Naschrift van Dr. J.G. Van Dillen” in W.J. van Hoboken, “Een wederwoord inzake de Westindische Compagnie,” pp. 49-56, inTijdschrift voor Geschiednis, 75ste, #1, (1962), p. 54.

[xv] It is worth repeating that in 1622, the year after the establishment of the W.I.C., several Netherlands cities (e.g., Haarlem, Leiden, & Middleburg most prominently) had more than 50% (!) “Zuidnederlanders” in their recorded population. The dominant part of these Zuidnederlanders we would today call Flemings. See Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985), “Table XXI: Immigratie in de Noordelijke Nederlanden-Samenvatting”, p. 214.

[xvi] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.5.

[xvii] If you have an interest in Antwerp, by all means THE book to get on this period of time is Leon Voet,Antwerp, The Golden Age: The Rise and Glory of the Metropolis in the Sixteenth Century, (Antwerp: Mercatorsfonds, 1973). Besides esthetically beautiful, it is well-written, colorful, and includes trivia not found in English elsewhere in print.

[xviii] John J. Murray, Antwerp in the Age of Plantin and Brueghel, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970), p.43.

[xix]“Of the approximately 4,000 works printed in these years [1500-1540] in the Netherlands, 2,250 were produced at Antwerp, compared with 1,340 in the Northern Netherlands and 405 in [the] Southern Netherlands centers outside Antwerp. Of the 135 printers then active in the Netherlands, 68 were in Antwerp, 16 in the rest of the Southern Netherlands, and 51 in the northern provinces. In the following decades this concentration process was carried further.” Leon Voet,Antwerp The Golden Age: The Rise and Glory of the Metropolis in the Sixteenth Century, (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 1973), p.395.

[xx]“Antwerp, the biggest commodity market of the West, had become its biggest money market….Portuguese and English monarchs also addressed themselves to Antwerp financiers…The biggest commodity and money mart of Europe of that time, the pulsing heart of its chief industrial country, with an industry of its own in full expansion – Antwerp in 1520-1560, could be said to have the wind in its sails.” Leon Voet, Antwerp The Golden Age: The Rise and Glory of the Metropolis in the Sixteenth Century, (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 1973), p. 161.

[xxi] John J. Murray, Antwerp in the Age of Plantin and Brueghel, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970), p.44.

[xxii]John J. Murray, Antwerp in the Age of Plantin and Brueghel, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970), p.44.

[xxiii] This return actually understates their profitability because it only reflects the net increase in retained earnings. See Jacob Strieder, Jacob Fugger The Rich: Merchant and Banker of Augsburg, 1459-1525, (Washington, DC: Beard Books, 2001) reprint of 1931 Adelphi edition, trans. By Mildred L. Hartsough, ed. By N.S.B. Gras. pp. 86-90. By comparison, Vasco de Gama’s famous return home after a three year journey around Africa to India and despite having mismatched goods for trade (who needs wool clothing in the Indies?), made a 60x or 4,700% return for his investors. See Charles Corn,The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade, (New York: Kodansha, 1999), p.xxiv

[xxiv] See my article on the importance of spices and its connection to 16^th century Flanders here:http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/10/flemings-around-magellan-and-first_31.htmlCuriously, Fugger historians believe that Antwerp helped make Jakob Fugger’s wealth possible and symbiotically he contributed to Antwerp’s 16^th century greatness as “a world trading center”. See Jacob Strieder, Jacob Fugger The Rich: Merchant and Banker of Augsburg, 1459-1525, (Washington, DC: Beard Books, 2001) reprint of 1931 Adelphi edition, trans. By Mildred L. Hartsough, ed. By N.S.B. Gras. Pp. 101-102.

[xxv] Fernand Braudel, Civilization & Capitalism, 15^th-18^th Century: The Structures of Everyday Life, Vol. 1, (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), p. 504 and Vol. 3, p.39. Quoting Henri Pirenne,Histoire de Belgique, III, 1907, p. 259

[xxvi] Fernand Braudel, Civilization & Capitalism, 15^th-18^th Century: The Perspective of the World, Vol. 3, (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), p.39. Quoting Henri Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique, III, 1907, p. 259

[xxvii]The full poem is "Hoe cond ick U mijn broeders oyt vergheten; Daer wij toch sijn in eenen stronck gheplant; Al zijn wij noch so veer van een geseten; So can ons doch gescheyden zee noch lant..." Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde, Heylige schriftuerlijcke Lofsangen, (1589) quoted in Gustaaf Asaerts, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p.317.

[xxviii]See especially Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980), 2^nd Ed., and Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt, (Middlesex: Penguin, 1979), for an overview.

[xxix] Philip Marnix is yet another “Flemish Father” of the Dutch Revolt, neglected by historians. Perhaps it is in part because he presided over the fall of Antwerp in 1585. But his “Bijenkorf” was the polemic that helped articulate the rebels position and helped to justify their actions in the eyes of the people and that of foreign powers. It was translated into multiple languages and served to rally not only Flemings and Dutchmen but the English and other Protestant standard bearers as well. See the text ofDe Bijenkorf der H. Roomsche Kerk(1569) herehttp://www.dbnl.org/tekst/marn001bien01_01/ All this means (to me at least) that Marnix deserves his own post. Besides mayor of Antwerp, spymaster for William, Prince of orange, author of the lyrics for “Het Wilhelmus” (the world’s oldest national anthem), he was also a polymath of the first degree. For a biopic, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Marnix_van_St._Aldegonde

[xxx] There is an excellent map on p. 180 of Geyl’s book which shows the year-by-year advances of the Spanish between the mid 1570s and 1594. The sequence, for the record, of notable Spanish captures of Dutch-speaking cities were Leuven & Roermond (1578), Den Bosch & Maastricht (1579), Groningen & Koevoerden (1580), Oudenaarde & Steenwyck (1582), Dunkirk, Eindhoven, Nieuwpoort, & Zutphen (1583), Brugge, Gent, & Ieper (1584), Antwerp, Brussel, Mechlin, & Nymwegen (1585),Venlo (1586) and Deventer & Sluis (1587): Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980), 2^nd Ed., p.180.

[xxxi]Geoffrey Parker, "New Light on an Old Theme: Spain and the Netherlands 1550-1650."European History Quarterly1985 15(2): 219-236; p. 226

[xxxii] Bios on the father Cornelis (born in Antwerp), and the son Frans (born in Brussel), can be found here Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 207.

[xxxiii] De Sille was born at Mechelen. His bio can be found here: Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 205.

[xxxiv] Lipsius was born at Vilvoorde, a town on the periphery of Brussel. He I an example of the shifting political sands at this time: first dean of the University of Leiden(sponsored by the Prince of Orange as a reward for the valiant defense by the inhabitants in 1574 – see my blog post on the subject here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/11/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-5.html), and then switched to the University at Leuven (under Spanish, Catholic control). Many made these switches.

[xxxv]Please see my earlier post on Van Meteren here:http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/07/flemish-fathers-of-america-emanuel-van.html. The only full biography on Van Meteren is W.D. Verduyn,Emanuel Van Meteren, (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1926). As far as I am aware, despite his immense contributions and influence, no full biography on Van Meteren in English exists.

[xxxvi] John Franklin Jameson, Willem Usselinkcx: Founder of the Dutch and Swedish West India Companies, (Boston: G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1887), Vol. 2, Issue 3, p.27

[xxxvii] Quoted in Hugo De Schepper, Belgium Nostrum, 1500-1650: Over Integratie en Disintegratie van het Nederland, (Antwerpen: De Orde van Den Prince, 1987), p.i.

[xxxviii] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.35.

[xxxix] Leon Voet, Antwerp The Golden Age: The Rise and Glory of the Metropolis in the Sixteenth Century, (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 1973), p. 314.

[xl] Violet Barbour, Capitalism in Amsterdam in the 17^th Century, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1966), p.13.

[xli] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 219.

[xlii]“Sir Thomas Gresham, who knew continental markets well, thought of Amsterdam, if we may judge from his correspondence, only as a place in which to buy wainscoting.”Violet Barbour,Capitalism in Amsterdam in the 17^th Century, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1966), pp.14-15. Incidentally, Gresham is famous for having established the London Stock Exchange, modeling it after the Antwerp Bourse.

[xliii] Violet Barbour, Capitalism in Amsterdam in the 17^th Century, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1966), p.18.

[xliv] There is an extensive list of “financial firsts” that the V.O.C. can effortlessly lay claim to. These “firsts” I am compiling as material for a future post. But those interested in (to cite just one example) the corporate governance ‘firsts’ that stem from the founding of the V.O.C. (as well as the source of my quote in the sentence above) should see Ella Gepken-Jager, Gerard van Solinge, and Levinus Timmerman, eds., VOC 1602-2002: 400 Years of Company Law, (Nijmegen: Kluwer, 2005), Law of Business and Finance Series, Vol. 6, p.x.

[xlv]Henry Hudson in Holland: An Inquiry Into the Origin and Objects of the Voyage Which Led to the Discovery of the Hudson River With Bibliographical Notes, (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1909), reprint, pp.17-18. “As early as 1650, total dividend payments were already eight times the original investment, implying an annual rate of return of 27 per cent.” Niall Ferguson, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, (New York: Penguin, 2008), p.137. Incidentally, an annual dividend rate of this magnitude places the V.O.C. returns at better than any 20^th century investor known.

[xlvi] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 219.

[xlvii]“Naschrift van Dr. J.G. Van Dillen” in W.J. van Hoboken, “Een wederwoord inzake de Westindische Compagnie,” pp. 49-56, inTijdschrift voor Geschiednis, 75ste, #1, (1962), p. 53..

[xlviii] Henry C. Murphy, Henry Hudson in Holland: An Inquiry Into the Origin and Objects of the Voyage Which Led to the Discovery of the Hudson River With Bibliographical Notes, (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1909), reprint, p. 5.

[xlix] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 219.

[l] The circle of friends prominent men at this time had could often be proven by means of their Album Amicorum(“Friendship Book”). Thus, in Van Meteren’s is a detailed statement of friendship, penned by the Stadthouder, William of Nassau, and dated April 13, 1578. In the same album one also finds other leaders of the time including Philip Marnix (July 20, 1576 in Middleburg), Van Meteren’s 1^st cousin Abraham Ortelius (March 15, 1576 in Antwerp and April 13, 1577 in London), Daniel Rogers another 1^st cousin and Queen Elizabeth’s spy/envoy, June 6, 1578 in London), Simeon Ruytinck (Gent-origin leader of the “Dutch” Church in London (no date), and Petrus Plantius (November 4, 1595 in Amsterdam). See W.D. Verduyn, Emanuel Van Meteren, (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1926), pp.231-233..

[li] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.35.

[lii]“De Laet combined a commercial spirit with religious zeal and a vast knowledge of many subjects. He was an upright Contra-Remonstrant, [and he] had been a member of the famous Synod of Dordrecht which had set the record straight concerning the true religion.” Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.30.

[liii] The actual passage is: “De meeste middelenwaer mede den Koningh van Hispangnien de gantsche Weerelt, ende insonderheyt Christenrijck, soo vele Jaren in roeren heft gehouden, ende dese Gheunieerde Provintien soo machtich bestreden, zijn voornementlijck hem toe-ghekommen uyt de over-ricke Landen van America: Wat groote schatten van Goudt ende Silver hy uyt die ghewesten jaerlijcks heft ghetrocken is alle de Weerelt ghenoegh bekent.” Johanne De Laet,Historie ofte Jaerlijck Verhael van de West-Indische Compagnie, (Leyden: Bonaventeur en Abraham Elsevier, 1644), p.1.

[liv] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.35.

[lv] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.34.

[lvi] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.35.

[lvii] The full sentence actually is: “Intelligent en welsprekend, begaafd met een levendige fantasie, overtuigd Calvinist en hater van de Spaanse monarchie, heft hij zijn leven lang telkens weer nieuwe plannen ontworpen om de Spaanse machtspositie in Amerika te ondermijnen.” J.G. Van Dillen, “De West-Indische Compagnie, Het Calvinisme en de Politiek,” in Tijdschrift voor Geschiednis, 74, Aflevering 2 (1961), p. 145.

[lviii]“The date of conception for the WIC is not entirely clear. Usselinckx claims to have been discussing the project from the early 1590s, and in a pamphlet of 1630 he notes (three times) that his efforts on behalf of the Company predated its foundation by thirty years – dating it, thus, from 1591.” However, “the earliest published proposals for a WIC date from 1604 – a now lost “police” recorded in Van Meteren.” Benjamin Schmidt, The Dutch Imagination and the New World, 1570-1670, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), paperback edition, 2006; pp. 366-367, n96 & n103.

[lix] Not only did Plancius supply the charts for Hudson’s voyage but he played a critical role in slapping the difficult (and it seems dishonest) Henry Hudson in line. See copies of V.O.C. correspondence (both transcripted and in translation) in Henry C. Murphy, Henry Hudson in Holland: An Inquiry Into the Origin and Objects of the Voyage Which Led to the Discovery of the Hudson River With Bibliographical Notes, (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1909), reprint. See especially the Translations on pp. 139-140.

[lx]Henry C. Murphy, Henry Hudson in Holland: An Inquiry Into the Origin and Objects of the Voyage Which Led to the Discovery of the Hudson River With Bibliographical Notes, (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1909), reprint, p.10.

[lxi] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 221.

[lxii] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.35.

[lxiii] Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), p.32.

[lxiv]See for example, this interesting passage from Professor Asaert: "In Leiden namen vooral Vlamingen de plaatsen in van e uitgestoten remonstraten en katholieken. In de kerkenraden hadden Brabanders en Vlamingen zoals gezegd al een grote invloed verworven....In Leiden, met een gemengd calvinistisch-remonstratse kerkenraad, vroeg de magistraat in 1615 aan Episcopius, de bekende remontstrantse hoogelaar, of hij voortaan 's zondags regelmatig aan de predikdienst wilde meewerken. 'Neen,' antwoordde de arminiaan, 'ik wil niet onderworpen zijn aan de censuur van de Vlamingen in de kerkenraad.'” Gustaaf Asaert,1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2002), p.294.

[lxv]“De West-Indische Compagnie was de schlepping van het Contra-Remonstrantisme”. See Pieter Geyl, Geschiednis van de Nederlandse stam, (Amsterdam, 1949), Vol. I, p.484.

[lxvi] However, there were prominent Flemish theologians among this group as well. For example, Petrus Bertius (1565-1629) who was born in Beveren-Roesbrugge in Flanders and died in Paris. Like Plancius Bertius was a cartographer. Unlike Plancius, he supported Arminius (and was one of those who drafted the “Remonstrance” that gave the group its name). As a result of the rise of the Counter-Remonstrants, he fled to France and at the invitation of Louis XIII became the royal cosmographer. He died a Roman Catholic. See Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 117.

[lxvii] Baudartius was based at Zutphen. His grandson Willem Beekman became the longest serving New York City Mayor. His descendants include Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush. Baudartius grandson, Willem Beekman, was to become the longest-serving New York City mayor. The family connection has been chronicled in here:http://www.wargs.com/political/bush.html. Bucerus was based at Veere and had solid English contacts (as did Baudartius, who had been raised in Sandwich, England; and Gomarus for that matter – who had studied at Oxford and graduated from Cambridge). Meanwhile, Herman Faukelius was a preacher at Middleburg. See Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp. 177-178 and p. 305. For a quick online review, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statenvertaling .

[lxviii]See Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp. 177-178 and pp.304-305.

[lxix]Polyander, whose father was born in Gent, was the Leiden theologian (together with Gomarus) most frequently referred to by the Pilgrims at Leiden as their close friend. For that reference, see William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647, (New York: Random House, 1981), Francis Murphy, ed., 1^st ed., pp. 20-22. Polyander, in fact, wrote the introduction (dated January 10, 1617) to the first Dutch language book printed by William Brewster (the “Commentary on Proverbs” by Cartwright) off of the Pilgrim’s Press. SeeRendel Harris & Stephen K. Jones, The Pilgrim Press: A Bibliographical & Historical Memorial of the Books Printed at Leyden by the Pilgrim Fathers, (Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons, 1922), Figure 22, at the end of the book (no page number). Later, Polyander and the Gentenaar Antonious Walaeus (De Waele) were to act as intermediaries from King James to Thomas Brewer to shut down the Pilgrim Press. See D. Plooij,The Pilgrim Fathers From a Dutch Point of View, (New York: New York University Press, 1932), pp. 76-77. For context on the Pilgrim-Polyander connection, see George F. Willison, Saints and Strangers: Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers and Their Families, with Their Friends and Foes; and an Account of Their Posthumous Wanderings in Limbo, Their Final Resurrection and Rise to Glory, and the Strange Pilgrimmages of Plymouth Rock, (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1981), pp. 99, 107. For the background/bio on Polyander see Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp. 177, 305.

[lxx] Not only Oldenbarnevelt, but his close allies and family suffered the retribution of the Contra-Remonstrants. His allies were deprived of their goods and imprisoned. His sons plotted revenge against Prince Maurice but failed. One (Renier) killed himself. The other (Willem), married to the grand-daughter of Philip Marnix, the Prince of Orange’s right-hand, spymaster and the author of the lyrics to Het Wilhelmus (the Dutch national anthem) fled to Brussels and outwardly became a Roman Catholic. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_van_Oldenbarnevelt as well ashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_van_Oldenbarnevelt and Cornelis Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and On the Wild Coast: 1580-1680, (Gainesville: University of Florida, 1971), pp. 36-39.

[lxxi] W.J. van Hoboken, “The Dutch West India Company; The Political Background of its Rise and Decline,” in J.S. Bromley, et.al., eds., Britain and the Netherlands in Europe and Asia, p. 61.

Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any form is permitted without my express, written consent.