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RIP Patrice Braut

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Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. This blog's focus is the "Flemish Contribution to the Discovery and Settlement of America". The implicit message being of course that that contribution is ongoing. Flemings of the late 20th and early 21st century who leave Flanders and put their shoulder to the effort are a critical part of what makes this country great. 




Patrice Braut was one of these Flemings. Patrice was 31 years old when he was killed in the 9/11 attacks. He worked on the 97th floor of the North Tower for a firm called Marsh & Maclennan.  A native of Anderlecht, Patrice left behind friends, a fiance, and a reputation for dogged tenaciousness. He deserves to be remembered.


Copyright 2012 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction without my express, written consent.

The Flemish Origins of America's Thanksgiving

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The "Deliverance" of Leiden by the Flemish-led Sea Beggars, October 3, 1574. 

Thanksgiving is arguably the most American of holidays. Those of us with a secular bent look at it as not only a chance to feast on turkey and the fixings, but to reconnect with family. Those of us with a Christian bent fall to our knees in thanks to God for all that we have been blessed with. Regardless of emphasis, it is one holiday that transcends nearly every division in American society.[i]

Although it needs no retelling, the story goes that after a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, in early October, invited 90 of the Wampanoag Indians nearby to join them for a three day feast of Thanksgiving to God. We are taught that the holiday was spontaneous, an outpouring in a sense of the religious fervor the Pilgrims
[ii] felt and a mark of the goodwill between Native Americans and the Europeans. [iii]

Whether religious or not, all Americans are taught from childhood that the holiday is a direct legacy of the Pilgrims’ survival of their first year in America. Since approximately 35 million of the 311 million Americans have an ancestor who was at this event
[iv], it stands to reason that this remains the prevailing view of the origins of our holiday.

Over the past several years, historians have deduced that the Pilgrims adopted not only the language but also the habits and cultural influences picked up from their 11 year stay at Leiden, in the Netherlands. Leiden (or, as the Anglo-Saxon community spelled it, Leyden) was where in fact half of their church (and their beloved pastor, John Robinson) remained after 1620. The Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving feast, in fact, had remarkable echoes and similarities to the celebration instituted in Leiden after the repulse of a Spanish siege in the year 1574.
[v]

One of today’s premier historians of the Pilgrims at Leiden is convinced that the connection between Leiden and the Pilgrims' First thanksgiving is direct:
“Inspired by Leiden's 3 October thanksgiving for the lifting of the siege of the city in 1574, the Pilgrims' festivity included prayers, feasting, military exercises, and games. In the nineteenth century the 1621 event served in the promotion of the American national holiday and became known as ‘the first thanksgiving’.”[vi]
As regular readers may suspect, the Flemings[vii] contributed to this event and the holiday we now celebrate as Thanksgiving.





A romantic depiction of the mayor of Leiden offering his arms as food to the starving inhabitants of Leiden during the siege by the Spanish in the Fall of 1574




Leiden: A Flemish City 
To uncover the origins of Thanksgiving it is important that we understand the events in Leiden itself. The city of Leiden was a modest place until the mid-16th century. However, its importance to us – in our never-ending search for understanding of the Flemish contribution to the discovery and settlement of America – is central. To begin with, the bulk of the Pilgrims settling at Massachusetts in 1620 and a group of the settlers for Nieuw Nederland – the stretch of territory from Delaware to Manhattan to Albany – in 1624 had all lived in Leiden. Some of them even became citizens of the city (a difficult task). After in many cases more than a decade of living in Leiden they were thoroughly familiar with Leiden itself. The transplanting of Leiden’s customs to the New World, then, was a natural outcome. 

As the fighting worsened between the Sea Beggars and the Spanish, the influx of Flemings into Leiden in the early 1570s became so large that by 1575 the locals were a minority of the population. Within 10 years (1586) refugees from the Southern Netherlands (including Flemings and Walloons) made up more than 85% of the population.
[viii] Thus a population that had been 10,000 in 1574 and no more than 12,000 in 1581 had doubled to 20,000 by 1600.[ix] By 1622, the year after the first Thanksgiving, the city had nearly doubled again, to 44,745 souls, of which 30,000 (67%) were not native.[x] Overwhelmingly, Leiden was a cosmopolitan place where Flemings constituted the largest ethnic bloc. As such, they literally and figuratively surrounded the Pilgrims in Leiden.






A modern picture of Leiden, with many buildings unchanged since the Siege of 1574.





Not all of these Flemish immigrants arrived directly from the South. Many that might superficially be labeled as English immigrants to Leiden, were in fact Anglo-Flemings. They  and their children had lived in England but retained strong ties with Flanders. For example, in 1596 a group of Flemings were warmly received at Leiden, having moved en masse from Norwich where they had attended the "Dutch" Church at St. Andrews.[xi] This church, incidentally, was the same church that John Browne, founder of the Separatists (as the Pilgrims’ branch of Christianity was then known) and his close friend John Robinson, pastor and head of the church the Pilgrims lived in and worshiped when they were in Norwich.[xii] St. Andrews in Norwich is also where the core group of the congregation came from in 1604 that became the nucleus of the Separatist Pilgrims by 1608 (when they left England for Holland).[xiii]


The Flemings in Leiden not only arrived on their own impetus but were actively enticed by the City Fathers.
[xiv] The Leiden municipality actively offered incentives for textile workers – especially those with knowledge of the New Draperies, an advanced method of creating woolen textiles that required specialized knowledge and were the hot products in Europe due to their lightness and durability.[xv] The influx of Flemings solidly turned Leiden, as one Flemish historian puts it, into a “Textile City”.[xvi] 

Peter Paul Rubens - here on the far left - painted himself, his brother (next to him) Jan Wowerius (far right) and the famous Justus Lipsius, Flemish "Rector Magnificus" of Leiden in the 1615 painting "The Four Philosophers". 


However, by the time the Pilgrims arrived in Leiden in 1609, Leiden had firmly acquired another status: that as the sole university town of the Dutch Republic. Since the whole of the Netherlands (what we would consider Benelux and northern bits of France) only had two universities (Leuven and Douai) before the addition of Leiden in 1575 this was quite an honor. More importantly, this was the first university open to all faiths.[xvii] Since an infrastructure for higher learning simply did not exist in the North, virtually all university teaching staff were non-native. And the overwhelming majority of these were in fact Flemings – including the head of the university, Justus Lipsius, a Catholic.[xviii]


But all of these developments – and the link of Flemings with the Pilgrims – was in the future. The story of how Leiden came to be the birthplace of our Thanksgiving as well as a university town that the Pilgrims chose to settle in is directly tied up with the origins of Thanksgiving. 


A romanticized painting of the Sea Beggars in action in the North Sea 

The Sea Beggars Recall that by 1570 the Duke of Alva’s hardened veterans had subdued much of the Netherlands and compelled obedience to a Catholic regime under the rule of Spain. The Revolt by the Dutch speakers appeared all but over. Yet the quartering upon the local population of the oppressive Spanish, Italian and Walloon troops cost money that Spain did not always supply. The Duke of Alva sought to resolve this and imposed a tax to pay for these troops – called a “tenth penny” – in violation of the enshrined privileges of the Low Countries[xix]. Only the States General – the parliament for the Netherlands north and south – could vote for taxes. The Dutch-speaking cities – both Catholic and Protestant – naturally rose up against this taxation without representation.


An overhead map of the Deliverance of Leiden October 3, 1574. The importance that this action played in the success of the Dutch Revolt and its historiography cannot be overstated. Likewise, its role as the genesis of the Pilgrims concept of Thanksgiving brought to America. 



Earlier, the Dutch-speakers' land-based military attempts to defeat the Spaniards with armies raised in France and Germany had failed miserably. These motley assortments were crushed. The Prince of Orange, around whom the resistance had coalesced, was forced to retreat back to the safety of his German possessions. The one real sanctuary for the Dutch-speaking freedom fighters was in England, amongst the Flemish émigré communitiers in the coastal towns of southeastern England. It is from here that money was raised by the émigré Flemish Protestant church congregations.
[xx] Funded by the industriousness of Flemish textile workers – weavers, fullers, dyers, and others – they not only supported their families and built their churches, but armed their sons and sent them into the fight.[xxi] Often, this meant literally, in boats launched directly from the coast of England, to raid and disrupt the Spanish occupiers in Flanders, Brabant and Holland.[xxii] 







Willem Van Der Marck, Lord of Lummen (aka "Lumey") and another Flemish commander of the Sea Beggars, as depicted in a contemporary print, after the victory of Den Brielle. 


The hit and run raids launched from England’s shores by the Flemish refugees did not go unchallenged by the Spanish government. Phillip II’s ambassador to England made it clear that continued permission, let alone active official encouragement, by Queen Elizabeth and her councilors of the actions of the Flemish militant émigrés, would be considered an act of war. Unwilling to risk a direct confrontation, Elizabeth expelled the armed mariners from England’s shores in March, 1572.

Led by Flemish admirals, the Watergeuzen (Sea Beggars) sailed forth. At the top of the list of commanders was Dolhain, Adriaen van Bergues (originally from Sint-Winnoksbergen, now known as Bergues, near Dunkirk). He had created the Sea Beggars in 1570. More famous perhaps was Willem van der Marck – better known as “Lumey”, a reference to the fact that he was Lord of Lummen, a town in the province of Limburg – and Loedewijk van Boisot of Brussels. But all three, as well as numerous captains below them and the rank and file – were from the region that today we call Flanders.
[xxiii] 




A colorful print of the time showing the Sea Beggars capturing Den Brielle.



In a bold move that many considered an important psychological turning point in the Dutch Revolt, under the command of van der Marck, the Sea Beggars captured the coastal town of Den Brielle, on April 1, 1572. The unexpected success at Den Brielle inspired the people of Vlissingen (known as Flushing in English) to rise up. At least a fifth of Flushing were Flemings, a steadily percentage that increased steadily over subsequent years[xxiv] . These Dutch-speakers expelled the Walloon garrison and declared for the Prince of Orange on April 6th. Hastily reinforced by a detachment from the victors of Den Brielle, the Flemings of Flushing gave the “Dutch Revolt” a firm foothold in the Netherlands. In a short time and one by one, other cities – including Leiden[xxv]– also expelled their Spanish, Italian and Walloon garrisons and declared themselves loyal to Prince William of Orange.






Following a convention of the States General in July (1572)[xxvi], Prince William of Orange, represented by his spymaster and ambassador, the Brusselaar, Philip Marnix, Lord of St.-Aldegonde, was invested with the position of Stadtholder. The Dutch Revolt now had, thanks in large part to the leadership of the Flemish, a victory, distinct territory, and a sovereign ruler. By 1574, they also had a national anthem – the oldest in the world. – also due to the Fleming Marnix.[xxvii] It is no accident that all of these factors came together in that same year, 1574, to give us the first true Thanksgiving, in the “Dutch” city of Leiden. 


A contemporary print showing the stages of the Spanish Siege of Leiden, May - October, 1574. 





The Siege of Leiden
Prompted by victories at Haarlem and elsewhere, the fearsome Spanish tercios marched onward. By May 1574 they had surrounded the south Hollands town of Leiden. The trench fighting, cannon bombardments, and sorties by both sides, presaged more modern siege warfare. By October, the population, decimated by a third through disease and fighting, was ready to capitulate. A defeat would have been a disaster. It would have weakened the resolve of all the Dutch-speaking people for independence, and perhaps caused foreign assistance to dry up, as it had in 1572 when Queen Elizabeth expelled the Sea Beggars. 





Loedewijk van Boisot, the Flemish Admiral of the Sea Beggars who broke the Spanish Siege of Leiden in 1574 and inspired an official celebration of thanksgiving by the townsfolk of Leiden.




The Sea Beggars themselves, under the command of their Brussels-born Admiral, Loedewijk van Boisot, assembled a riverine flotilla for the relief of the city. Against heavy resistance they made steady progress against the Spaniards. However, the Sea Beggars found it difficult to breach the outer ring of Spanish defenses. Even worse, while fighting towards Leiden, Admiral Boisot received word that the city was ready to capitulate to the Spaniards 
[xxviii] The people were starving and any determined assault by the Spanish would likely overwhelm the city's defenders. Such was the precariousness of the situation that if Leiden fell, the Revolt itself might falter.[xxix]


Fortunately, the Dutch had a spy in the Spanish camp. She was none other than the young wife of the Spanish commander. Magdalena Moons, the daughter of an Antwerpenaar, had married the Spanish general, Francisco Valdez.
[xxx] Secretly contacted by the Sea Beggars, she agreed to convince her husband to delay his final assault on Leiden by one day. Mustering every art of seductive persuasion, Magdalena was successful. General Valdez postponed the preparations for a storming of the city’s walls for 24 hours.[xxxi] 


Magdalena Moons and her husband the Spanish commander at Leiden, shortly after their marriage in Antwerp. It was thanks to this daughter of Antwerp that the Spanish delayed a final assault, permitting the Flemish-led Sea Beggars to surprise the Spanish and break the Siege of Leiden. 


The Sea Beggars under their Flemish Admiral took advantage of this temporary respite to renew their attack. The suddenness and fury of their assault took the Spaniards and Walloons by surprise. The Spanish troops and their Walloon auxiliaries fled in such haste that boiling black pots of stew – called hutsepot – were still simmering when the Sea Beggars overran the Spanish camp. The reception of the Sea Beggars in Leiden was ecstatic, even though the defenders were terribly gaunt, many near death. The city authorities viewed their survival as a sign of Divine favor and declared a day of Thanksgiving. The date, October 3rd, became enshrined in Leiden history and culture as a day of feasting and of giving thanks to God for their miraculous deliverance.[xxxii] 


The people of Leiden celebrating their deliverance by the Flemish-led Sea Beggars, October 3, 1574. 



Leiden University Needless to say, the clamor to hear the tale resulted in a book, a ‘bestseller’ of its time
[xxxiii], about the heroic defense of Leiden – printed, of course, by a Fleming (from Antwerp).[xxxiv] Much of the focus of the book – by Jan Dousa – was on the heroic efforts of his military poet-friend (and later Secretary of the town), Jan Van Hout. A detail included in the retelling at each commemoration of the Siege of Leiden.

As a reward for the city’s stout defense, in December, 1574, Prince William of Orange granted the city a choice of either relief from taxation or the privilege of establishing a university. After consultation, the city magistrates, chose the establishment of a university. The University of Leiden was established February 8, 1575. 


The University of Leiden, just a short distance away from where the English Separatists (who became the American Pilgrims) lived in Leiden and where the pastor of the Separatists' church, John Robinson, studied theology under the Fleming Johannes Polyander. 



Leiden became the first university in the Northern Netherlands – and the first Protestant university dedicated to a humanist education. Leuven, north of Brussels, and Douai, further south, emphasized an officially Catholic Low Countries education. Leiden University was to both influence and be influenced by the city. Leiden University attracted Catholics and Protestants from all around Europe.[xxxv] With the city, the university became a symbol of Leiden’s successful resistance to political and religious intolerance. For, despite its strong association with Protestantism (and especially Calvinism), the university was (as the best today are as well) agnostic to the beliefs of its teaching staff.




Prince William of Orange ("The Silent") in a 1555 painting. Heavily surrounded by numerous Flemish advisors, it was for Orange and freedom that the Dutch-speakers fought. 

For starters, the primate of the university was Justus Lipsius, a Catholic Fleming
[xxxvi] who was appointed a professor of history. Nor was Lipsius alone. The university staff were overwhelmingly Flemings. A partial list of Flemish instructors at Leiden includes Franciscus Raphelengius (son-in-law of the printer Christoffel Plantin of Antwerp), Lambertus Barlaeus, Daniel Heinsius, Bonaventura Vulcanius, Antonius Walaeus, A. Damman, Arnoldus Geulincx, Antonius Thysius, Johan Bollius, Jeremias Bastingius, Petrus Bertius, Dominicus Baudius, Joost van Meenen, Franciscus Gomarus, and Johannes II Polyander van Kerckhoven.[xxxvii] Since at its largest during those first forty years, the student body never even reached 300 students at any one time, the impact and involvement of the faculty with students was close and personal.[xxxviii] 

The University of Leiden library about the same time (1614) as John Robinson, pastor of the Separatists, was a student there. This became the largest library in Protestant Europe, and Leiden its most important university. But at the time the Pilgrims were in Leiden, annual enrollment was less than 300 students. 



These happy circumstances continued until 1618-1620. During those years purges swept through the Dutch Republic and Leiden. Legions of professors lost their positions,
[xxxix] the Separatists lost their printing press and financial patron[xl], and even the supreme political leader of the Dutch Republic, Johannes Oldenbarnevelt (who had served in the Sea Beggars during the relief of Leiden), lost his life.[xli]These sweeping purges convinced many that it was time to move on. The congregation of slightly more than 100 mainly English Separatists, under the leadership of Pastor John Robinson, was among those that left Leiden in partial response to the anti-Arminian purges. The Pilgrims left the city of their 11 year sojourn with few possessions. But they moved onto the New World with strengthened faith, deepened Dutch, and strong traditions forged in Leiden. 


The Arminian riots of 1618 in Leiden. Sparked by the disputes between the Fleming Gromarus and the Dutchman Arminius, these disturbances were one of the factors that compelled the Pilgrims to leave for America in 1620.


The Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving On March 1, 1586, exactly 14 years to the day after Queen Elizabeth expelled the Flemish-led Sea Beggars from England, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite courtier and her designate as Governor General over the Netherlands in their struggle against Spain, arrived in Leiden. The chief delegate for the Dutch government was Adolf van Meetkercke. A native of Brugge
[xlii], Van Meetkercke had served as the former President of the Council of Flanders.[xliii] As Queen Elizabeth's representatives approached, Van Meetkercke met the Earl of Leicester with a sweeping bow that was so low in drew the scorn of his compatriots.[xliv] Such was (and is) the importance of the deliverance of Leiden, that the Earl and his entourage were conducted to a pageant play that commemorated the Siege of Leiden in 1574.

Among the Earl of Leicester’s entourage was the English diplomat William Davison as Ambassador to the States General of the Netherlands. Assisting Davison as assistant was a young William Brewster. This same William Brewster later became (first) spiritual and surrogate father to William Bradford (Governor of the Pilgrims at Plymouth and author of the most comprehensive account of the Pilgrim’s journey) and then the author, chief propagandist and publisher of the Pilgrim’s Press at Leiden as well as an Elder of the Separatists’ Church at Leiden. 



Jan Van Hout, a hero of the Siege of Leiden (whose story was printed by the Fleming Verschout) and the Town Secretary who granted permission to the Pilgrims to settle in Leiden, shortly before his death in 1609. It was likely the early connection between him and Pilgrim Elder William Brewster at the 1586 pageant celebrating the lifting of the Siege of Leiden that led the Pilgrims to relocate to Leiden. 


One of the heroes of the siege, Jan Van Hout, was an author, a poet, a classicist and a close friend of the head of the university[xlv], Justus Lipsius.[xlvi]  Van Hout also acted as Town Secretary. He held that position up until his death in 1609. One of Van Hout's final acts was to grant official permission to John Robinson and his church of 100 Separatists).[xlvii]

While it is possible that Van Hout may not have remembered Brewster – whom he first met on March 1, 1586 – it seems unlikely that the Pilgrims would have officially requested permission 
(which was unnecessary) to settle in Leiden unless they hoped that by doing so to gain some advantage for their congregation. Since Brewster was not just a member of Robinson’s congregation, but also an Elder of the Church and a close confidant of William Bradford (the Governor of the colony when it reached the New World) it seems unlikely to me that this was accidental. Certainly it must have been a factor in their considerations during the year (1608) they observed an increasingly disruptive environment among their co-religionists in Amsterdam.[xlviii]

During their eleven year stay in Leiden, the Pilgrims lived directly across the street from the center of October 3rd Thanksgiving celebrations: Pieterskerk (St. Peter’s Church).
[xlix] Every October 3rd municipal authorities passed out free herring and white bread (to commemorate the first rations received from the Sea Beggars that day on 1574). Since twenty-one Pilgrim families lived surrounding the garden outside the church, ample members of the congregation over the eleven years had a chance to observe the celebrations and absorb their meaning.[l] The Pilgrim’s Separatist congregation met twice on Sunday and once on Thursday evenings – always at Robinson’s home across from Pieterskerk.[li] 
Willem Pieterskerk, where the annual Thanksgiving for the Deliverance of Leiden was celebrated every October 3rd and directly around which 21 families of the Separatist church lived. John Robinson's home where the Pilgrims worshipped 3x/week - was also immediately outside Pieterskerk. From the Pieterskerk to Leiden University was a short walk. 


If they had not imbibed an understanding of the Leiden Thanksgiving celebrations from daily, close proximity to Pieterskerk, nor from initial and historical personal contact with one of the central characters of the city’s defense, Jan Van Hout, the Pilgrims certainly would have learned of it through their involvement with Leiden University. The University was only a short walk (less than 5 minutes away) from Pieterskerk. Moreover, Pastor John Robinson was a student (and protégé of the Flemish Professor Johannes Polyander) at the university. William Brewster too, while not officially a teacher at the University, taught University students English as a side job.[lii]

The Flemish influence on the Pilgrims during their stay in Leiden was pervasive. Not only were the majority of the population around the Pilgrims at Leiden Flemings, but the central formative cultural experience that melded a common consciousness for the city and university was defined by Flemish emigres. The holiday of Thanksgiving here in America, while today quite different from the celebration the Pilgrim Fathers witnessed in Leiden during their stay, is unquestionably tied into that event. The Flemish influence, then, on the Pilgrim’s celebration of the first Thanksgiving in America, was direct and immediate, and a legacy that we who share a Flemish heritage, can point to with pride as one of our contributions to the settlement of America.
 


Norman Rockwell's depiction of an American Thanksgiving dinner, while vastly different than the custom brought over from Leiden by the Pilgrims in 1620, looks like this today for many American families. 

Endnotes [i] Thanksgiving does not of course resonate well in Native American circles. In fact, the holiday itself – infused as it is by our 19th century predecessors with romantic Victorian notions that imply a Divine blessing to the subsequent European occupation of the continent – is a painful reminder to the remnants of the Wampanoag, Pequot, and other tribes of the loss of political and cultural independence. See Nathanial Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, (New York: Penguin, 2006), pp. 354-356. Incidentally, recent articles suggest that vegetarians are not enthusiastic. See Scott Bolohan, Page Four Columnist, “Thanksgiving? I’ll Take a Pass”, Chicago Tribune’s Redeye, Wednesday, November 25, 2009.[ii] Please see Jeremy Dupertius Bangs, ‘Pilgrim Fathers (act. 1620)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition, Oxford University Press, May 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93695, accessed
document.write(printCitationDate());
5 April 2009] at 
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93695.html for an excellent definition of exactly who the Pilgrim Fathers were. However, Dupertius’ numbers for the Flemings are dramatically understated. See Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985). [iii]Intentionally I use the term “European” instead of “English”. The colonists may have been predominantly English, but not exclusively so. There was at least one Fleming and one Walloon in the mix. A fact I hope to further elaborate upon in a later post. [iv] The 35 million number is found in Nathanial Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, (New York: Penguin, 2006), p. 355. The 311 million is an estimate (see John Grimond, “Counting Heads” in The Economist: The World in 2010 , November, 2009, p. 46), [v] Jeremy Dupertius Bangs in “Thanksgiving Day – A Dutch Contribution to American Culture?” in New England AncestorsHoliday 2000. Wade Cox, ed., “The Dutch Connection of the Pilgrim Fathers”, in Christian Churches of God, #264, 1998, p.4 (http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org makes a connection between the first Thanksgiving and the Dutch Dankdag voor Gewas which I think is erroneous. But his connection between the Pilgrim Fathers and Annabaptism imported by Flemings is dead-on, although underdeveloped (details on why will be in a future blog posting). The official website for the Dutch festival can be found here: http://www.3october.nl/ [vi] Jeremy Dupertius Bangs, ‘Pilgrim Fathers (act. 1620)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, May 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93695, accessed
document.write(printCitationDate());
5 April 2009] at 
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93695.html 
[vii] Technically, I should state that it is the contribution of Flemings, Brabanders, and Limburgers. But since this is a modern audience my definition is all those Dutch speakers in modern day Belgium and northern France. [viii] Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985), pp. 125-134. An unlabelled table on p.134 has the percentages I refer to. [ix] Per Paul Paul Hoftijzer, quoting a contemporary writing in 1588: “voor eenighe jaeren geheel dedepopuleert synde ...tegenwoordich voor de meesten part ... bewoont by vremdelingen, uyt Brabant, Vlaenderen ende andere quartieren verdreven” (having been depopulated for some years … is currently inhabited for the most part … by foreigners driven from Brabant, Flanders,and other regions).” Paul Hoftijzer, “Leiden Miracle”, p.82 online herehttp://www.brill.nl/downloads/Brillin2007-EN-LeidenMiracle.pdf 
[x] 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 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”. [xi] "Ondertussen hield ook de inwijking vanuit Engeland aan: nog in 1596 werden Vlamingen uit Norwich door de stad 'lief-flick, minnelick ende in der vruntschappe...ontfangen...ende met het borgerschap vereert.'" Quote from a Leiden magistrate found in Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985) p.127. My thanks to Ms. Siska Moens of Brussel, Mr. Luc Van Braekel (www.lvb.net ), and Mr. Frans Vandenbosch (author of more than 30 books) for assisting me with the translation of this archaic excerpt. [xii]See Stephen S. Slaughter, “The Dutch Church at Norwich”, Congregational Historical Society, April 21, 1933, pp. 31-48, 81-96. Especially see pp. 31-32 for the connection between the “Dutch” [clearly Flemish] Church, the influx of Annabaptist theological concepts, and the direct connection between those thoughts brought over by the Flemish on Robert Browne and John Robinson. For a fascinating suggestion of an admittedly tentative link between the same Dutch Church at Norwich and Thomas Helwys, founder of the Baptist movement, see Ernest A. Kent, “Notes on the Blackfriars’ Hasll or Dutch Church, Norwich”, Norfolk Archaeology, 22 (1924–6), pp. 86–108. See especially p. 89 showing the burial tablet for Nicolai Helwys. [xiii] Timothy George, John Robinson and the English Separatist Tradition, (Macon GA: Mercer University Press, 1982), p.79 [xiv] Dr. J. Briels, De Zuidnederlandse Immigratie, 1572-1630, (Haarlem: Fibula van Dishoeck, 1978), p. 38. [xv] My preference for anyone looking to understand the textile industry in Flanders and its connection to the wider world during this period is to begin with the University of Toronto’s John Munro. Munro’s impressive output nicely weaves [sorry] the whole together. See for example, his “Wool and Wool-Based Textiles in the West European Economy, c.800 - 1500:
Innovations and Traditions in Textile Products, Technology, and Industrial Organisation.” 24 November 2000, WORKING PAPER no. 5 UT-ECIPA-MUNRO-00-05. On-line version:http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/ecipa/wpa.html . Although riven through with a Belgicist viewpoint which minimizes the Flemish contribution, the standard work on the “New Draperies” probably still is Pirenne, Henri : "Une crise industrielle au XVIème siècle. La draperie urbaine et la "nouvelle draperie" en Flandre" in Bulletin de l'Académie
Royale de Belgique, Classe des Lettres, n°5, 1905.
http://digistore.bib.ulb.ac.be/2006/a12959_000_f.pdf [xvi] Gustaaf Asaert, De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p.146 [xvii] Gustaaf Asaert,De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp.148-149. [xviii] Gustaaf Asaert, De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp.188-192 [xix] Much could be and has been written about the privileges of both the towns and the guilds of the Low Countries in general and specifically of Flanders. Those privileges were granted to keep the guilds happy. The guilds came together in response to control quality and pricing by artisans in each locality. Nearly all these guilds rose with the expansion of the textile industry in Flanders from the 1100s on. Seehttp://www.corvalliscommunitypages.com/Europe/dutch_belgium/flanders.htm for translations of the agreements between the guilds and the local rulers. [xx] Queen Elizabeth’s policy toward both the refugees on her soil and their support of the Dutch Revolt was inconsistent – but at times strongly encouraged. See Andrew Pettegree, Foreign Protestant Communities in Sixteenth-Century London, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), p.268. [xxi] For a good review of the Flemish émigrés in England and their contribution to the war effort at this critical juncture – and the only coherent discussion I have seen – see D.J.B. Trim, “Protestant Refugees in Elizabethan England and Confessional Conflict in France and the Netherlands, 1562-c.1610”, pp.69-73, in Randolph Vigne and Charles Littleton, eds., From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrant Communities in Britain, Ireland and Colonial America, 1570-1750, (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2001), pp.68-79. Unfortunately, this four-page bit by Professor Trim is merely a sketch. A full book could be written on this subject. I have not been able to find any monograph on this subject but would love to see one. [xxii] The return of Flemish Protestants to Flanders in 1566 was just such a raid. [xxiii] Gustaaf Asaert, De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp.211-214. Note that nearly the entire upper cadre of watergeuzen leaders at this time were from Flanders and Brabant. Ghislain de Fiennes, Lord of Lumbres, had originally organized the Sea Beggars in 1570. The liaison between Prince William of Orange and the Sea Beggars was Louis de Boischot’s brother Charles (also born in Brussel). Even the captains of the various ships – such as Antoon Utenhove from Ieper and Antoon van de Rijne from Oudenaarde. [xxiv] Dr. J. Briels,Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985), p. 192. [xxv] See the translation of real documents related to this and other aspects of the Dutch Revolt here:http://dutchrevolt.leidenuniv.nl/English/default.htm [xxvi] See the translation of the address for this first convocation here: http://dutchrevolt.leidenuniv.nl/English/default.htm [xxvii] Phillips Marnix is credited with authoring Het Wilhelmus, the Dutch national anthem, which was first written down in 1574. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmus . [xxviii] See a translation here: http://dutchrevolt.leidenuniv.nl/English/default.htm Note that contrary to many popular histories, the mayor of the town (Pieter van der Werff) appears to have been ready to surrender.[xxix] “The siege of Leiden, if not quite the longest – that of Middleburg was longer – was the costliest, hardest fought, and most decisive, as well as the most epic of the great sieges of the Revolt…had Leiden fallen, The Hague and Delft would have been untenable and the Revolt as a whole might well have collapsed.” Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 181. Like many Dutch-centric historians, Israel completely ignores the contribution of Flemings to the Republic and the Revolt. [xxx] Recent technical advances in lithography made it possible to confirm that Moons was not the lover but the wife of Francisco Valdez. See http://www.art-innovation.nl/nieuws.php?id=30 . [xxxi] Admittedly, most of my information here is culled fromhttp://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_Moons 
[xxxii] See the Dutch language site here: http://www.3october.nl/default.asp?id=792 [xxxiii] See Paul Hoftijzer, “Leiden Miracle”, p.84 online here http://www.brill.nl/downloads/Brillin2007-EN-LeidenMiracle.pdf [xxxiv] The name of the Antwerpenaar printer was Andrew Verschout. See Paul Hoftijzer, “Leiden Miracle”, p.84 online here http://www.brill.nl/downloads/Brillin2007-EN-LeidenMiracle.pdf [xxxv] Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998),p.572. Here as throughout his book, like many other Dutch-centric historians, Israel completely ignores the contribution of Flemings to the Republic and the Revolt. [xxxvi] Technically Lipsius was a Brabander, born in Overijse,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overijse where the central market place is now named after him:http://www.overijse.be/index.asp . The university was officially established February 8, 1575.[xxxvii] This list was culled from Gustaaf Asaert, De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), pp.188-189. [xxxviii] Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.572. [xxxix] Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp.577-578. [xl] See Rendel Harris and Stephen K. Jones, The Pilgrim Press:A bibliographical & historical memorial of the books printed at Leyden by the Pilgrim Fathers, (Cambridge: Feffer & Sons, 1922) found online here:http://www.archive.org/stream/pilgrimpressbibl00harriala#page/28/mode/2up [xli] Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 485-491. Israel’s account is rich with analysis but poor on dates and chronology. For reference on dates, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_van_Oldenbarnevelt [xlii]Adolf van Meetkercke, a classical scholar, was a native of Brugge, according to a title on his book. See Adolphi Mekerchi Brugensis De veteri et recta pronuntiatione linguae Graecae commentarius http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0001/bsb00012953/images/index.html?id=00012953&fip=75.57.119.190&no=3&seite=2 Van Meetkercke was also a good friend of the Antwerpenaar cartographer Abraham Ortelius, as evidenced by the poem he penned on the title page of Ortelius’ Atlas (ironically, dedicated to Phillip II in 1570). Seehttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gnrlort.html . As such, this implies contact with Emanuel Van Meteren (Ortelius’ close friend and cousin based in London) and Petrus Plancius. Adolf’s son Edward later became a professor of Hebrew at Oxford. See Ole Peter Grell,Calvinist Exiles in Tudor and Stuart England, (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1996), p. 237. All four of Van Meetkercke’s sons joined and officered in the English army in the Netherlands in the 1580s-1590s.Baldwin, Adolf’s second son, was knighted by Sir Francis Drake at Cadiz in 1596 for his heroism against the Spaniards. See D.J.B. Trim, “Protestant Refugees in Elizabethan England and Confessional Conflict in France and the Netherlands, 1562-c.1610”, pp.72-73, in Randolph Vigne and Charles Littleton, eds., From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrant Communities in Britain, Ireland and Colonial America, 1570-1750, (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2001), pp.68-79. The Van Meetkerckes were not only co-religionists but friends of Emanuel Van Meteren, historian and the Antwerp-born “Dutch” Consul in London.[xliii] See A.G.H. Bachrach, Sir Constantine Huygens and Britain: 1596-1687 – A Pattern of Cultural Exchange, (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 1962), pp. 150-151. Van Meetkercke was an early supporter of William of Orange and ended up becoming a very close friend of the Earl of Leicester but when he was disgraced, fled to London. Like many Flemish immigrants to England, one of his sons served with conspicuous bravery in the English navy well and was knighted. [xliv] The author of this critique was Frans van Dusseldorp, a Dutch Catholic with strongly pro-Spanish sentiments who eventually was ordained a priest. Although he died in obscurity, his “Annales” offer a different perspective of Dutch history during this time. For my reference to the original statement seeJ.A. Van Dorsten, Poets Patrons and Professors: Sir Philip Sidney Daniel Rogers and the Leiden Humanists, (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 1962), p.115. For a discussion of the Annales in Dutch, please see Robert Fruin’s Verspreide Geschriften, Volume 7, p.237. The out-of-print book is accessible online here:http://books.google.com/books?id=keJMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=dusseldorpius&source=bl&ots=CT-dYMrIqU&sig=yWqCwlGN2eNvD7XXVF-AeSbbuqU&hl=en&ei=lF8RS87qC4biMfb7zYIM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=dusseldorpius&f=false . An excellent book review that includes a description of Dusseldorpius (as he was more generally known) in English by George Edmundson in the English Historical Review (1895: pp. 579-582) is accessible here:http://books.google.com/books?id=BpPRAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA7-PA580&lpg=RA7-PA580&dq=%22Frans+van+Dusseldorp%22,+%22leicester%22&source=bl&ots=duNO93aMB_&sig=kLzUlirDstDWQOmtqjRHFlHktKo&hl=en&ei=-F8RS46dApS6MMql8DM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Frans%20van%20Dusseldorp%22%2C%20%22leicester%22&f=false . [xlv]The correct term was actually “rector magnificus”. See Paul Hoftijzer, “Leiden Miracle”, p.89 online here http://www.brill.nl/downloads/Brillin2007-EN-LeidenMiracle.pdf [xlvi] “In the 1580s Lipsius was the intellectual glory of Leiden and all Holland.” Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.575. [xlvii] John Robinson’s request to move his church congregation of 100 from Amsterdam to Leiden is dated February 12, 1609. See a copy of the text herehttp://www.revjohnrobinson.com/pieterskerk2.htm [xlviii] John Robinson appears to have tired of the scandals, the sniping, and the dogmatic lack of charity in the Separatist Amsterdam Church. See Frederick James Powicke, Henry Barrow, Separatist, 1550-1593 and The Exiled Church of Amsterdam, 1593-1622, (London: James Clarke & Co., 1900), pp.278-279. [xlix] B. N. Leverland and J. D. Bangs, The Pilgrims in Leiden, 1609-1620, (Leiden: Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center of the Municipal Archives, no date). No page numbers in this brief text. [l] B. N. Leverland and J. D. Bangs, The Pilgrims in Leiden, 1609-1620, (Leiden: Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center of the Municipal Archives, no date). No page numbers in this brief text. [li]B. N. Leverland and J. D. Bangs, The Pilgrims in Leiden, 1609-1620, (Leiden: Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center of the Municipal Archives, no date). No page numbers in this brief text. Please also note that not only was Professor Polyander close to John Robinson he also apparently knew William Brewster well, since he has provided the preface for Proverbia on January 11, 1617 - one of the twenty books Brewster printed on the Pilgrim's Press at Leiden. See Rendell Harris and The Pilgrims' Press, (Cambridge: Heffner & Sons, 1922), p.48. Polyander (born in Gent) was also the professor - and "the chief preacher of the city' who reputedly asked John Robinson to publicly debate against the Arminian Episcopus in 1618. See William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, (New York: McGraw Hill: 1981), Francis Murphy, ed., pp.21-22. [lii] B. N. Leverland and J. D. Bangs, The Pilgrims in Leiden, 1609-1620, (Leiden: Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center of the Municipal Archives, no date). No page numbers in this brief text. 


Copyright 2009 and 2012 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any form allowed without my express, written permission.

The Flemish Claim to Sinterklaas

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The Flemish Claim to Sinterklaas in America



On December 6th children in Flanders receive gifts. These gifts ostensibly come from Sinterklaas with the aid of his Moor assistant, "Swarte Piet". This tradition had strong Catholic origins, which of course made it anathema to 17th century convicted Calvinists. Thankfully, a few key members of the Dutch Reformed Church in Nieuw Nederland who had roots in officially Catholic Flanders were unwilling to give up their cultural traditions.

One of these influential individuals was Annetje Loockermans (whose story I have told earlier here). Annetje was the sister of Govert Loockermans (the richest man in North America when he died in 1671) and together with several of her other brothers, represented the Brabantian town of Turnhout well in 17th century America.


Annetje married Olaf van Courtlandt (of Scandinavian roots but born in the northern Netherlands) and her children led the Netherlandic colony culturally, politically and economically. Two in particular are often-cited by historians.  Annetje's son Stephanus was the first native-born mayor of New York City. Her daughter Maria at the age of 17 married Jeremias van Rensselaer (son of Kiliaen, the founder of Rensselaerswyck and the subject of recent books). To this union of Jeremias and Maria a long line of prominent Americans can trace their roots. 

Later, when Maria's husband died, the young widow raised her children and kept the patroonship profitable. She also kept the traditions alive she had picked up from her Turnhouter mother Annetje. One of these traditions became the forerunner of the Sinterklaas ("Santa Claus") traditions we celebrate today.

Baker’s account from Wouter de backer



The earliest evidence of any practice related to Sinterklaas is found in the New York State archives. A surviving receipt from Wouter de Backer (Walter the Baker) to Maria van Rensselaer in 1675, (please see the embedded picture), says (8 lines from the bottom)  that in addition to cookies ("koeken"), Mrs. Van Rensselaer purchased 2 guilders and 10 stivers worth of Sinterklaas "goet" ["goodies"]. This is the earliest reference to anything connected to Sinterklaas that survives today in the archives of the European colonists in North America (please see an excerpt above and the actual scanned image here).

Later descendants of Annetje Loockermans were to carry the Sinterklaas theme even further. The family tradition of Sinterklaas came to morph into a cultural tradition that became widespread by the end of the 18th century. An individual who married into one of Annetje Loockermans' descendants captured that tradition in rhyme. The result gave us here in America the poem we know as "Twas the Night Before Christmas" . And it is from this juncture that the date we celebrate Christmas migrated from the evening of December 5th/6th to December 25th. 

Cultural influences being what they are, Christmas is now celebrated even in non-Christian countries like India and Japan (albeit as a cultural, not a religious, holiday). In fact, the spirit of gift-giving and the recognition of this holiday is one of the amazing global cultural expressions of our time.

So as you hum the latest Christmas jingle, bake your Christmas 'goodies', or scramble for those last minute gifts, take a moment to reflect, if you will, on the debt owed to a few hardy Flemish women in 17th century Nieuw Nederland who transmitted their cultural traditions to the world from Turnhout.



Copyright 2012 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without my express, written permission.

The Flemish Origins of Baltimore

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Tonight was the 47th Superbowl (American football championship) game here in the U.S. The competing teams were the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. While I supported San Francisco, I really should have supported Baltimore. For with Baltimore we have the strongest claim to a Flemish origin.

The city of Baltimore is named after the Founder and Proprietor of the Colony of Maryland, Baron, Lord Baltimore. Lord Baltimore began life with a simpler name: George Calvert.  Although born in Yorkshire, Calvert was keenly aware of his Flemish roots. In 1622, when King James I made Calvert a Baron, the official announcement read:

"we have seen an exact collection [of documents] made by Mr. Richard Verstegan an Antiquarie [=historian] in Antwerp sent over this last March 1622 by which it appears that the said Sir George is descended of a noble and ancient family of that surname in the Earldom of Flanders where they have lived long in great honor, and have had great possessions, their principal and ancient seat being in Wervik in the said province."[source: John W. Jordan, Colonial and Revolutionary Familes of Pennsylvania, Vol.2, p.1107 - spelling modified to conform to modern usage].


Given his Flemish roots, it is no surprise that Lord Baltimore's family flag was yellow and black (please see above). In fact, historians now believe that this was the first flag to be carried aloft by soldiers under the command of George Washington. More importantly, today's City of Baltimore flag is almost identical (please see below).



So, when you think of the City of Baltimore in the future - whether because of the Superbowl or some other timely reference - remember also the modest town of Wervik in West Flanders from which his family hailed. Yet another instance of an unacknowledged contribution of the Flemish diaspora to the discovery and settlement of America.


Copyright 2013 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without my explicit written consent. 

The Flemish Contribution to the U.S. Declaration of Independence

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July is a month pregnant with historical significance for Flanders and the United States:  July 4th (1776) is the U.S. Independence Day and July 11th (1302) is the Flemish Feast Day. Less directly on July 26th (1581) the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (the “Act of Abjuration”) was promulgated. It is this last reference most to which the United States owes a debt of its independence to Flanders.[i]

To state the obvious, we commemorate July 4th as the date of the United States’ independence from Great Britain because it is the date of the proclamation of the United States’ Declaration of Independence.[ii]This is a document that has been called, “arguably the most masterful state paper in Western civilization.[iii]This document owes a debt to Flanders. With typical modesty, the Flemish seem reluctant to claim credit. Permit me, therefore, to do the honors.

History books often depict the U.S.’ Declaration of Independence as one man's – Thomas Jefferson's – brilliant creation.[iv]While Thomas Jefferson did, in fact, pen the actual document, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he himself never claimed primary authorship.[v] Benjamin Franklin and a number of other delegates to the Continental Congress offered significant revisions and edits.[vi]According to the Library of Congress’ official website on the Declaration of independence, the U.S. Declaration of Independence was first drafted in June by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s ‘rough draught’ then underwent “a total of forty-seven (47!) alterations” by June 28th. Between July 2nd(when Congress voted on Independence) and July 4th (when the final copy went to the printer) Congress continued to alter the document. In the end, after eliminating a quarter of Jefferson’s original text[vii], Congress made “thirty-nine (39) additional revisions”.[viii]


The Declaration of Independence then, was neither the work of one man nor an extemporaneous outburst of sentiment. Rather, it was a carefully crafted work intended to draw on precedents. These precedents ranged from contemporary British philosophers to treaties and declarations from the 1200s to the 1700s.[ix]Jefferson himself famously stated that the U.S, Declaration of Independence  incorporated no “new principles or new arguments”.[x]But, "Unlike our own age, which prizes originality, the 18th century gave its greatest accolades to those able to master the art of imitation."[xi] 

Although some analysis has been given over to the sources Jefferson, et.al. used to draft the Declaration, mostly it is attributed (especially by American scholars) to British authors (such as Locke) or to British documents (such as the indictment of Charles I in 1649[xii]). Certainly Jefferson’s library contained these works. But Locke and his like were not Jefferson’s only inspiration: the library at Monticello (Jefferson’s home) also contained a sizable number of works on Dutch and Flemish history.[xiii] We know that Jefferson read these books with comprehension because of his references to several of them in his correspondence. Curiously, when discussing the 80 Years’ War in his correspondence, Thomas Jefferson referred to it as the “Flemish Revolt”.[xiv]

Professor Stephen Lucas of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has determined that the primary source of the words, phrases and ideas embodied in the U.S. Declaration of Independence are derived overwhelmingly from one specific document written in Dutch almost 200 years earlier: De Plakkaat van Verlatingh, issued in 1581.[xv] 



"Of all the models available to Jefferson and the Continental Congress, none provided as precise a template for the Declaration as did the Plakkaat," says Lucas, an expert on historical rhetoric. "When you look at the two documents side by side, you cannot avoid noticing that the American Declaration more closely resembles its Dutch predecessor than any other possible model."[xvi]

A Dutch professor, J.P.A. Coopmans, has shown that although separated by time, place, and cultural influences, the format is remarkably the same and that while the differences are important, there are unmistakable similarities.[xvii]Both professors have demonstrated this linkage through careful analysis of the phrases and arguments used in each document.

The Plakkaat had its origins in the so-called “Dutch Revolt”. The Revolt had first broken out on August 10, 1567 in the Flemish town of Steenvoorde. Local Flemish Protestants and some of the less-savory elements of this village, proceeded to sack and pillage the local Catholic church and monastery. This “iconoclasm” (“beeldenstorm” in Dutch) swept east and north until within weeks nearly every church in the Dutch speaking part of the Low Countries had been vandalized.


The ruling sovereign was Philip II: a Spanish son of the Flemish born Emperor Charles V.[xviii]Unlike his father, Philip knew neither the Dutch language nor the customs of his wealthiest dominion. Nor did he have any respect for the contractual nature of the relationship between monarch and subjects in Flanders.[xix]When thwarted in his demands for absolute obedience, Philip responded with brute force. The resulting juggernaut of the most powerful army in Europe tossed tens thousands of Flemish refugees to temporary havens in France, England, Germany and the northern Netherlands. The subsequent 80 years’ war (1568-1648) impoverished wealthy Flanders and left her cities smoldering and her fields fallow.

The Plakkaat was issued in 1581 by an assembly called the States General.[xx]Representing the 17 Provinces of the Low Countries – roughly equivalent to modern day Benelux – it was in fact a rejection of the rule of the Spanish King, Philip II. Listing first the grievances and then the resolution, the Plakkaat Van Verlatinghe gave the Continental Congress a form which to follow.[xxi]


The connection with the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe is not the strained tie of some abstract scholars. Informed contemporaries of America’s  Founding Fathers were also struck by the similarities. The Dutch Stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange, wrote to a confidant on August 20, 1776 (after reading a copy of the Declaration of Independence) that he was “indignant” and considered it a “parody of the document that our forefathers issued against King Philip the Second” in 1581.[xxii]

What sparked his indignation was a familiar ring of the terms and text. William the V had noticed that:

-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration begin by presenting a lengthy catalog of grievances of their sovereign’s perfidy.
-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration mention repeated attempts made by the aggrieved to seek redress through official and unofficial channels.
-        - Both the Plakkaat and the Declaration conclude that having been repeatedly rebuffed by tyrannical rulers, they have no other option but to officially sever the ties that bind them

In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed heavily and freely from the Plakkaat. A logical next question might be, "who authored the Plakkaat?" While it goes down in history as a "Dutch" document central to the "Dutch" Revolt and their Eighty Years' War for Independence (1568-1648), there was heavy Flemish involvement. In fact at least two - and possibly three - of the authors of the Plakkaat were Flemish.



“The committee of four who advised on the drafting was composed of four members – Andries Hessels[xxiii], greffier (secretary) of the States of Brabant; Jacques Tayaert, pensionary of the city of Ghent; Jacob Valcke, pensionary of the city of Ter Goes (now Goes); and Pieter van Dieven (also known as Petrus Divaeus), pensionary of the city of Mechelen – was charged with drafting what was to become the Act of Abjuration. The Act prohibited the use of the name and seal of Philip in all legal matters, and of his name or arms in minting coins. It gave authority to the Councils of the provinces to henceforth issue the commissions of magistrates. The Act relieved all magistrates of their previous oaths of allegiance to Philip, and prescribed a new oath of allegiance to the States [=”assembly”] of the province in which they served, according to a form prescribed by the States-General. The actual draft seems to have been written by the audiencier of the States-General, Jan van Asseliers.”[xxiv]

“The Act was remarkable for of its extensive Preamble, which took the form of an ideological justification, phrased as an indictment (a detailed list of grievances) of King Philip. This form, which is strikingly similar to that of the American Declaration of Independence, has often given rise to speculations that Thomas Jefferson, when he was writing the latter, was at least inspired by the Act of Abjuration.[xxv]

“By deposing a ruler for having violated the Social Contract with his subjects, they were the first to apply the theoretical ideas that two hundred years later would ultimately form the basis for the American Declaration of Independence.”[xxvi]

These authors too, although heavily Flemish, borrowed from the past. Like Jefferson himself, these authors looked for historical precedent to justify what in effect was revolutionary. Two Belgian constitutional scholars have pinpointed the earliest precedent.

 “The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clitocame to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgement of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt."

“William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably…”[xxvii]

This social contract bound not only Gent to the Count of Flanders but other Flemish cities with similar explicit conditions. It was this sense of a ‘broken social contract’ that led the Flemish weavers and butchers to gather on the ‘groeneveld’ outside the walls of the city of Kortrijk on July 11, 1302.[xxviii]Likewise, “The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.”[xxix]

In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed from the strongly Flemish authors of the Plakkaat. They in turn borrowed from Flemish history and the rights of the medieval Flemish city states. Specifically, they looked to the Flemish city states – especially Gent – and the associated traditions of the rights of its citizens in their interaction with the Count of Flanders.  The connection then from Thomas Jefferson, and other contributors to the declaration of Independence to the authors of the Plakkaat, and back all the way to 12th century Gent is a direct one. It is yet another example of the Flemish contribution to the Discovery and Development of America.



Endnotes



[i]Parenthetically on July 10th William of Orange was assassinated (1584); of course, July 21st  (1830) is the Belgian National Holiday. Forone of the best overviews on this subject please see the superb survey by Dr. Paul Belien, “How Flanders Helped Shape Freedom in America”, July 10, 2005 online posting in The Brussels Journal, Accessed July 4, 2013: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/58
[ii] Congress actually declared independence on July 2nd. Please see the Library of Congress’ official chronology here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara2.html
[iii]Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.
[iv]Joseph J. Ellis is the most extreme. He claims – in American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, (), p. 59 – that Jefferson wrote the draft in a day or two and suffered only a few minor edits from others.
[v]“In Liberty! Thomas Fleming notes that Jefferson did not boast about his authorship of the Declaration of Independence.” Ray Raphael, Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, (New York: MJF Books, 2004), p. 107.
[vi]These included Roger Sherman of Connecticut and others. See http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html
[vii] The deleted sections included such bizarre passages as blaming King George for the slave trade and insulting the British people. See Walter A. McDougall, Freedom Just Around the Corner: A new American History, 1585-1828, (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), First Perennial Edition, p.245.
[viii]See the Library of Congress website and the specific quotes here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html    Accessed July 4, 2013
[ix]“De zo juist genoemde vraagpunten werden beantwoord in wisselwerking met de groei van de politieke gemeenschapsvormen; in het kader dus van de evolutie van de leenstaat naar de standenstaat en van deze naar de moderne rechtsstaat. Sedert ± 1200 verschenen de zogenaamde Herrschaftsvertrage, waarin vorst en 'volk'
schriftelijk onder het veiligstellen van een aantal vrijheidsrechten een zekere deelneming van de standen aan het openbaar bestuur vastlegden. Als sluitstuk van deze verdragsbepalingen fungeerde meestal een regeling van het weerstandsrecht. De Magna Carta van Engeland van 1215, de Gouden Bulle van Hongarije van 1222, de Brabantse akten: het Charter van Kortenberg van 1312 en de Blijde Incomste van 1356 alsmede de vrijheidscharters van de latere Brabantse hertogen, de Stichtse Landbrief van 1375 en het Gentse Groot Privilege van Maria van
Bourgondië van 1477 zijn hiervan specimina.
Parallel hiermede ontwikkelde zich in de casuïstiek een precedentenrecht, doordat men het geleerde en overeengekomene in praktijk bracht. Wat Engeland betreft kennen wij onder andere de afzettingen van Edward II in 1317, van Richard II in 1399, Karel Stuart in 1649 en Jacob II in 1688 (Glorious Revolution). Wat onze landen betreft vond de eerste verlating door de standen plaats in Vlaanderen, toen Willem Clito in 1128 de trouw werd opgezegd. En van Brabant weten wij dat enerzijds Wenceslaus in 1357 de Blijde lncomste opzegde omdat de Brabantse steden hun plichten niet nakwamen, terwijl anderzijds in 1420 de Staten een ruwaard aanstelden totdat hertog Jan IV de privileges van Brabant in ere had hersteld.” J.P.A. Coopmans, “Het Plakkaat van verlatinghe (1581) en de Declaration of Independence (1776),” Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende Geschiednis der Nederlanden 98 (1983), 540-567. Accessed online July 4, 2013 http://www.knhg.nl/bmgn2/C/Coopmans__J._P._A._-_Het_Plakkaat_van_verlatinge_(1581)_en_d.pdf  p.558.
[x]Ray Raphael, Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, (New York: MJF Books, 2004), p. 107.
[xi]Stephen E. Lucas quoted in Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.
[xii]Which is much shorter and direct and frankly looks nothing like the Declaration of Independence in my mind. The actual text can be found here: http://www.constitution.org/eng/conpur082.htm.
[xiii] The incomplete list of works in Jefferson’s library are:
143. Gazettes de Leyde, 11 v 40 1781-1793. 4, 5.
170. Grotii Annales et historiae de rebus Belgicis fol
 62. Relationi del Cardinal Bentivoglio, Meerbecq, 1632, 12º.
 63. Della guerra di Fiandri dal Bentivoglio 1ma parte Colonia 1635, 12º.
 64. Dell histoira di Fiandri de Bentivoglio 2da parte Colonia 1636, 12º.
 65. Della guerra di Fiandri dal Bentivoglio, 3a parte, Colonia 1640, 12º.-
171. Strada Histoire de la guerre de Flandres, par du Ryer, 2 v. fol. = Histoire de la guerre de Flandres by Famiano Strada,
 66. The same. Lat. 2 v 12º.
 67. Guerras de Flandes de Strada, por de Novar, 7 v 12º.
 68. Histoire de la guerre de Flandre, par Strada, 2 v 12º.
155. Aitzema's history of the United Netherlands, 1650, 1651, p. fol. = History of the United Netherlands by Lieuwe van Aitzema,
131. De Witt's state of Holland, 8º. (= Pieter Le Court, Political Maxims of the State of Holland)  (nog missing in LoC)  originlee in goglebooks http://books.google.com/books?id=L8lbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Aanwysing+der+heilsame+politike+gronden+en+maximen+van+de+Republike+van+Holland&source=bl&ots=QlgLqSS9PP&sig=rkedZn8lGTBUJ5tRyaD1VVeFgR4&hl=nl&ei=uzJUTKmkPIT78AaLkLWqAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
69. Histoire de la Hollande, 1609-1679, par Neuville, 4 v 12º. = Histoire de la Hollande 1609-1679 by Adrien Baillet
132. History of the United Provinces, 1788, London, Johnson, 8º.-
 70. Revolution des Provinces-Unies de Mandrillon, 12º.-
 71. Vie de De Ruyter, 12º.- = Vie de Michel de Ruiter by Adrien Richer,
 72. Histoire du Prince d'orange de Lamigue, 2 v 12º.-
According to  http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/coll/dutc.html  also in Jeffersons bib:
History of the Treaty of Utrecht,
= ??
 The history of the Treaty of Utrecht : Wherein is contain'd, a particular state of the affairs of the allies at the commencement of that Treaty : And the negotiations at large. With all the acts, memorials, representations, offers, demands, letters, speeches. And the treaties of peace and commerce between Great Britain and France, &c (online at http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4841650)
of = ? Casimir Freschot,
 The compleat history of the treaty of Utrecht, as also that of Gertruydenberg: containing all the acts, memorials, representations, complaints, demands, letters, speeches, treaties and other authentick pieces relating to the negotiations there. To which are added, the treaties of Radstat and Baden, A. Roper, and S. Butler, 1715. My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme of KU Leuven for these references (e-mail correspondence August 3, 2010.
[xv]The Dutch text in a more legible format can be found here: http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Plakkaat_van_Verlatinghe  The line-by-line Dutch with an accompanying English translation (for most of the text) can be found here; http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~room4me/docs/abj_dut.htm
[xvi]Barbara Wolff, June 29, 1988 “Was the Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch”, University of Wisconsin Madison News http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049  Accessed July 4, 2013.
[xvii]See J.P.A. Coopmans, “Het Plakkaat van verlatinghe (1581) en de Declaration of Independence (1776),” Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende Geschiednis der Nederlanden 98 (1983), 540-567. Accessed online July 4, 2013 http://www.knhg.nl/bmgn2/C/Coopmans__J._P._A._-_Het_Plakkaat_van_verlatinge_(1581)_en_d.pdf  For one of the (many) counter-arguments to my claim, see David Armitage, The Declaration of Independence: A Global History, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007), pp.42-43.
[xviii]Charles is generally considered to have been born in Ghent, today in East Flanders. But recent scholarly activity uncovered proof that Charles was in fact born near Eeklo, on the road to Ghent. See Romano Tondat, Keizer Karel geboren te Eeklo, (Eeklo: Stadsbestuur, 2000). For a counter argument to Tondat’s thesis, see Johan Dembruyne, Corporatieve middengroepen: aspiranties, relaties en transformaties in de 16de-eeuwse Gentse ambachtswereld  (Academia Press, 2002), p.613 n.46
[xix]“The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clito came to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgment of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt.”
“William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably….The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.” See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.
[xx]An excellent chronology of the events leading up to the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe can be found here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dutchstudies/an/SP_LINKS_UCL_POPUP/SPs_english/revolt_one/pages/chronology.html
[xxi]See for further points along this line of reasoning, see Stephen E. Lucas, “The Act of Abjuration as a Model for the Declaration of Independence,” pp. 171-190 in Paul Brood and Raymond Kubben (eds.), The Act of Abjuration: Inspired and Inspirational, (Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2011); also Stephen E. Lucas, “The Plakkaat van Verlatinghe: A Neglected Model for the American Declaration of Independence,” in Connecting Cultures: The Netherlands in Five centuries of Transatlantic Exchange, Rosemarijn Hofte and Johanna C. Kardux, eds., (Amsterdam: VU Press, 1994), pp. 189-207.
[xxii]The actual quote is “Ik kan niet genoeg betuigen hoezeer ik geindigneert ben geweest bij de lecture van de acte van afzweeringe van de konig van Engelant bij de Heeren Staeten der vereenigde colonien. Het is de parodie van het stuk, dat onze voorzaeten deeden uitgeeven tegens konig Philips de tweede. God geeve dat de geode zaek moeg triumpheeren en dat de colonien tot redden mogen gebragt warden.” The entire correspondence can be found online at Historici.nl under “Archives ou correspondance inédite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau”, Serie 5, deel 1, 1766-1779, p.449. Accessed July 4, 2013 http://www.historici.nl/retroboeken/archives/#source=25&page=500&size=800&accessor=toc1.
[xxvii]See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.
[xxviii]For a survey of books and movies on the subject of the battle of the Golden Spurs (especially for English speakers) please see my blogpost here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/07/battle-of-golden-spurs.html
[xxix]See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.

Copyright 2013 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. Please do not copy any part of this unless you have received my written permission.

The Flemish Inspiration for the American Revolution

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John Quincy Adams about 1783


Excerpts from a letter, dated July 27, 1777 from John Adams (1735-1826), 2nd President of the United States and one of the “Committee of 5” – with Franklin and Jefferson – who drafted the Declaration of Independence. The letter is to his son, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), who became the 6th President of the United States.


“My dear Son,                                                                            Philadelphia, July 27, 1777

If it should be the Design of Providence that you should live to grow up, you will naturally feel a Curiosity to learn the History of the Causes which have produced the late Revolution of our government. No Study in which you can engage will be more worthy of you…
.I charge you to consider it with an Attention only to Truth. It will also be an entertaining and instructive Amusement, to compare our American Revolution with others that Resemble it…. But above all others, I would recommend to your study, the History of the Flemish Confederacy, by which the seven united Provinces of the Netherlands, emancipated themselves from the Domination of Spain…. 
The most full and compleat History, that I have seen, is one that I am now engaged in Reading. It is intituled “The History of the Wars of Flanders…. You will wonder, my dear son, at my writing to you at your tender Age, such dry Things as these: but if you keep this Letter you will in some future Period, thank your Father for writing it. 

I am my dear son, with the Utmost Affection to your Sister and Brothers as well as to you, your Father,

John Adams[i]



John Adams (1735-1826) 2nd US President


[i]Massachusetts Historical Society Digital Editions.Document No: AFC02d234 (John Adams to John Quincy Adams) July 27, 1777 at Philadelphia. https://www.masshist.org/publications/apde/portia.php?id=AFC02d234  Accessed July 11, 2013 Abridgement by the author

Copyright 2013 by David Baeckelandt. No reproduction in any format permitted without my express, written consent.

Beaver Peltries and Le Bâtard Flamand Part 1 - An Early Flemish American

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A few months ago (September 8th) at Flanders House New York I gave a talk on “The Flemish Contribution to the Discovery and Settlement of America”. The talk offered historical flashes of Flemish involvement from the official birth of Flanders (864 AD) up to and including the English takeover of Nieuw Nederland on September 8th, 1664. One of the ladies in the audience, who claimed (if I remember correctly) a metis ancestry, asked if there were notable examples of interracial offspring of Flemings and other ethnicities in Nieuw Nederland sine Nova Belgica.

Unthinkingly, I mumbled a few obscure examples of unions between the Pernambuco refugees (Jewish and African inhabitants of a Dutch outpost expelled when the Portuguese retook Brazil from the West India Company in 1654) and the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of New Netherlands. However, I failed to cite good cases. For example, well before the arrival of the Pernambuco refugees in the 1650s, there was the union between a Flemish emigrant from Gent, Ferdinand Van Sycklin, and Eva Van Salee, a young lady of North African or Moroccan ancestry (see my “Gentenaars in Nieuw Nederland for a slightly broader bio here:
http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/07/gentenaars-of-nieuw-nederland.html ).

Later, reflecting further on the talk, I could have kicked myself. For in fact a far more intriguing story of the offspring of interracial love is recorded for Flemish America. This love child was a fully hyphenated Flemish American – a unique product of two cultures, Flemish and Native American. Curiously, our best source for information about him is from those whom he initially viewed as his enemies: native French speakers in North America. As a resident of 17th century New York, he is a direct link to the Flemish Protestants who settled Nieuw Nederland sine Nova Belgica.

Although modern text books rarely mention his name or story, America’s Pilgrim Fathers knew this man. The English speakers in the colonies sometimes referred to him as John Smith/Jan Smits. The residents of New Netherlands who had daily contact with him mostly called this vigorous Flemish American their version of a Mohawk name: Canaquesee [1]. Many of the French in Canada simply called this Flemish American, "Le Bâtard Flamand": The Flemish Bastard.

To understand his story we will have to get there via a circuitous route. Because to understand this man we must understand the circumstances around his birth, the Europeans there, and their raison d’etre. My post here – in two parts – then, is an attempt to memorialize the life and times of Le Bâtard Flamand/The Flemish Bastard, one of the first, true Flemish Americans.


Beavers and the Fur Trade
“’The beaver is the main foundation and means why or through which this beautiful land was first occupied by people from Europe’, wrote Adriaen van der Donck in 1655.” [2] As New Netherlands historian, Jaap Jacobs, distilled it: “Originally, desire for beaver pelts had drawn the Dutch to New Netherland.” [3] De Laet mentioned that even in 1614 Adriaen Block went “in quest of beaver & fox skins”. [4]

Furs, in fact, were the reason for the exploration by Henry Hudson – Van Meteren, and the other Flemish employers of Henry Hudson (Dirck Van Os, Petrus Plancius, Judocus Hondius, and Emmanuel Van Meteren) [5] had intended for him to seek furs in Siberia on his way to China [6]. In the Middle Atlantic region of what is now the United States, the dominant and most marketable furs were beavers. [7] Perhaps most importantly, the chance to play a role in the illegal beaver fur trade motivated a number of Flemings, notably Cornelis Melyn the Patroon of Staten Island, to emigrate to New Netherland. [8]

Unlike the hunt for the buffalo hides in the 19th century, no part of the beaver went to waste. The Native Americans viewed beaver as a delicacy – so they rarely if ever sold beaver meat to the Dutch. [9] Although New Netherland exports went to Amsterdam, ultimately beaver hides and fur ended up in two primary markets: Muscovy (where the fur was highly prized) and France (as felt for hats). [10] The fame of the French made beaver hats was such that even English sovereigns – such as King Charles II in 1660 – purchased their custom made beaver felt hats from Paris chapeliers (hat makers). [11]

Beavers occupied rivers and streams. Their tail made excellent steaks and in Europe since medieval times beaver testicles had been used for medicinal purposes. [12] But of course their fur and hide – the pelt turned into felt, such as what was used to make the Pilgrims’ broad, black felt hats – was the real prize.

Native Americans also depended heavily upon the beaver. One Chief was quoted as saying: “The beaver does everything well. He makes us kettles, axes, swords, knives, and gives us drink and food without the trouble of cultivating the ground.” [13] Nearly every flowing water between the Rio Grande River and the Arctic Circle was home to beavers in 1600, it was estimated that between 60 million and 400 million of the intelligent, chomping rodents populated North America. [14]

For the Europeans, trapping beaver was more efficient than the pursuit of literally any other fur-bearing game of the region. In part, this was because – at least for the residents of Beverwijck [15] [now Albany] – the Europeans did not actually trap the beaver themselves but rather traded goods they had for the pelts that the Maqua/Mohawk brought in. “Everyone’s life [was] arranged around the seasonal movements of the beaver, the natives, and the trade.” [16]



As a Dutch historian of New Netherlands so aptly described it, “In New Netherland, every colonist was somehow a trader.” [17]

However, as in many events in history, the strongest link between these peoples had much to do with wealth and its acquisition. The form wealth took in the European transactions with the Native Americans was in the exchange of European goods (textiles, knives, liquor and muskets) for furs (beavers, otters, etc.). All of the European colonies were chartered monopolies run with the profit motive foremost. Of course, this included the Dutch West India Company. “In the mid 1630s an ordinary seaman earned only ten guilders a month, a little over the value of one beaver pelt.” [18]

Shipments back to the Fatherland were substantial. “The ship which has returned home this month [November, 1626] brings samples of all sorts of produce growing there, the cargo being 7,246 beaver skins, 675 otter skins, 48 mink, 36 wild cat, and various other sorts; [also] many pieces of oak timber and hickory.” [19]

Officially (until 1630) the beaver fur trade in Nieuw Nederland was a West India Company (WIC) monopoly [20] . But inevitably, individuals sought to undercut this trade through private dealings with individual Indians. And well before – and certainly after – the Europeans (who numbered only 270 souls in 1630 [21] ) engaged in frenzied trading for the lucrative beaver.

In the early years, the New Netherlands traders would journey out in small bands across country and literally drop in on the Maqua/Mohawk villagers. For example, in late 1634, in a manuscript attributed to the Flemish surgeon of Fort Orange, Harmen Mendertsz van den Bogaert, we learn that “the Maquas [Mohawk] wished to trade for their skins, because the Maquas Indians wanted to receive just as much for their skins as the French Indians [Mohicans] did.” [22]


As early as 1609 the French allied themselves with the Hurons against the Iroquois. [23] The practice took time to be accepted back in France but certainly by 1640 the French viewed hostility to the Iroquois as inevitable and a key part of policy for New France. Jerome Lalemant wrote to Cardinal Richelieu on March 28, 1640, of the successes and the hindrances of the Huron mission, and advising that that the authorities of New France intend to “interfere, in behalf of the savage allies of the French, to check the hostile advances of the Iroquois, who are encouraged and incited by the English and Flemish (Dutch) colonists on the coast.” If they do not act vigorously, the French missionaries feared the extinction of the Hurons, and the consequent cessation of the mission work [to convert Native Americans to Catholicism]. [24]
In short, the French saw trade with the Native Americans as key to their survival in North America. That trade required access to Indians willing to sell them beaver pelts. In part for altruistic reasons (everlasting salvation) the French viewed the conversion of the aboriginal peoples – especially the Huron Indians – to be part of this intricate relationship with trade. Only one thing stood in their way of attaining these multiple goals: the Mohawks and their “Dutch” allies. This could only mean war. “The motive for this conflict was clearly economic and was connected to the fur trade.” [25]





Maqua, Mohawks, Iroquois, and Others
A leading historian on New Netherland, Willem Nijhoff, wrote. “The Indians were the principal suppliers of the precious beaver skins, the furs for which the West India Company established trading posts in New Netherland and which were so important in the creation of the enormous hats and other fashion articles that we still admire in so many seventeenth-century pictures.” [26] For the Dutch that meant primarily the Mohawk Indians at Fort Orange (Albany).

The Mohawks, as many may be aware, were not the largest tribe of the Iroquois confederation (although they are now) [27] . But in Colonial times they were certainly the most feared. The Iroquois confederation consisted of five Native American tribes, [28] autonomous in governance but linked by language and cultural affinity.

The Maqua/Mohawks were also among the first Native Americans to come into contact with Henry Hudson in 1609 when he sailed up the Hudson River to land near modern day Albany, New York. The man who first passed along in print the findings of Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage, the Flemish historian (and Dutch Consul in London, 1583-1612), Emanuel Van Meteren, wrote (in 1610) this about Hudson’s encounter with the Maqua/Mohawk: “In the upper part [of the Hudson River] they [Hudson and his crew] found friendly and polite people, who had an abundance of provisions, skins, and furs, of martens and foxes, and many other commodities, as birds and fruit, even white and red grapes, and they [Hudson and his crew] traded amicably with the [Mohawk] people.” [29]


The Mohawks may have been friendly to Henry Hudson in 1609 in part because of concurrent geopolitical events in North America. For at least 100 years before Henry Hudson sailed up the Great River, Iroquois Indians had bartered animal furs for European goods in chance, coastal meetings. [30]“It was the Mohawk [among the Iroquois] who were to undertake aggressive action to secure trading privileges with Europeans.” [31]

More importantly, the Algonquin-speaking tribes [32] had early on allied themselves with the French. In 1609 the Hurons with their new French allies launched a series of unexpected attacks upon Iroquois villages. [33] Literally, as Hudson was sailing up the river to explore and trade, the French and Hurons were paddling down Lake Champlain and other Canadian waterways [34] to attack and burn Iroquois longhouses. [35]

The Iroquois’ military prowess and diplomatic guile made them a force to be reckoned with during North America’s colonial period (circa 1500-1800). While the Six Nations (an additional tribe joined later) of the Iroquois Confederation now occupy bits of upstate New York, their swathe of regional influence in the 1600s was much greater than it is today. Either directly or through their projected power, the Iroquois dominated a territory that stretched from the Great Lakes in the west to the St. Lawrence River in the north, east to the Atlantic seaboard and south to the Delaware River. Within this region, the Maqua/Mohawk territory primarily included the western bank of the Hudson River nearly from its mouth up to Lake Huron (please see map).



The enemies of this confederation were a medley of Native American tribes surrounding the Iroquois: the Algonquins, Hurons and Mohicans. [36] As Johannes De Laet of Antwerp [37], a Founding member of the West India Company (and the father and grandfather of New Netherland settlers) [38] , described it in 1624, “On the west side of the [Hudson] river, where dwell the Mackwaes [Maquas/Mohawks], the enemies of the Mohicans. Almost all those who live on the west side [of the Hudson River], are enemies of those on the east, and cultivate more intercourse and friendship with our countrymen than the latter.”[39]

Besides the Mohicans, the Mohawk viewed an Iroquois tribe called the Hurons as arch enemies. The Hurons and Algonquin sought out the French as allies. The French referred to the Huron as the “good Iroquois”. [40] The Hurons were “good” because they traded beaver (and other furs) exclusively with the French and submitted to Christian baptism. The Hurons also were competitors for the fur trade trade between the French and the Iroquois. [An absolute must see flick on this subject for those of you who have not yet is "The Black Robe" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Robe_(film)]


Firearms, Firewater and Females
The acquisition of European finished goods were the reason the Mohawks traded. Perched at the edge of a vast wilderness, with smaller numbers and unsettled posts but claiming a broad patch of land, the New Netherlanders looked for an edge and they found it in the weapons trade.

Nicolas Van Wassenaer, writing in February, 1624 noted that for the Maqua/Mohawk, “Their trade consists mostly in peltries [furs], which they measure by the hand or by the finger….In exchange for peltries they receive beads, with which they decorate their persons; knives, adzes, axes, chopping knives, kettles and all sorts of iron work, which they require for house-keeping.”[41]
Of course he neglected to mention the most important and lucrative of the ‘iron work required for house-keeping’: muskets. As the meticulous and uncharitable Reformed Church minister Megapolensis observed (in 1644): “Their weapons in war were formerly a bow and arrow, with a stone axe and mallets; but now they get from our people guns, swords, iron axes and mallets.” [42]

Although the New Netherlanders were the most reliable source of highly coveted muskets, the trade was unregulated and ad hoc. As Father Isaac Jogues, a French Jesuit who rescued by Dutch traders [43] , spent some time in New Netherlands in 1643 wrote: “Trade is free to all; this gives the Indians all things cheap, each of the Hollanders outbidding his neighbor, and being satisfied he can gain some little profit.” [44]

The primary – although not the only way – that Native Americans obtained European goods they desired was through trade. However, there were instances when they traded their labor for payment in kind. In 1625, when the Flemish Director General Verhulst was building a fort on Manhattan and short of laborers, the WIC Directors suggested that he employ local Indians at reduced wages (compared to Europeans) of 2 stuivers per day. At the end of seven days work the Indians could then purchase an ax – at inflated prices with their subpar wages. [45]


The actual trading period occurred from roughly May through November – what the locals of the time called the trading time (handelstijd). Indians would make their way – singly or in groups – to various homes and barter the pelts they carried for sewant (wampum – threaded black, white and sometimes colored shells or beads [46] ) and European goods. Native American women also traded for goods – although I am unaware of any recorded instance of them trading for weapons, they did trade sex for wampum and goods (more on which below).




Hungry Women and Lonely Men
In general, trade relationships between Native Americans and Europeans implied alliances. The Native Americans in general did not trade with those they did not trust. As an Iroquois leader later stated during negotiations at Albany: “Trade and Peace we take to be one thing.” [47]

Trade relationships between the races were cemented through trade, religion, and in some cases – especially between the French and the Hurons – through interracial relationships. The West India Company, on the other hand, did not pursue an official policy of intermarriage with de wilden (the savages) – as the Nieuw Nederlanders often referred to them..

Some of these Indian traders were, of course Maqua/Mohawk women. Johannes De Laet, a Patroon and a Director of the West India Company, (but without first-hand experience) called the Native Americans “extremely well-looking.” [48] De Laet also quoted Adriaen Block (with whom he almost certainly had direct contact) as describing the Native Americans as “strong of limb”. [49]
The keen observer Van Wassenaer, in April, 1625 (just after De Laet’s book was first published) reported: “Chastity appears, on further enquiry, to hold a place among them, they being unwilling to cohabit with ours, through fear of their husbands. But those who are single, evince only too friendly a disposition.” [50]



It is inevitable, given the close proximity of lonely Dutch-speaking men and relatively uninhibited young Native American women that some contact went beyond simple barter for beaver pelts. After all, in a wilderness where distractions were few and as late as 1630, there were not more than 270 Europeans in all of New Netherland – and the overwhelming majority were male – these young Dutch-speaking men were likely to feel the absence of companionship acutely.

On the frontier between isolated European posts and Native American villages there was a process that transcended fluency in spoken language. “A man and woman join themselves together without any particular ceremony other than that the man by previous agreement with the woman gives her some zeewant or cloth, which on their separation, if it happens soon, he often takes again. Both men and women are utterly unchaste and shamelessly promiscuous.” [51]

The aforementioned Van Wassenaer may have been thinking of a certain rendezvous point in particular, when he described the Indian maidens’ “friendly disposition”. “In the early days of the colony [New Netherland] there was certainly some racial mixture, as evidenced by the ‘Whores’ channel’ (Hoeren-kill) given to a locality where ‘the Indians were generous enough to give their young women and daughters to our Netherlanders there.’” [52]


Sometimes, it seems, circumstances conspired to bring New Netherlanders and Native American women together in situations almost certain to result in forced intimacy. On 1634 December 12th, the Flemish surgeon of Fort Orange wrote (10 years after Van Wassenaer): “After we had been marching about eleven leagues, we arrived at one o’clock in the evening half a league from the first castle at a little house. We found only Indian women inside…so we slept there.” [53]

The priggish Dutch minister in New Netherlands, Johannes Megapolensis, writing 10 years later, in 1644, made the following claim about the Native American women. “The women are exceedingly addicted to whoring; they will lie with a man for the value of one, two, or three schillings [i.e., 12 cents, 24 cents or 36 cents], and our Dutchmen run after them very much.” [54]


By the next decade, however, it appears that Netherlandic men and Native women found ways to ‘hook up’, despite daunting obstacles of language, social convention and locale. ”Jacob Van Leeuwen, a trader who visited New Netherland in the 1650s, certainly did not feel any ties with the kin of a ‘certain Indian woman of beautiful figure.’ After they had sexual intercourse in the attic of the court house during church [services on Sunday morning], he gave her a necklace of blue and red beads that she was wearing when they came down the staircase, and which she often wore later.” [55]

It is in the context of these liaisons, amidst the milieu of trade, Christianity, and warfare, that our hero, Le Bâtard Flamande, came into the world.

Part 2 will discuss The Flemish Bastard’s Life and Accomplishments – Stay Tuned!


Endnotes
[1] The Mohawk word "Canaque", or rather "Khanake", means "along the water" The ending "ees(e)" could be the Dutch suffix for someone coming from a place called ‘Canaque’.” Peter Lowensteyn, “The Role of Canaquese in the Iroquois Wars,” downloaded 04/10/2009 19:06:20 http://www.lowensteyn.com/iroquois/canaqueese.html Note that the name of the Mohawk in their own language is Kanien’keha:ka which reportedly means “People of the Flint” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk_nation
[2] Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Boston: Brill, 2005), p. 197. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate the origin of this quote in J. Franklin Jameson’s translation of Van Der Donck’s “Representation of New Netherlands” [from whence the quote is sourced].
[3] Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Boston: Brill, 2005), p. 20.
[4] John De Laet, Extracts From The New World or A Description of the West Indies, J. Franklin Jameson, ed. & trans., (no date or place of publication), Cornell University facsimile reproduction, 1993. p. 294
[5] Van Meteren, the “Dutch Consul” at London, and Van Os, the head of the VOC, were both natives of Antwerp. Plantius was a native of Dranouter, near Ieper (Ypres) in West Flanders and Hondius was a native of Wakkene near Ghent. They were Dutch in speech and Dutch in allegiance to the fight of Protestants viewing the occupying Spaniards as the enemy, but they were Flemish in origin. See my recent posting that discusses the heavy, overwhelming Flemish involvement here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/12/flemish-influence-on-henry-hudson.html
[6] Joannes de Laet, Extracts From the New World – Or, A Description of the West Indies, (Translated from the original Dutch by The Editor), Cornell University Reproduction, p.290.
[7] For an interesting modern review of beaver trapping techniques see
http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/beaver-trapping-tips.html [and, for the record, there is no connection whatsoever between “Fleming Outdoors .com and the Flemish American blogspot].
[8] Dr. Jan Kupp and Dr. Simon Hart, “The Early Cornelis Melyn and the Illegal Fur Trade”, in De Halve Maen, Vol. 60, No. 3 (October, 1975), pp. 7-8, 15. The notarial records that Dr. Hart had access to tell a very interesting story. The details behind Cornelis Melyn and the overwhelming involvement of Antwerpenaars in New Netherland is grist for a future post.
[9] Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Boston: Brill, 2005), p. 20.
[10] Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Boston: Brill, 2005), pp. 20. The untreated fur sent to Muscovy was called castor sec. The treatment for the furs that became felt was called castor gras. The treatment, incidentally, of castor gras, was somewhat unscientific. After a period of roughly 18 to 24 months, an untreated fur worn close to the body of a Native American became soft and oily as the outer fur was worn away. It was this product that was turned into felt hats in France.
[11] Antonia Fraser, Royal Charles: Charles II and the Restoration, (New York: Dell Publishing, 1979), p.269.
[12] See the excellent medieval manuscript illustration on this subject:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/comment/11r.hti . Peter C. Newman, Empire of the Bay: The Company of Adventurers That Seized a Continent, (New York: Penguin, 1998), pp. 44-45, offered this excellent excerpt of a 1685 medical expert: “Castoreum [the orange-brown alkaloid substance found in the beaver’s scent glands] does much good to mad people, and those who are attacked with pleurisy give proof of its effect every day…Castoreum destroys fleas; it is an excellent stomachic; stops hiccough; induces sleep; strengthens the sight, and taken up the nose it causes sneezing and clears the brain…in order to acquire a prodigious memory…it [is] only necessary to wear a hat of the beaver’s skin.” Parenthetically, my wife, who is a food scientist, tells me that beaver testicles in ground form are used today as a flavoring for beverages!
[13] Peter C. Newman, Empire of the Bay: The Company of Adventurers That Seized a Continent, (New York: Penguin, 1998), pp.43-44
[14] Peter C. Newman, Empire of the Bay: The Company of Adventurers That Seized a Continent, (New York: Penguin, 1998), p.45. Newman quotes MIT biologist Robert J. Naiman as stating that in 1670, the time when the Flemish Bastard moved up to Canada, there were approximately 10 million beavers within the boundaries of present day Canada.
[15] Beverwijck was literally an outpost whose population went from approximately 150 (overwhelmingly male) inhabitants in 1642 to 200+ by 1652 and more than 1,000 by 1660. Janny Venema, Beverwijk: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664, (Albany: SUNY Press, 2003), Appendix I, pp.428-429.
[16] Donna Merwick, The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), p.13. NOTE: Although chock full of interesting facts, the source citation should be double checked. Mis-citations occasionally appear in this otherwise fine work. For example: the citation on page 293, footnote 8 states a certain quote (“The VOC urged its personnel and burghers to marry indigenous women ‘after the Roman and Portuguese precedents.’”) as coming from Charles Ralph Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire. Merwick states she found the quote in this book on p. 242 and that she found it in the 1965 Penguin edition. Since the book was published by Alfred Knopf in 1965 and the citation she mentioned is actually on page 216 (and, in my opinion, somewhat taken out of context – she says the VOC advocated inter-racial marriage when in fact Boxer says that one of the officials in the East Indies wrote to his superiors in Holland seeking this in a letter). In short, I would double check all sources Ms. Merwick cites.
[17] Willem Nijhoff, “New Views on the Dutch Period of New York”de Halve Maen: The Magazine of the Dutch Colonial Period, Vol LXXI, Summer 1998, No. 2, p.30 EDIT
[18] Donna Merwick, The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), p.115. NOTE: Although chock full of interesting facts, the source citation should be double checked. Mis-citations occasionally appear in this otherwise fine work. For example: the citation on page 293, footnote 8 states a certain quote (“The VOC urged its personnel and burghers to marry indigenous women ‘after the Roman and Portuguese precedents.’”) as coming from Charles Ralph Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire. Merwick states she found the quote in this book on p. 242 and that she found it in the 1965 Penguin edition. Since the book was published by Alfred Knopf in 1965 and the citation she mentioned is actually on page 216 (and, in my opinion, somewhat taken out of context – she says the VOC advocated inter-racial marriage when in fact Boxer says that one of the officials in the East Indies wrote to his superiors in Holland seeking this in a letter). In short, I would double check all sources Ms. Merwick cites.
[19] From the ‘Historisch Verhael,’by Nicolaes Van Wassenaer, 1624-1630 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.83. Since beaver skins weighed between 10 and 15 pounds each, this was a fully loaded ship. That said, this was likely a substantial part of the furs sent back for the year, since the trading season ended in November.
[20]“The fur or other trade remains in the [exclusive hands of the] West India Company, others being forbidden to trade there [New Netherlands].” From the ‘Historisch Verhael,’by Nicolaes Van Wassenaer, 1624-1630 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.78.Van Wassenaer wrote that in December, 1624, but although official policy, it was a difficult to enforce policy.
[21] Donna Merwick, The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), p.64 and pp.185-186. NOTE: Although chock full of interesting facts, the source citation should be double checked. Mis-citations occasionally appear in this otherwise fine work. For example: the citation on page 293, footnote 8 states a certain quote (“The VOC urged its personnel and burghers to marry indigenous women ‘after the Roman and Portuguese precedents.’”) as coming from Charles Ralph Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire. Merwick states she found the quote in this book on p. 242 and that she found it in the 1965 Penguin edition. Since the book was published by Alfred Knopf in 1965 and the citation she mentioned is actually on page 216 (and, in my opinion, somewhat taken out of context – she says the VOC advocated inter-racial marriage when in fact Boxer says that one of the officials in the East Indies wrote to his superiors in Holland seeking this in a letter). In short, I would double check all sources Ms. Merwick cites.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_the_United_States
[22]“Narrative of a Journey Into the Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635” in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.139.
[23] Thomas B. Costain, The White and the Gold: The French Regime in Canada, An Intimate, living Story of the Making of Canada, (Garden City, NY: The Country Life Press, 1954), 1st Edition, p.66.
[24] Please see Book XXX of the Jesuit Relations– in English here:
www.puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/relations_17.html . Jerome Lalement was the Superior of the mission in New France.
[25] Bruce G. Trigger, The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660, (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1976) First paperback edition, 1987, p. 223.
[26] Willem Nijhoff, “New Views on the Dutch Period of New York”, de Halve Maen: The Magazine of the Dutch Colonial Period, Vol LXXI, Summer 1998, No. 2, p.23
[27] Although they were not the largest Iroquois nation in the 17th century, Wikipedia lists more official members today than for any of the other Iroquois nations.
[28] These tribes are the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. The Tuscarora joined the Confederation in 1722, thus becoming the Six Nations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois_League . However, one historian whose expertise is specifically that of the Native American tribes of this period states that, “it is unclear when, and under what circumstances, the Iroquois confederacy developed.” Bruce G. Trigger, The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660, (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1976) First paperback edition, 1987, p. 224.
[29] The original is in the 31st book of Emanuel Van Meteren’s Belgische ofte Nederlantsche Oorlogen ende Geschiedenissen/Histoire der Neder-landscher ende haerder Naburen Oorlogen ende Geschiednissen, (1st edition at Delft in 1599; our version Utrecht in 1611). The English translation quoted here is from the 1611 edition and found in J. Franklin Jameson, Ed., Narratives of New Netherland, (New York, 1909), Elibron Reprint, 2005, p.7.
[30] It is likely – although not proven by any record – that Flemish See Bruce G. Trigger, SOURCE p.178
[31] Bruce G. Trigger, The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660, (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1976) First paperback edition, 1987, p. 224.
[32] Actually, the Hurons were an Iroquois-speaking tribe but for a variety of reasons largely to do with trade and political alliances had become more allied with the Algonquins and against the Iroquois.
[33] Thomas B. Costain, The White and the Gold: The French Regime in Canada, An Intimate, Living Story of the Making of Canada, (Garden City, NY: The Country Life Press, 1954), 1st Edition, p.66.
[34]“Judging from appearances, this river [the Hudso River] extends to the great river St. Lawrence, or Canada, since our people assure us that the natives come to the fort [Fort Orange/Albany] from that river, and from Quebec.” Joannes de Laet, Extracts From the New World – Or, A Description of the West Indies, (Translated from the original Dutch by The Editor), Cornell University Reproduction, p.299.
[35] Thomas B. Costain, The White and the Gold: The French Regime in Canada, An Intimate, Living Story of the Making of Canada, (Garden City, NY: The Country Life Press, 1954), 1st Edition, p.66 ff.
[36] However, as Peter Lowensteyn has pointed out (“The Role of the Dutch in The Iroquois Wars”
http://www.lowensteyn.com/iroquois/), ethnic and linguistic self-identification were not the sole determinants of which side each tribe aligned with. Still, until the mass-migrations and the added strategic factor of European trade reared its head, blood/clan ties were strong.
[37] Joannes De Laet deserves a biography. The Antwerpenaar was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin and English (at least). He was a protégé of Emmanuel Van Meteren and spent some time with Van Meteren in London. Besides being a prolific correspondent – see, for example, his correspondence with John Morris [cf, J.A.F. Bekkers, Correspondence of John Morris With Johannes De Laet (1634-1649), ('s-Gravenhage: Van Gorcum, 1971)] – De Laet was also a successful scholar-merchant. A recognized authority on the voyages to America, his published work was printed in multiple languages and ran through several revised editions between 1625 and 1640. De Laet was also an ardent Protestant and participated in the Dordrecht Synod. De Laet’s daughter eventually became a settler in New Netherland after De Laet’s death in 1649. As far as I am aware, there is no published biography on De Laet in any language.
[38] It was De Laet’s daughter, curiously named Joanne, who settled in New Netherland from before 1659 to 1676. Married twice, she had several children. One of whom, a slight girl of 13 named Mary, died a horrible death from the plague. Likely heartbroken after this death and the death of her second husband, (whom she married 2/22/1659 in Nieuw Amsterdam), the German Jeronimus Ebbing, she returned to Amsterdam in 1676 to be near her grown children from her previous marriage to Johannes de Hulter. See, Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Boston: Brill, 2005). Parenthetically, De Laet's son and namesake, Johannes De Laet, Jr., moved to England and was naturalized there in 1656. J.A.F. Bekkers, Correspondence of John Morris With Johannes De Laet (1634-1649), ('s-Gravenhage: Van Gorcum, 1971), p. xiv.
[39] John De Laet, Extracts From The New World or A Description of the West Indies, J. Franklin Jameson, ed. & trans., (no date or place of publication), Cornell University facsimile reproduction, 1993. p. 299
[40] Bruce G. Trigger, The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660, (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1976) First paperback edition, 1987, p. 245. This was how the Huron were described to Champlain, during his early contact with them circa 1600.
[41]“From the ‘Historisch Verhael,’by Nicolaes Van Wassenaer, 1624-1630 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.71.
[42] Letter written by Reverend Johannes Megapolensis the Younger, August 26, 1644 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.176
[43] Later declared a saint, Fr. Jogues was captured by the Maqua/Mohawks August 2, 1642 and tortured for a year in captivity. Letter written by Reverend Johannes Megapolensis the Younger, August 26, 1644 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.175, n1. Megapolensis also wrote that “Though they [Maqua/Mohawks] are so very cruel to their enemies, they are very friendly to us, and we have no dread of them.”
[44] Letter written August 3, 1646 from Trois Rivieres, New France in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.262
[45] Donna Merwick, The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), p.118. NOTE: Although chock full of interesting facts, the source citation should be double checked. Mis-citations occasionally appear in this otherwise fine work. For example: the citation on page 293, footnote 8 states a certain quote (“The VOC urged its personnel and burghers to marry indigenous women ‘after the Roman and Portuguese precedents.’”) as coming from Charles Ralph Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire. Merwick states she found the quote in this book on p. 242 and that she found it in the 1965 Penguin edition. Since the book was published by Alfred Knopf in 1965 and the citation she mentioned is actually on page 216 (and, in my opinion, somewhat taken out of context – she says the VOC advocated inter-racial marriage when in fact Boxer says that one of the officials in the East Indies wrote to his superiors in Holland seeking this in a letter). In short, I would double check all sources Ms. Merwick cites.
[46]“Their money consists of certain little bones, made of shells or cockles, which are found on the sea-beach; a hole is drilkled through the middle of the little bones, and these they string upon thread, or they make of them belts as broad as a hand or broader, and hang them on their necks, or around their bodies. …They value these little bones as highly as many Christians do gold, silver and pearls; but they do not like our money, and esteem it no better than iron.” Letter written by Reverend Johannes Megapolensis the Younger, August 26, 1644 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.176.
[47] Peter Wraxell, An Abridgement of the Indian Affairs Contained in Four Folio Volumes, Transacted in the Colony of New York, from the Year 1678 to the Year 1751, ed. Charles Howard McIlwain (1915; New York: Benjamin Blom, 1968), p. 195. Quoted in Timothy J. Shannon, Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier, (New York: Viking, 2008), p.22
[48] John De Laet, Extracts From The New World or A Description of the West Indies, J. Franklin Jameson, ed. & trans., (no date or place of publication), Cornell University facsimile reproduction, 1993. p. 292
[49] John De Laet, Extracts From The New World or A Description of the West Indies, J. Franklin Jameson, ed. & trans., (no date or place of publication), Cornell University facsimile reproduction, 1993. p. 294
[50] From the ‘Historisch Verhael,’by Nicolaes Van Wassenaer, 1624-1630 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.81.
[51]“Representation of New Netherland” in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.302. This was the Remonstrance, signed by Loockermans, his brothers in law Van Couwenhoven and Van Courtlandt on October 13, 1649.
[52] Charles Ralph Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire, (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1970), 2nd Edition, p.229.
[53]“Narrative of a Journey Into the Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635” in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.140
[54] Letter written by Reverend Johannes Megapolensis the Younger, August 26, 1644 in J. Franklin Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elbiron, 2005) [reprint of 1909 edition], p.174. Certainly, the good Reverend’s detailed knowledge of such a subject makes one wonder whether this was acquired through first-hand experience.
[55] Janny Venema, Beverwijk: A Dutch Village on the American Frontier, 1652-1664, (Albany: SUNY Press, 2003), p.168.

Copyright 2010 by David Baeckelandt. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without my express, written consent.

Flemish American Origins of Santa Claus

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It is the night before Christmas Eve. I had hoped to have completed for you a post that points to the Flemish Contributions to the idea and dissemination of Sinterklaas - as "Santa Claus" would have been known to our Flemish ancestors. Unfortunately, I have not fleshed out the references and the prose to the standard I aspire to, so this quick sketch will have to do.

It is worth recalling a few quick facts. Santa Claus as a concept did not gain broad acceptance in the U.S. until well into the 19th century. Most historians trace that back to three change agents: Clement Clarke Moore, John Pintard, and Washington Irving.

First, Washington Irving, while not descended from the settlers of New Netherland himself, resurrected the enthusiasm for the lives and history of those early settlers with his 1809 book A History of New York From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. While intended as a satire, the book was remarkably detailed on New Netherland history, Dutch language and customs to pass as legitimate history to the masses. Moreover, Irving's prose (then and even today) was engaging enough to become a best-seller of the time (and to remain popular well into the 20th century).

Irving's story popularized St. Nicholas - pronounced Sinterklaas - from an obscure ethnic holiday celebrated by a shrinking circle of ethnic Dutch-speakers to something tied into New York's Dutch origins. In particular, and as it pertains to our story here, Irving focused on the interaction between St. Nicholas and the patriarch of the Van Courtlandt [although he spelled it "Van Kortlandt"] family. [1]


Next. John Pintard, a merchant of untiring energy, proposed St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, as an alternate family holiday to the revelry on New Year's Eve. A friend of Washington Irving - and founder of the New York Historical Society - Pintard began the revival of St. Nicholas with a St. Nicholas Society Dinner on December 6th, 1810 (the year after Irving's publication). Later, this evolved into the St. Nicholas Society of New York. [2]


The final rung in this climb back to our Netherlandic roots came through another friend of Pintard's: Clement Clarke Moore. Moore was himself not a descendant either of the settlers of New Netherland. However, his wife, Catherine Elizabeth Taylor, was. Although I am unaware of Moore explicitly crediting his wife, it seems unlikely that she did not - as wives are often likely to do - inspire her husband's work. And from whence did her wife derive inspiration? Likely through maternal family traditions.

Catherine Elizabeth Taylor's mother, Elizabeth Van Cortlandt, was the great-great-great grand daughter of Oloff Van Courtlandt and Annetje Loockermans. [3] It was Annetje Van Courtlandt who, as Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer has noted, brought culture and civilization to New Amsterdam after marrying Oloff Van Courtlandt in early 1642. [4]

For forty years Annetje Van Courtlandt nee Loockerman's home was the center of social life and she led the observance of holidays and customs from the Dutch-speaking part of the Low Countries. These traditions were transmitted through her direct descendants - which include Presidents (Teddy and Franklin D. Roosevelt), actors (the Fonda family, Montgomery Cliff), movie directors (Cecil B. DeMille), authors (Herman Melville), Chief Justices (John Jay), the wealthiest Americans (John Jacob Astor), Fathers of the Country (Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton Fish), as well as assorted governors, senators, congressmen, ambassadors, mayors and other luminaries. The Van Courtlandt family tradition of Sinterklaas became the Santa Claus tradition of today. It has now been passed on to later generations and is inseparably blended with the fabric of America.


The best part of all this was that this strong, fearless pioneer woman of taste and culture (who deserves to be numbered in the first tier of Flemish Mothers of America) was from Flanders. Annetje Loockermans was born in the town of Turnhout in the province of Antwerp in the land of Flanders on the 17th March, 1618. [5] Little did she realize the legacy she would leave for 21st century America and indeed the world. [6]





With that as backdrop, Gentle Reader, it seems only fitting that I leave you with the stanzas and illustrations that inspired the adoption by first American and then world popular culture of Santa Claus. The below text is courtesy of a superb website on the poem: "Account of a Visit From St. Nicholas"


'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;



The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads,

And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,



When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.



The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a minature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,


With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:


"Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
"On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;

"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"



As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys - and St. Nicholas too:


And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:



He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys was flung on his back,

And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack:



His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry,
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;



The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face, and a little round belly

That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:



He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.



He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.



He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight-

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.




Endnotes
[1] Washington Irving, Knickerbocker's History of New York, edited by Anne Carroll Moore, (New York: Doubleday, 1959). See especially pp. 27, 49-51, 58, etc. [where St. Nicholas appears in dreams to Van Kortlandt] and pp. 95-100 [description of St. Nicholas' Feast Day as celebrated by the Dutch-speakers of New Netherland. Curiously, his only nods to Flanders are to redundantly claim that each of the pear-shaped characters in the story wore "Flemish hose" and reckon that the fines they received were in Flemish pounds (1 Flemish pound = 6 Dutch Guilders).

[2] Edwin G. Burroughs & Mike Wallace,"The Domestication of Christmas," in Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 462-463. While this is an excellent account of Pintard's involvement - and the only one I am aware of - Burroughs & Wallace fail to tie the story back to New Netherland.

[3] Catherine Elizabeth Taylor (1794-1830)'s mother was Elizabeth Van Cortlandt (d. July 22, 1816) and her father was William Taylor, Lord Chief Justice of Jamaica. Elizabeth Van Cortlandt's parents were Philip Van Cortlandt (November 10, 1739-May 1, 1814) and Catherine Ogden. Philip's parents were Stephen Van Cortlandt (October 26, 1710-October 17, 1756) and Mary Walter Ricketts. Stephen's parents were Philip Van Cortlandt (August 9, 1683-August 21, 1746) and Catherine De Peyster. Philip's parents were Stephanus Van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643-November 25, 1700) and Gertrudj Van Schuyler. Stephanus' parents were Oloff Stevenszn Van Courtlandt and Annetje Loockermans. Annetje was born in Turnhout, Flanders. For the genealogy please see John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume II M-Z, (London: Henry Colburn, 1867), pp. 1360-1363; and John Thomas Scharf, History of Westchester County, New York, Volume I, Part I, (Philadelphia: L.E. Preston & Co., 1886), pp.115-138.

[4] Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer, The Goede Vrouw of Mana-ha-ta: At Home and in Society, 1609-1760, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 32 discusses how Annetje Van Cortlandt's home was the "center of the petticoat government" of New Netherland; p. 133 how others followed Mrs. Van Cortlandt's example with St. Nicholas Day; and p. 140 discusses how the Van Cortlandt's and other notable Dutch-speaking families perpetuated the St. Nicholas Day (and other) tradition through subsequent generations. Esther Singleton, Dutch New York, (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1909), pp.297-301 discusses the observance of St. Nicholas Day in the Netherlands but with little concrete reference to New Netherland. However, she does suggest that the wife of the Flemish Reformed minister Drisius played a role [p.301].

[5] "In Turnhout worden de doopregisters bewaard van Godefridus Lokermans (2 juli 1612) en zijn zuster Anna (17 maart 1618), kinderen van Jacob Lokermans en Maria Nicasius. Ook hun broer Pieter (geboren 5 oktober 1614) liet sporen na in zijn geboorteplaats. In de Sint-Pieterskerk op de Grote Markt van Turnhout, waar Anna en Godfridus (De Latijnse naam Godefridus werd in het protestantse Noorden al snel Govert) gedoopt werden, rust nog steeds een van hun nazaten." My grateful thanks to Karl Van Den Broeck for this reference [e-mail dialogue October 10, 2010].

[6] Note that, to produce a sobering counterpoint, that the current historian of New Netherland, Jaap Jacobs, believes there is no evidence in the historical record to support the idea that Sinterklaas was celebrated in New Netherland. See Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Leiden: Brill, 2005), p.471. To the esteemed Dr. Jacobs (whose work I admire a great deal - even though he ignores the Flemish contribution to Nieuw Nederland), my only retort is "Bah Humbug!"


Copyright 2010 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without my express, written consent.

The Hidden Flemings in (New) Netherlands' History

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A few years back, the Flemish diplomat Axel Buyse, stationed in the Netherlands, gave a superb talk to his hosts on the extensive Flemish origins of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ “Golden Century”[i]. He pointed out that it was no accident that the onset of Dutch greatness corresponded so closely with the subjugation of Flanders and Brabant by Spanish armies in the late 16th century.[ii] For it was the exodus of wealthy and accomplished Flemings and Brabanders to the (“liberated”) United Provinces of the (northern) Netherlands that largely made the Dutch Golden Century possible[iii].

Dutch historians of course know this. Among the pre-eminent scholars who have written in delightful detail on this subject are the pioneering Dr. J. Briels (in multiple publications including Zuidnederlanders in de Republiek, 1570-1630– Sint Niklaas: Danthe, 1985) and the more recent (and encyclopedic) Professor Gustaaf Asaert in his indispensable (and very readable) 1585:De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2002).

Sadly, historians of Dutch-American history broadly and of the New Netherlands period (1614-1664) more specifically, either ignore or obscure the origins of their Flemish forefathers
[iv]. In some cases it would be fair to state that the author in question was simply ignorant of the relevant historiography. Unfortunately, in a recent work on New Netherland pictured above and titled Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1588-1643): Designing a New World, (Hilversum, The Netherlands: Verloren, 2010), by Professor Janny Venema, one cannot make an allowance for ignorance.

“How uncharitable!” Some might shout (and likely will). But I believe I am on solid ground here. Primarily, because Dr.Venema lists the works of both Dr. Briels and Dr. Asaert in the bibliography of this, her most recent book.
[v]

Of course to me this is an egregious albeit typical Flemish-lite/Dutch-centric bias. As a rebuttal to not only Dr. Venema but all Dutch-centric historians, I will attempt here to show that, by omission, our Dutch friends do neither themselves nor others a service by neglecting the contributions of Flanders.
[vi] Given the fact that I do have a day job (and it has nothing to do with Flemish history), I will limit my detailed critique in this post only to pages19-26 of her Chapter 1: “Images of Hasselt”. Readers can peruse this chapter online here: http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/62261.pdf .


How “Dutch” Was the Dutch Revolt?
Dr. Venema’s first chapter (“Images of Hasselt” pp.19-26) starts with a discussion of Charles V
[vii], Phillip II[viii], and the Eighty Years’ War (Tachtigjarige Oorlog ). She acknowledges that the beeldenstorm (‘iconoclastic fury’) that started the war we know as the “Dutch Revolt” began in Flanders, but does not mention where (it was in Steenvoorde)[ix]. Its origins in Flanders may seem inconsequential to those of us four centuries later on the opposite side of the pond, but it is no different than (for Americans) recognizing that the spark of the American War of Independence began at Lexington and Concord.[x] The birthplace of a revolution or movement reflects not only the latent sentiments of the people of a region but also deeply influences the subsequent path such movements take.[xi]

One of the central figures in the story of the “Dutch” Revolt is the Count of Flanders, King of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V (1500-1558). Dr. Venema makes no mention of Charles V’s birthplace being near Ghent.[xii] This is important because it influenced how Charles was sentimentally attached to Flanders but also was loved by and successful in ruling the people of the Low Countries. Dr. Venema’s slant suggests that Charles V (pictured below at his height of power) was a Spanish ruler, when in fact contemporary Spaniards viewed Charles V as unquestionably Flemish. So much so that it led the Spaniards to revolt against him (1520-1521) in what became known as the ­Revolt of the Comuneros.[xiii]



Of course the Flemings (including his ‘hometown’ of Ghent) also rose in revolt against Charles V (in 1539-1540).[xiv] But subsequently, and despite the pervasive spread of first Lutheran (from 1519) then Anabaptist (from the 1520s) and finally Calvinist (from the 1550s) beliefs throughout the Low Countries, this very Catholic and Holy Roman Emperor Charles managed to maintain a relatively tranquil hold over an increasingly Protestant Netherlands – north and south.[xv]

Dr. Venema does mention (p. 21) that the Eighty Years’ War (Tachtigjarige Oorlog) began when the Duke of Alva marched into the Netherlands with 10,000 Italian and Spanish troops in 1567. What she fails to highlight is that it was into Flanders that the Spanish “Army of Flanders”[xvi] began its process of ‘pacification’. This is of course what led to the frenzied exodus of people, overwhelmingly from what is called the “Westkwartier” of traditional West Flanders.[xvii] It was these people who made up the unsettled waves of immigrants that ran from first Flanders to England or Germany and then ultimately the northern Netherlands and sometimes onward to New Netherlands.[xviii]


To offer further proper context, Dr. Venema cites the victories of the “Dutch” rebels but fails to recognize that these were not Hollanders but instead “South Netherlanders” who led the “Dutch” Revolt. These “Dutch” rebels were famously called “geuzen” (beggars - symbol of which is above), a title that was given to them in Flanders and as the result of a Flemings’ insouciance.[xix] Even the titular head of the “Beggars” as the rebels were called, the Prince of Orange –despite his birth and properties – called Flanders (actually Brussels, then as now the capital of Flanders) home. Ironically, the Spanish-led Catholic “Army of Flanders”, fighting against the rebels had few Flemings in its ranks. It was comprised overwhelmingly of Spanish, Italian, Walloon and German mercenaries[xx]. For the Flemings, then, their strongest allegiance – at least for the first decades of the Eighty Years’ War – was to the “Beggars”/”geuzen”.


This so-called “Dutch Revolt”, as it is now best known in English-speaking circles, almost came to an abrupt halt by the early 1570s with the success of the Duke of Alva’s legionnaires in subduing the seething Protestant strongholds of Flanders. What saved the Revolt from sputtering out completely was the doggedness of the Flemish diaspora, primarily resident in England. Dr. Venema points out (pp.22-23) that the watergeuzen “Sea Beggars” seizure of the town of Briel in April 1572 breathed new life into the resistance. What she neglects to mention is that this assault was overwhelmingly a Flemish enterprise. The Flemish diaspora, based primarily in coastal England, financed the effort and offered a source of ready recruits.[xxi] The young men who captured Briel had essentially operated a piratical Protestant fleet (much like today’s Somali version), preying on merchant shipping in the English Channel (see below).

These piratical “Sea Beggars” were led by the Flemish commanders (born in Brussels)Loedewijk van Boisot and his close confederateWillem van der Marck, Lord of Lumey[xxii] The watergeuzen then, managed to establish the first permanent haven for the “Dutch” Revolt in the Low Countries. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this success and the flow of Flemish Protestant men and money in enabling the “Dutch” Revolt to survive.


Much like insurrections today that are clandestinely aided by another state, the Dutch Revolt was made possible by the assistance – tacit and otherwise – that Queen Elizabeth gave to their activities. English aid while critical happened primarily because the English and Flemish shared a common enemy: Spain. However, it did not hurt that key Flemish émigrés surrounded Queen Elizabeth and made their cause hers.


Queen Elizabeth’s chief spy and diplomat to the “Dutch” was a half-English, half-Flemish son of a martyred Protestant by the name of Daniel Rogers.[xxiii] Likely born in Antwerp, through his mother’s side Rogers was a first cousin to the renowned geographer Ortelius[xxiv]. Interestingly and also through his mother’s side he was a first-cousin to the long-serving (1582-1611) so-called “Dutch” Consul at London, Antwerp native Emanuel Van Meteren.[xxv] Another Fleming, charged with caring for Sir Dudley, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite and the senior Englishman in the Netherlands, was Adolf van Meetkercke, a native of Brugge and a Greek scholar resident in Leiden.[xxvi] Still others occupied nearly every tier of lesser positions both on the front lines in the Netherlands and in England.




Nor were these the only Flemings in key, “Dutch” leadership positions. The spymaster and confidant for the Prince of Orange was a cousin of Meetkercke’s: Philip Marnix van Sint Aldegonde (pictured in the above engraving by Jacob De Gheyn - of whom more later). Marnix ran the spies who enabled the Flemish-led troops to win key battles (such as lifting the Siege of Leiden in 1574 which led to the founding of the University of Leiden[xxvii] in 1575). Marnix also was the author of a key propaganda pamphlet and of the world’s oldest national anthem: “Het Wilhelmus”, which of course the Kingdom of the Netherlands now claims as its own.[xxviii] Still later, in 1583-1585, Marnix was the Mayor (burgemeester) of the most important city in Europe, the Calvinist city-state of Antwerp (until its capture by the Spanish in 1585).[xxix]


Closer to Queen Elizabeth’s person (and her daily activities) were her butler and her seamstress – both Flemish natives of Brussels.[xxx] Elizabeth’s language tutor as well was a Fleming. Elizabeth herself, exhibited some Flemish traits – not least among these her polyglot skills (she spoke Flemish, French, and Italian fluently).[xxxi] Nor should this be surprising: Elizabeth I herself, through her mother Anne Boleyn, was of Flemish origin.[xxxii]


While virtually all European nationalities and religions (including Catholics) fought for the United Provinces against Spain,[xxxiii] naturally ethnicity and language (as well as religious affiliation) played some role in tilting one toward (or away from) the Revolt. The French-speaking parts of the Southern Netherlands, separated by language and custom from the Dutch-speaking areas, tended to side with their fellow Romance-language speakers (the Spanish).[xxxiv] Certainly there were substantial numbers of Walloon Protestants who joined the Revolt. Still, percentage wise they were in the minority among the “Southern Netherlanders” in the Dutch Republic. As noted historian of the Dutch Revolt, Professor Geoffrey Parker, has pointed out, “a large number of Walloon nobles had succumbed to Spanish bribes.”[xxxv]

While not exclusive, the Dutch-speakers of the Southern Netherlands then remained as the dominant contingent in the Dutch Revolt. As Dr. Venema mentions (p.23), following their success at Den Brielle, representative political and military stakeholders summoned a meeting at Dordrecht (aka Dort) in 1572. There they elected William of Orange their leader. What Dr. Venema fails to point out is that the leading political representative (dispatched by the Prince of Orange) was Philip Marnix, the Fleming. The primary military representative was Willem Van der Marck a Flemish native of the Bishopric of Liege.[xxxvi] It was thus a concave at Dort, led by Flemings that appointed William, Prince of Orange as the leader of the Dutch Revolt in 1572.



Dr. Venema’s overview in her opening chapter touches on the political as well as the military developments. Unfortunately, her recounting of the Dutch Revolt’s political turning points (p.23) appears a bit disjointed.[xxxvii] One very significant development she neglects to mention at all is the Pacification of Ghent (a famous allegory print pictured above).[xxxviii] This is a critical omission. As one legal historian recently remarked: “The Pacification of Ghent was a crucial moment in the Revolt of the Netherlands against Spain.”[xxxix] It was significant first because all the provinces (Dutch and French speaking) united against the Spanish-led rulers. It also served as the basis for legal recognition of religious tolerance. This of course was one of the moral justifications of the Dutch Republic (at least in the eyes of historians). However, the idea of toleration and freedom of religion was the culmination of a long series of developments unique to Flanders broadly and Ghent more precisely.[xl]



Be that as it may, Dr. Venema places greater emphasis on the Act of Abjuration (p.23 - the text pictured above) – if only because she actually mentions this versus the cold shoulder she gives to the Pacification of Ghent ). But here again we have an important milestone in the development of the Dutch Republic without credit due. The Act of Abjuration (Plakaat van Verlating in Dutch) is as important to Americans as it is to the Dutch and Flemish. Not only is it the Netherlands’ equivalent of the American Declaration of Independence, but The Act of Abjuration it was also one of the reference points (and perhaps the primary template) used by Thomas Jefferson in drafting the American Declaration of Independence .[xli] As you might expect, given my emphasis of this here, the primary author (and at least half of the four committee members) was Flemish.[xlii]


After having succeeded the Prince of Orange as the “Royalist” Stadthouder of Holland and Zealand from 1567-1573 (in other words fighting against the Seabeggars when they took Briel), Antwerp native Maximilian of Hennin became the new Commander in Chief of the Rebel armies.


The Prince of Orange was assassinated in 1584 (July 22nd) by a Frenchman. The act shocked and demoralized those fighting against Spain and as such was an inflection point in the Dutch Revolt (perhaps much like JFK’s 1963 assassination impacted a generation of Americans). Dr. Venema uses a famous print of the time by Baudartius to illustrate the act (on page 22). What Dr. Venema does not make clear is that Baudartius was important in his own right and important to the story of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the “Dutch” Revolt and the History of New Netherland.


As the source Dr. Venema cites clearly (albeit in Latin) states (”Scriptore Wilhelmo Baudartio Deinsiano Flandro”), Willem Baudaerts/Baudartius was from Deinze in Flanders. As a boy in Sandwich, England, he most certainly knew men that had sailed from Sandwich to join the attack on Den Brielle in 1572. As a Biblical scholar[xliii], he was one of the handful of scholars selected to undertake the official state-sponsored translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Dutch (the Statenvertaling).


Like Petrus Plancius, another Fleming (from Dranouter, near Ieper in West Flanders) Baudartius was also vehemently anti-Spanish and believed that it was a God-given duty to strike the Spaniards wherever one might be able. For that reason he not only drafted a strong polemic against the 12 year truce with Spain (1609-1621) in 1610, but also republished Emanuel Van Meteren’s Histoire (which included the first printed account of Henry Hudson’s “discovery” of the Hudson River Valley) in 1614, after Van Meteren’s death.[xliv] This keen interest in the New World found an outlet in his daughter’s son, Willem Beeckman, who arrived in the 1650s to New Netherland. Beeckman later became New York City’s longest serving mayor.[xlv]



Besides the use of Baudartius’ print, Dr. Venema also inserts an illustration (on page 25) from a military manual from the period. This manual, created by the Antwerp native Jacob de Gheyn[xlvi], was called Wapenhandelingen van Roers[xlvii]. This manual (the illustration above being one of the 42 stances for loading a musket) is relevant for several reasons. The military exercises described in the manual (step-by-step procedures for loading and firing efficiently and in ranks the musket) reflected the military innovations that gave the "Dutch" victory on the battlefield. These tactics mimicked Roman legions’ massed javelin throwing, but applied it to massed musketry. The ‘discovery’ (rediscovery?) of this approach was by the Flemish (and Catholic) scholar (and dean of Leiden University), Justus Lipsius.[xlviii] in his De Militia Romana, published in 1595.


As is the irony in so many wars fought in the name of God, the Dutch Revolt was yet one more where both sides (Spanish Catholics and Dutch-speaking Protestants) believed that the Almighty firmly endorsed their own position (and implicitly condemned the other). Religion of course was a key component of not only the raison d’etre for its birth but also for the continued existence of the Dutch Republic. The right religion for those close to the movers and shakers of the Dutch Republic was the Dutch Reformed Church, which was Calvinist in outlook but allied (and in communion with) the English (Anglican) and Scottish (Presbyterian) state churches. With very few exceptions, advancement in the Dutch world required at least perfunctory (and often, aggressively participatory) involvement with the Dutch Reformed Church.


The leading proponent of the strict, unyielding Calvinist outlook for the Dutch Reformed Church that ended triumphant after decades of struggle was Franciscus Gomarus (pictured below, and of whom Dr. Venema references later in her book, but of course without reference to his Flemish roots), a native of Brugge, West Flanders. Gomarus was claimed as an ally by the American Pilgrim Fathers (which to me is unlikely, and a subject for a future post) and was the leader of the school of thought called the Counter Remonstrants.




The Counter Remonstrants believed in war to the death against Spain, the reclamation of Flanders and Brabant back from the Spanish, and the predestined salvation of the “Select” members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Overwhelmingly they were the “war party” and were in many of the positions of influence in government and the Church. Like their leader, they were largely “Southern Netherlanders” – overwhelmingly of whom were the Flemish. In short, financed by Flemish émigrés, led by Flemish military and political leaders, while inspired and justified by Flemish theologians, the “Dutch” Revolt, appears to have been heavily Flemish.


Virtually all of this refutation of the popular characterization of the Dutch Revolt as some kind of native-born, autonomous rising by the indigenous population of Holland, as often portrayed by our Dutch friends to the north, is available to Dutch scholars in their own language. So there is no excuse for its omission by historians of the Netherlands. Of course, this same admonition applies to historians of a part of the Dutch Republic’s overseas holdings, New Netherland. And this post is really directed to them.


Permit me then, Gentle Reader, to close with a reminder again of the Flemish claim to this period in history, courtesy of the pre-eminent historian on the Dutch Revolt in every language, Professor Geoffrey Parker:

“Between 1540 and 1630, perhaps 175,000 South Netherlanders left their homes, 150,000 of them eventually finding refuge in the Dutch Republic. Many were people of the greatest distinction in their chosen fields: 300 Calvinist ministers, as well as many elders and deacons, came to parishes in the North from Flanders and Brabant; 375 Dutch artists, including Hals, Cuyp, van Ostade and van der Velde, also came from the South, as did the dramatists Vondel and Barlaeus, the architect Lieven de Key, and over 400 school and university teachers. Finally, of 364 known publishers and bookdealers active in the Republic before 1630, two-thirds were southern exiles. Their influence on the language, culture and religion of the North Netherlands would be hard to overstate.”[xlix]

At some point in the future – which at this point is long with unfinished posts – I will include a more detailed examination of the other Flemings surrounding Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.

Endnotes
[i] Axel Buyse’s talk, delivered March 13, 2006, was titled “Flemings and Brabanders in the Land of Rembrandt” and can be accessed here: http://www.codart.nl/images/CODART%20NEGEN%20congress_Text%2004%20Axel%20Buyse.pdf
[ii] My thanks to Jan Offner of Flanders Investment Trade for initially referring his colleague’s excellent essay to me. But I owe Jan a deeper thanks also because while the content is not his, the original inspiration of this blog is. It is Jan who challenged me to chronicle the Flemish Contribution to America – and to do so with proper citations. Note that there are some Anglo-Saxon historians, pre-eminent among which is Jonathan Irving Israel in his Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585-1740, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989) 2002 reprint, pp.5-6, who believe that the causation between the fall of Antwerp in 1585 and the rise of the Dutch Republic are not directly connected. However, it is curious how virtually all date the trajectory of the Dutch Republic’s rise from 1585 (as does Dr. Israel), the year that Antwerp fell to the Spanish troops under the Duke of Parma. Which of course implies causation. See especially p. 30: “The Fall of Antwerp in 1585 was undeniably a crucial event in economic as well as in political and religious history. But the fall of Antwerp, and the closing of the Scheldt to maritime traffic, do not, as is so often assumed, in themselves explain the subsequent transference of Antwerp’s entrepot role to Holland and Zealand. Control over Europe's rich trades did not simply migrate from the South to the North Netherlands in this straightforward way, however alluring such a notion might be. What actually transpired was much more complex.”
[iii]“Sixteenth-century Holland was, compared with Flanders and Brabant, a small town community.” Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, p.275. Professor Geyl’s work is excellent for those native English speakers who wish to see Flemings properly credited for their role in the Dutch Revolt. Note: Dr. Geyl was thoroughly Dutch, born at Dordrecht and schooled at the University of Leiden http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Geyl . For those who can read Dutch and secure a copy of it, his broader, 2 volume work, Geschiednis van de Nederlandse Stam, (Amsterdam, 1949) is to me still an excellent resource.
[iv] For a sharp argument about how today’s Netherlanders are of Flemish origin, see the excellent (in Dutch) argument (“Warrom een Hollander een (halve) Vlaming is”) here: http://www.roepstem.net/hollandervlaming.html
[v] In fairness to Dr. Venema, the rest of her book actually incorporates quite a bit of reference to the “Southern Netherlanders”. However, even there she either ignores the Flemish origins of critical figures – such as Petrus Plancius’ Dranouter, West Flanders origins or Franciscus Gomarus’ Brugge, West Flanders origins – or where she contradicts authorities like Professor Asaert in saying Gerard Thiebault was a Frenchman (p. 145) when in fact he was a native of Antwerp. (Asaert, pp. 141, 179). Unfortunately, Dr. Venema's book is marred with periodic unnecessary typos - such as spelling "London" as "Londen" (p.321).
[vi] Inevitably there might be some who will wag a finger in my direction because of this post and whisper that I am anti-Dutch. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Besides the fact that my favorite foreign national anthem is Het Wilhelmus – and not just because it was written by the Fleming Phillip Marnix – I have a deep belief that we are, like other ethnicities, artificially separated by military truces (e.g. the Germans, the Koreans, etc.). Once a Flemish Republic is declared - thankfully even more likely given the current political paralysis in Belgium – we should seek closer ties with the Netherlands. Incidentally, I have no animosity toward Dr. Venema herself (or any of the other Dutch historians). I simply wish that they would give credit where credit is due. In this case it means to the Flemings and Brabanders who brought their moveable wealth, talents, and connections to the Dutch Republic.
[vii] Charles V’s life is chronicled in English by several historians, none who truly explore his Flemish upbringing. Still, if I were to pick one book to use as a starting point, Harald Kleinschmidt, Charles V: The World Emperor, (Glouccestershire: Sutton Publishing, 2004).
[viii] The authoritative biography on Phillip II in English (and several other languages as well) remains Geoffrey Parker, Philip II, (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1978). The good Dr. Parker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Parker_(historian) ) recently released a revised version in Spanish.
[ix] See, for example, Herman Kaptein, De Beeldenstorm, (Verloren, 2002), p.42 Online reference downloaded January 29, 2011 http://books.google.com/books?id=txpRRZe7tlcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Herman+Kaptein%22&hl=en&ei=1EBETb_rM8OBlAeTxZgd&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=steenvoorde&f=false . Professor Kaptein clearly states that the Iconclasm (Beeldenstorm) of statuary destruction that started the “Dutch” Revolt began in “the Flemish village” (“het Vlaamse dorp”) Steenvoorde.
[x] 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, 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.
[xi] Luckily for us in this day and age, the primary source material for the “Dutch” Revolt is available online and in translation. For those interested, the url is here: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/koss002text01_01/koss002text01_01_0002.php
[xii] There has been a great deal of scholarly debate recently about where Charles Quint was actually born. Natives of Ghent will often show you the “house where Charles Quint was born” (as a kind Ms. Brigitte Dhondt did for me and my father in 2007). A statue exists there to commemorate the occasion. However, one recent writer declared Eeklo to be his birthplace while another (also using heretofore undiscovered primary resources) argues that it was near Eeklo but actually on the road, while in transit, that Charles V was born (my thanks to Mr. Hugo Baeckeland for this reference). The key point however is that Charles V was supremely Flemish in not only birth but outlook. This makes him the first global leader of Flemish origin. Please see Marc Van Hulle, “Keizer Karel was een Eeklonaar”, in Het Nieuwesblad, 31 October, 2006, downloaded February 6, 2011 http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=GQL13TQNJ and http://users.telenet.be/keizerkarel/eeklo.htm This point of history that came to me courtesy of (separately) Professor Matthias Storme and amateur historian Hugo Baeckeland of Eeklo.
[xiii] That revolt was in part directed against the Flemish courtiers around Charles V, especially Willem II van Croy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Cro%C3%BF the Lord of Temse and Aarschot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarschot .The only English language full treatment of the Comunero Revolt I am aware of is the polemic by Henry Latimer Seaver, The Great Revolt in Castile: A Study of the Comunero Movement of 1520-1521, (New York: Octagon Books, 1966). Seaver’s account is marred by chapter titles such as “The Flemish Pillage” and references to “the rapacities of the Flemish courtiers” [p.47].
[xiv] The Ghent Revolt of 1539-1540 ended in the expected subjugation of Ghent, but given the offence, a relatively mild (in terms of blood debt) price paid by the Gentenaars. But it also lead to the nickname for Gentenaars as "de stroopers" (for the noose that they were required to wear around their necks in supplication to Charles V). The only English work on this I am aware of is the G.P.R. James, Mary Burgundy, or The Revolt of Ghent (1833), 2 Vols. Whatever you are tempted to do, do NOT buy the reprints of this book floating around. It is chock full of inaccuracies (example: “Hainaut” is rendered “Hainnut”) and improbable dialogue. If one must, then download it for free from Google books. On the issue of Ghent’s history as an independent state, see Professor Wim Blockman’s “De Tweekoppige Draak: Het Gentse Stadsbestuur Tussen Vorst en Onderdanen, 14de-16de Eeuw”.Sourced online here: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/1887/1446/1/351_037.pdf
[xv] Curiously, Dr. Venema does not even mention (in her bibliography) the premier works on the Reformation in the Low Countries in English. First and foremost (and by a Leiden Ph.D. graduate no less): 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. 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).
[xvi] See Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt, (New York: Penguin, 1979) for the seminal work on this subject in English. Dr. Parker, while not highlighting the Flemish contribution, is acutely conscious of it.
[xvii] The Westkwartier (http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westkwartier ) is that part of West Flanders called the Westhoek with that part of Flanders seized by French “Sun King” Louis XIV in 1679 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nijmegen ).
[xviii] Consider, for example, the Ten Eyck and Boel families. They are often labeled either Dutch or German. But in fact, the family were originally long term residents of Antwerp who fled the city after its fall (1585) and settled for a time in Cologne (1588? To 1620s?) before moving then to Amsterdam (citizens by 1645) and finally New Netherland (in 1651). SeeGwenn F. Epperson, New Netherland Roots, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994), especially Appendix C “The Ten Eyck-Boel European Connection”, pp. 125-129.
[xix] According to Professor Geyl, it was the Flemish nobleman Dolhaim who was first charged with organizing the Flemish Protestant pirates as a real fighting force in 1569. See Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, pp.113-114. The appellation was intended as a derogatory comment by the Walloon nobleman Berlaymont. See Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, pp.87-88. Curiously, Professor Geyl says that at the time the term had deeper meaning: a reference to the Wild Beggars” of West Flanders. Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, p.113. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geuzen for the story of the origin of the term.
[xx] See Geoffrey Parker, The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries’ Wars, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1972), 1987 Reprint, Appendix B, “Organization of the Army of Flanders”, (b) Muster of the Army of Flanders, 24 March 1601, p. 276. The Army of Flanders at this time comprised roughly 6,000 Spaniards, 1200 Italians, nearly 9,000 Germans, 4,700 Walloons, and 1,700 “Burgundians” [??]. A roster of the “Dutch” troops under arms at this time (or, for example, in the Siege of Ostende) shows a very high percentage of Flemings in the line (as well as in command).
[xxi] See especially, D.J.B. Trim, “Protestant Refugees in Elizabethan England and Confessional Conflict in France and the Netherlands, 1562-c.1610”, in Randolph Vigne and Charles Littleton, eds., From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrant Communities in Britain, Ireland and Colonial America, 1550-1750, (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2001), pp. 68-79.
[xxii] In an earlier post here http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/11/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-5.html I chronicled the extensive Flemish contributions to the siege and successful capture of Briel as well as the lifting of the Siege of Leiden. It was an annual celebration of the latter event which the Pilgrims copied and made their own. Culminating in the Fall American holiday now known as Thanksgiving Day.
[xxiii] Amazingly to me, no biography exists on Daniel Rogers, but swathes of his life have been obliquely chronicled. The best English source that I am aware of is J. A. Van Dorsten, Poets, Patrons and Professors: Sir Philip Sidney, Daniel Rogers and the Leiden Humanists, (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 1962), pp. 9-75.
[xxiv] Curiously, this trio of first cousins – Emanuel Van Meteren, Daniel Rogers and Abraham Ortelius – while close, occupied varied posts on the religious spectrum. Van Meteren, while an important elder and figure in the Dutch Church in London (and also the French and Italian Calvinist churches there) was viewed as orthodox (in a Reformed sense) by the religious establishment in the Netherlands (such as Petrus Plancius, et.al.). It is unclear what Daniel Rogers’ specific church affiliation was, but it is unlikely that it deviated much from the now required Church of England allegiance (given his proximity to the Queen). Meanwhile, Abraham Ortelius, nominally a Catholic, is reputed to have shared with Van Meteren a certain affinity for the “Family of Love”, a sect abhorred by Calvinists, Anglicans and Catholics alike. Please see the footnotes in my earlier posting here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/07/flemish-fathers-of-america-emanuel-van.html On a slightly different note, “Abraham Ortelius, maker of the first atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum or Theatre of the World, was one of the most prominent citizens of Antwerp at the time that this city was the trading centre of Europe and indeed the world, in the second half of the sixteenth century.” Marcel P.R. van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas maps: An Illustrated Guide, (Tuurdijk: HES Publishers, 1996), p. 9. As far as I am aware of, this is the most complete source for Ortelius and his work in English.
[xxv] 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.
[xxvi] As far as I know, no biography exists of the interesting Van Meetkercke. But Professor Asaert comments [p. 297] that "Een van de trouwste adviseurs en medestanders van de landvoogd was de Vlaming Adolf van Meetkercke." [Dr. Asaert means trusted by the Earl of Leicester at Leiden]. Note also that [p.295 Asaert] "In een kielzogbevonden zich al meteen een aantal Vlamingen die eerst in Engeland een toevlucht hadden gevonden maar die nu het land blijk gaf van minder tolerantie tegenover vreemdelingen de oversteek naar Noord-Nederland waagden." See Gustaaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2002). For a look at Professor Van Meetkercke’s scholarly treatise, see the online scans posted here:
his
http://dfg-viewer.de/show/?set%5Bmets%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fmdz10.bib-bvb.de%2F%7Edb%2Fmets%2Fbsb00012953_mets.xml
[xxvii] As Dr. Briel has demonstrated, Leiden itself was more than 50% Flemish when the Pilgrims resided there. 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. As such, the Flemish dominated virtually every aspect of Leiden’s university town’s existence. Professor Asaert states: "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.
[xxviii] 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 of De Bijenkorf der H. Roomsche Kerk (1569) here http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/marn001bien01_01/
[xxix] As the Belgicist (and therefore, hardly a friend of Flanders) historian Henri Pirenne declared about Antwerp at this point in history: “Throughout the sixteenth century the Low Countries formed no more than its [Antwerp’s] suburbs.” Leon Voet, Antwerp, The Golden Age: The Rise and Glory of the Metropolis in the Sixteenth Century, (Antwerp: Mercatorsfonds, 1973), p.7.
[xxx] The introduction of the carriage to England was by Willem Boonen, who was also England’s first coachman – a role that thanks to books and movies appears to be a quintessentially English occupation. See John J. Murray, Flanders and England: The Influence of the Low Countries on Tudor-Stuart England, (Antwerp: Fonds Mercator, 1985), p. 156. Also, for a broader (albeit superficial) survey of the many contacts between the English and the Flemish see my posting of a speech by Professor Murray here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/02/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-7.html . “Mrs. Dingham van der Plasse, the daughter of a Flemish knight, introduced the art [of starching] into England; for the fee of five pounds sterling she was prepared to instruct English gentlewomen in the approved methods of getting up linen, and so greatly was her teaching prized that she soon amassed a considerable estate.” See W. Cunningham, Alien Immigrants to England, 2nd ed., (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1969), p.148 .
[xxxi] For Elizabeth’s fluency in Flemish please see http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/elizabeth/section1.html .
[xxxii] See my earlier post here for details on Queen Elizabeth I’s Flemish origins. http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/07/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-4.html
[xxxiii] An online list of the known nationalities of soldiers fighting for the United Provinces in the ranks shows not only Dutch, Flemish, English, French and Walloons, but also Spaniards, Italians, Germans and others. The online excel sheet tally is part of the “Vlaanderen” subsection of the Dutch online genealogical website. A List of all known and registered Flemings emigrating to the Netherlands before 1800 can be found here: http://www.ngv.nl/Vlamingen/homepage.php?site=NGV&frams=n&action=listkopregels&order=d
This is reflected in the nationalities of those resident in New Netherland. My own simple tally included Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Flemish, French, Italian, German, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Walloon and even Moroccans and Angolans (as well, of course, of Native Americans). Although my own work produced that range, the two scholarly monographs I am aware of on this subject cite a smaller range of nationalities. See for example, “Representative Pioneer Settlers of New Netherland” in The New York Genalogical and Biographical Journal, Volume 35 (January, 1934), pp.2-12. This gives only Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Flemish, German, Norwegian, and Walloon. Also, Oliver A. Rink, “The People of New Netherland: Notes on Non-English Immigration to New York in the Seventeenth Century” New York History, January, 1981, pp. 4-42 (which really delves into the professions, not so much the ethnicities of New Netherland’s population), and David Steven Cohen, “How Dutch Were the Dutch of New Netherland”, in New York History, January, 1981,pp. 43-60 (which attempts to determine the ethnicities of the inhabitants through the known backgrounds of West India Company military stationed in New Netherland). For the record, the second article claims only slightly more than 3% (31 individuals) of the known military were Flemish. For the record, my atlly of known individuals with distinct Flemish ethnicity in New Netherland at this time is more than 100.
[xxxiv]“The Spanish party [meaning government at Brussels and their Walloon collaborators] felt that nothing but fear of the garrisons kept the people in check, and every precaution had been taken. In all the most exposed towns [to attack by the Dutch-speaking rebels] – Thienen [Tirlemont], Leuven, Brussels, Mechlin [Mechelen] – [the Spanish Duke of] Alva had placed reliable governors, Walloon noblemen every one of them …all with Walloon troops.” Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, p.107
[xxxv] Geoffrey Parker, Spain and the Netherlands, 1559-1659: Ten Studies, (Glasgow: Fontana Collins, 1979), p.35
[xxxvi] For the record, even I recognize that not all good things come out of Flanders. Lumey was an excellent example of that. While a leader of the band that captured den Briel in 1572, “The Brill, under Lumey, became a veritable den of robbers.” Lumey tortured and massacred priests, robbed churches, and essentially acted more like a servant of Satan than of a Christian movement. After his arrest (January, 1573) and expulsion (1574) from the ranks of the “Beggars”, Lumey relocated to Germany – and returned to Roman Catholicism! See Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, pp. 126-129.
[xxxvii] For some reason, Professor Venema does not include in her biography Martin Van Gelderen. The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt,1555-1590, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). A quick review of this book might have helped add some coherence to this background section of her book.
[xxxviii] See Pieter Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands, 1555-1609, (London: Ernest Benn, 1932), 1966 reprint, pp. 145-160 for a concise yet fair discussion of the Pacification of Ghent.
[xxxix] R.C. Van Caenegem, Law, History, the Low Countries, and Europe (London: Hambledon Press,1994), p.114.
[xl]“The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clito came to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgement of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt.”
“William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably….The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.” See Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt, Introduction to Belgian Law, (Kluwer 2000) p.20, IV. “Belgium’s contribution to Law” My thanks to Professor Matthias Storme for this reference.
[xli] See Barbara Wolff (1998-06-29). “Was The Declaration of Independence Inspired by the Dutch?”, http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049 Accessed February 6, 2011. The implications of the Flemish interest in the rule of law and the rights of individuals against the arbitrariness of the State go back centuries. The tie between the Flemish struggle for independence for their rights in 1302 and the U.S.’ own struggle in 1776 is nicely overviewed here by the impressive polymath Dr. Paul Belien: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/58 For a quick overview of the Act of Abjuration, its authors and its importance, the Wikipedia summary is sufficient: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration
[xlii] The author was Jan van Asseliers, a native of Antwerp and the secretary for the Council of State (Raad van State) as well as the pension – see http://www.nationaalarchief.nl/webviews/page.webview?eadid=NL-HaNA_1.01.01.00&pageid=N1033E. “The committee of four who advised on the drafting was composed of four members – Andries Hessels, greffier (secretary) of the States of Brabant; Jacques Tayaert, pensionary of the city of Ghent; Jacob Valcke, pensionary of the city of Ter Goes (now Goes); and Pieter van Dieven (also known as Petrus Divaeus), pensionary of the city of Mechelen– was charged with drafting what was to become the Act of Abjuration. The Act prohibited the use of the name and seal of Philip in all legal matters, and of his name or arms in minting coins. It gave authority to the Councils of the provinces to henceforth issue the commissions of magistrates. The Act relieved all magistrates of their previous oaths of allegiance to Philip, and prescribed a new oath of allegiance to the States of the province in which they served, according to a form prescribed by the States-General. The actual draft seems to have been written by the audiencier of the States-General, Jan van Asseliers.”
A Dutch/English translation can be found here:
http://www.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1501-1600/plakkaat/plakkaat.htm .
[xliii] Again, amazing to me, there is no dedicated biography on Baudartius. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Baudartius. That said, some of Baudartius’ works can be downloaded here: http://libguides.calvin.edu/content.php?pid=47579&sid=663990
[xliv] Please see my earlier post to see scanned copies of Emanuel Van Meteren’s central work as well as the specific entries dealing with Henry Hudson’s famous landfall here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/12/flemish-influence-on-henry-hudson.html
[xlv] George Herbert Walker Bush (41st U.S. president ) and George W. Bush (43rd) are among two of the descendants of Willem Beeckman – and in turn, of course, of Willem Baudaert/Baudartius. See http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=BLELE_20100809_004 and especially Eddy Lefevre, “Amerikaanse president George W. Bush heft Deinse roots,” in het Nieuwsblad, February 7, 2008, downloaded February 6, 2011 http://nieuwsblad.typepad.com/deinze/2008/02/amerikaanse-pre.html .
[xlvi] The Wikipedia description of De Gheyn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_de_Gheyn_II ) does not reflect his true importance. For that I would recommend Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution: Millitary Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). p. 20.
[xlvii] A copy of the manual and its importance is explained here: http://www.kb.nl/galerie/stijl/047wapenhandelinge-en.html .
[xlviii] Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), p.20. The Wikipedia bio here gives one a sense of Lipsius’ importance to the age and the Dutch Revolt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justus_Lipsius
[xlix] Geoffrey Parker, "New Light on an Old Theme: Spain and the Netherlands 1550-1650." European History Quarterly 1985 15(2): 219-236; p. 226

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

Annetje Loockermans - Flemish Mother of America

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Today, March 17th, is the birthday of Annetje Loockermans. In her day (the 1640s to the 1680s), in Nieuw Nederland, she was the supreme arbiter of fashion, taste, and polite society. It is thanks to her that we today celebrate Christmas with the tradition of Santa Claus. But she was much more than simply a purveyor of popular customs or the colonial equivalent of Ms. Manners. Annetje Loockermans brought civilization to New Netherland. More importantly, she literally gave birth to the elite of America. As such she deserves first rank recognition as a Flemish Mother of America.



Turnhout and the Loockermans


Next year, 2012, the Flemish city of Turnhout celebrates 800 years of municipal existence. Plagued by wars, civil unrest and emigration, Turnhout has yet retained a history worth recording. Yet, despite all the hoopla attendant to its long existence, Turnhout strangely seems to have forgotten the contributions of some of its sons and daughters to the world stage. (Although the Knack Editor Karl Van Den Broeck is working to correct this.) One of those daughters, Annetje Loockermans, was the pre-eminent lady of New Netherland society from the 1640s until her death in 1684.


As Mrs. Van Cortlandt (she married an ex-enlisted soldier with that fine surname and made him a man of stature) Annetje Loockermans is credited with having brought the Netherlandic tradition of celebrating Sinter Klaas (Saint Nicholas) to America – and this at a time when the Puritans of New England had outlawed the celebration of Christmas. [1] More importantly, her North American offspring today literally number in the millions and include the elite of business, government and academia from the past four centuries. [2]


What do we know of this “Flemish Mother of America”?



Sint Pieterskerk in Turnhout where Anna Lokermans (Annetje Loockermans) was baptized a Catholic in 1618

New Netherland


Anna/Annetje was born March 17, 1618 and was baptized a Catholic in Sint-Pieterskerk in Turnhout. [3] At the time, many Flemish Protestants outwardly conformed to Roman Catholic Church practice while clandestinely observing some version of “reformed” Christianity. It is possible – given her family’s later prominence in the (Calvinist) Dutch Reformed Church in New Netherland (something not easy to attain [4] ) – that her family had long been crypto-Calvinists whose worship and beliefs were kept hidden from their neighbors and the authorities. [5]


Regardless of their Roman Catholic baptisms, her Flemish siblings and half-Flemish children would later become prominent members of the Dutch Reformed Church in the North American Dutch outpost called New Netherland. [6]





Like her brother Govert Loockermans, part of Annetje’s success must be attributed to her force of character. Later the strength of familial ties through her brother Govert’s wife, the noted and respected widow of Jan de Water [7] , Adriantje, (who was a niece of Gillis Verbrugge, head of the largest trading house in Amsterdam doing business in New Netherland and her brother’s boss) also helped. But in the end it was Annetje alone who carved herself a place as the leading lady of Nieuw Nederland.


It is uncertain when Annetje first came to America. My suspicion is that she joined her brother Govert Loockermans when he returned to New Netherland late in 1641. For it is not until she had married in 1642 that we begin to read about her in New Netherland chronicles.


Annetje’s husband was a rising merchant known as Oloff Van Cortlandt. Van Cortlandt was a first-generation Netherlander (his parents were Scandinavians), who had been a common WIC soldier for at least a few years before striking out as a “freeman” [someone who was neither employed by nor contractually tied to the West India Company]. Their first introduction may have come through Annetje’s brother Govert, who was a successful merchant, a fighting man, and of similar age (more about Govert to come in a future post).



By the early 1640s Van Cortlandt was a man destined for great things. “Oloff Stevensz van Cortlant" [8] had been [the] store-keeper for the Company and deacon of the church [but not until after marrying Annetje Loockermans in 1642]; later he was burgomaster of New Amsterdam.” [9] It is difficult to know how much of Van Cortlandt’s success can be attributed to Annetje. But perhaps like all good marriages, their strengths were complementary and the sum of the two was greater than individually they could have hoped to accomplish. [10]




But Annetje did not need a marriage to further her family connections. If anything she already had a strong network. Annetje’s brother, Govert’s wife’s sister (in other words, Annetje’s sister-in-law by marriage through her brother Govert) had married Jacob van Couwenhoven. [11]“Jacob van Couwenhoven had come out in 1633 [on the same ship as brother Govert's first voyage] and resided at first at Rensselaerswyck; he was afterward of note as a speculator and a brewer in New Amsterdam.” [12]


Incidentally, both Van Couwenhoven and Loockermans worked as agents for the Verbrugges. Nor were they alone. “Family ties linked most of these factors to their masters in Amsterdam. Johannes de Peijster, dispatched by the Verbrugges to New Netherland to assist Govert Loockermans, was described by Seth Verbrugge as ‘my wife’s uncle’s sister’s son, of good background’.” [13] So through Govert’s wife, Annetje was also connected to a powerful Amsterdam merchant family (of Flemish origin).




While Netherlandic society – and of course the norms of New Netherland itself – allowed a great deal more equality between the genders, at the end of the day 17th century colonial society did make gender distinctions. Later descendants, regardless of whether they echoed wishful beliefs or family lore, believed Annetje held first place among the women of New Netherland. “There was an unwritten law among the Dutch women, that some member of the family should be acknowledged as a leader, whose influence was unbounded and whose dictates were obeyed without question. The sister of Govert Loockermans [Annetje Loockermans] was one of these autocrats, and it was mainly due to her energy that her entire family emigrated to America.” [14]



For me at least, the documentary evidence of Annetje prodding Govert onto a privateering vessel to cross the Atlantic (or, even more unlikely, taking ship for New Amsterdam before Govert in 1633) does not exist. Still, Annetje was someone who at least among her descendants is remembered as a person who got things done. For example, Annetje Loockermans is credited by her myriad descendants as having been the driving force behind the first municipal improvements in New York City: the paving of the dirt streets with cobblestones. [15] Her descendants likewise credit her with other domestic innovations such as a space-saving folding bed. [16] Modest accomplishments to be sure but still indications of intelligence, drive and resourcefulness.



If snippets of information are any standard to go by, Annetje Van Cortlandt nee Loockermans was close to her half-Flemish daughter, Maria Van Rensselaer nee Van Cortlandt. Both were married to men considered two of the most powerful in New Netherland. Still, both women exerted influence in their own right as well as behind the scenes. It may very well be, as a late 19th century descendant claimed, that Annetje Loockermans and her peers “governed their husbands…” [17] However, if they did, they showed exceptionally strong wills: neither husband ever struck his contemporaries as 'hen-pecked' or weak-willed. While Annetje’s daughter Maria Van Rensselaer is worthy of a bio in her own right, together, mother and daughter were clearly a force to be reckoned with. Jointly they are anecdotally credited with helping to avert a bloodbath by convincing their husbands not to forward monies to a useless battle against the mercenaries and English freebooters who captured New Netherland in 1664. [18]






After Annetje


The documentary and historical trail left by Annetje Loockermans the person is sparse. But I think it is fair to say that Annetje Loockermans did more than act as a spur to her husband. Nor was she simply an ornament for polite society, a 17th century version of an Upper East Side socialite, or even an innovative pioneer woman (although she was all of those too).



One measure of any person’s mark in this world is how their children and grandchildren have fared in the world. Annetje Loockerman’s real legacy (to me at least) is the contribution her offspring have made to society and history. On that basis this Turnhoutse lass did quite well in fact. First, Anna’s female offspring married well.


First and foremost among Annetje’s female descendants in both accomplishments and affinity was her daughter Maria Van Courtlandt. The half-Flemish Maria married the equally part Flemish Jeremias Van Rensselaer, grandson of the patron of Rensselaerwijck. Their patroonship was in fact the only real feudal estate to survive the Revolutionary War (up until 1839). More importantly, Maria proved her mettle as a 27 year-old-widow, raising 6 young children on a huge estate, dealing with every aspect of the business while literally fighting off conniving relatives, hostile Indians, and French invasions. All this while crippled with a debilitating handicap. Truly a model of the “pioneer woman”. [19]


Margaret Kemble Gates, Great-grand-daughter of Annetje Loockermans and wife of the British General who started the American Revolutionary War by attacking Lexington & Concord in April, 1775



Later generations found equal prominence. Margaret Kemble (great grand-daughter) married General Thomas Gage (British general at the start of the Revolutionary War). Gage is best known perhaps as the British general who ordered the redcoats to march on Lexington and Concord, thereby triggering 'the shot heard around the world' and the opening of the American War of Independence. While choosing a losing side in a war is not much of an accomplishment. Sticking with someone whose fortunes have waned, “’Til death do us part” certainly is.



Elizabeth Schuyler 3rd great grand daughter of Annetje Loockermans and wife of Alexander Hamilton


The elegant and intelligent Elizabeth Schuyler (3rd great grand-daughter) married Alexander Hamilton (aide-de-camp to George Washington, Founding Father of the United States, 1st Secretary of the Treasury, etc.). As the bastard son of a distant relative, she might have easily rejected his proposal for marriage but weathered considerable societal criticism to marry the man. Elizabeth Schuyler not only ‘stuck by her man’ when he was illicitly meeting other women (including her sister) but when Aaron Burr’s dueling pistol felled her husband in 1804, she raised their eleven children alone.




Elizabeth’s contemporary, Harriet Livingston (3rd great grand-daughter) married Robert Fulton (inventor of the steam engine and protege of Benjamin Franklin), while not as well known, had perhaps a more tranquil life. But it was several generations before a family tradition known as Sinter Klaas (and today Santa Claus) was transmitted through several generations to the world.






Catherine Eliza Taylor (5th great grand-daughter) married Clement Clarke Moore (author of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”). Arguably one of the things Flemish women have given the world yet, with traditional Flemish modesty, avoiding acclaim for their contribution to world culture.




Last here (although by no means least in the line), Anna Livingston Street (6th great grand-daughter) married Levi Parsons Morton (22nd Vice President of the United States under Benjamin Harrison). Morton was also the Ambassador to France during the construction of the Statue of Liberty and drove in the first rivet. Of course at this level of remove it is hard to judge whether any generational memory of Annetje Loockermans remained. But this nicely ties back to my roots. The village of Morton Grove, IL, just a few miles south of where I live, is named after him. [20]





And what of the male line? Of Annetje Loockermans’ immediate male descendants, two deserve special notice. One son, Stephanus Van Cortlandt became the 1st native born mayor of New York City. A second son, Jacobus, followed Stephanus footsteps and became only the 2nd native born mayor of New York City.





In subsequent generations other remarkable men were born of her line. John Jay (2nd great-grandson - thru Jacobus' line - pictured above) negotiated the end of the Revolutionary War and became the 1st Chief Justice of the United States. James Fenimore Cooper (4th great-grandson), perhaps with some inkling of the contact his ancestors had with the Native Americans, was the author of a best-selling book of the American Frontier (and perhaps the first popular literature to portray Native Americans in a sympathetic light). The book was called “The Last of the Mohicans”. Another descendant of the same generation, Stephen Watts Kearney (4th great-grandson), became not only a hero of the Mexican War (1847-8) but also the liberator of California.




In the next generation another author surfaced. Herman Melville (5th great-grandson) became the author of “Moby Dick”. This book, like “The Last of the Mohicans”, was a “bestseller” of the 19th century and is considered a classic today. Three generations later, in a curious return to a trade dominant in New Netherland (furs) another descendant, John Jacob Astor (7th great-grandson) ran the American Fur Trading Company. Like his 7th great grand uncle Govert Loockermans, Astor turned his fur riches into landed wealth. One of the richest man in mid-19th century America (and the first multi-millionaire) his name remains a synonym for wealth.



Annetje’s descendants also pursued other paths. Montgomery Clift (8th great-grandson), a name largely unknown by today’s Generations X, Y, and Z was a leading man movie actor from the 1940s-1960s. Another descendant of that same generation was the globally known Cyrus Vance (8th great-grandson). As the Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter he sought peace in the Middle East.






The extended Loockermans family did not do too poorly either. In New Netherland Anna’s niece and namesake Anna Loockermans (Anna senior’s brother Pieter’s daughter) married Adam Winne (the son of Gentenaar Pieter Winne/Winnen – see my post on the Gentenaars of New Netherland). [21] Perhaps because of the unique combination of two Flemish ancestries (!), their offspring proved the most illustrious: Theodore Roosevelt (President of the United States - pictured above) and Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady of the United States and wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt).



Just as Annetje led New Netherland’s “society”, her brother, Govert Loockermans (1612-1671), was a leader in the political, economic and military circles of the colony. Govert Loockermans rose from very modest beginnings, attained great financial success, held numerous offices (civil, military, and religious), and died the richest man in New Netherland – if not of all of North America. [22] But his story is for a later post.




Anna Lokermans was born March 17th, 1618 in Turnhout. Annetje Loockermans was married February 26th, 1642 in New Amsterdam. Anna Van Courtlandt nee Annetje Lokermans/ Loockermans died April 4th, 1684 in New York City, surrounded by her family at the end of a life well lived. The fact that she and her husband passed away within months of each other underscores the close tie between them and the example of a married couple who became “one flesh”.



So if you visit New York City and pass a street, a train station, or a manor house with the Dutch name “Van Cortlandt”, remember that it was a woman from Turnhout who at made an equal if not greater contribution to the propagation of that family name and to the great fortune of America. My next post will bring us back to New Netherland and reconnect the Loockermans, the Mohawks, and the Flemish Protestant émigrés.




Endnotes


[1] See http://www.pilgrimhall.org/bradfordjournalchristmas.htm Downloaded March 17, 2011.



[2] See the excellent online outline of the descendants of Govert’s father, Jan Loockermans here: http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/printerready/science/geography_items/carters/craters_r.html December 10, 2010. This data was presumably culled from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.



[3] "In Turnhout worden de doopregisters bewaard van Godefridus Lokermans (2 juli 1612) en zijn zuster Anna (17 maart 1618), kinderen van Jacob Lokermans en Maria Nicasius. Ook hun broer Pieter (geboren 5 oktober 1614) liet sporen na in zijn geboorteplaats. In de Sint-Pieterskerk op de Grote Markt van Turnhout, waar Anna en Godfridus (De Latijnse naam Godefridus werd in het protestantse Noorden al snel Govert) gedoopt werden, rust nog steeds een van hun nazaten." E-mail correspondence from Karl Van Den Broeck dated October 10, 2010.



[4] Church membership was not something easily attained. “Those who were members [of the Dutch Reformed Church] upon their emigration to New Netherland, or when they removed within the colony, had to produce a certificate of membership from their previous congregation.” Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: a Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Leiden: Brill, 2005), p.290. Please note that this was a fairly elite group. “Although the Reformed Church was the public church [of New Netherland], its membership remained low at less than 20 percent of the [European] population.” Ibid, p.478. The total European population at 1664 has been variously estimated at between 9,000 and 10,000 individuals. Thus, less than 2,000 of the European inhabitants were members of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1664.



[5] Just for the record, whether the Loockermans were crypto-Calvinists while in Turnhout or simply converted later when in Amsterdam, practice of Roman Catholicism in the (northern) Netherlands would have proved difficult. To quote the eminent historian Charles Ralph Boxer: “For over a hundred and fifty years after the relative triumph of militant Calvinism at the Synod of Dordrecht [1618-1619], Roman Catholics could not legally worship in public or in private, nor could they belegally christened nor married by a Roman Catholic priest. They were forbidden to give their children a Roman Catholic education, or even to send them abroad for the purpose of receiving one there. The wearing of crucifixes, rosaries or Roman Catholic insignia of any kind, the buying and selling of Roman Catholic religious books, devotional literature, prints and engravings, the saying or reciting of Roman Catholic hymns and songs, the celebration of Roman Catholic feast-days and holidays, were all forbidden by law. No Roman Catholic could hold an official post, whether municipal, university, legal, naval or military. Unmarried Roman Catholic women were not allowed to make a will; and any bequest to a Roman Catholic foundation was held to be null and void in law. In most places, the children of mixed marriages had to be brought up as [p. 138] Protestants, and there were so many other vexatious legal hindrances in the way of practising the Roman Catholic faith that, if these penal laws had been properly enforced, the liberty of conscience which was grudgingly allowed to Roman Catholics would have been almost valueless by itself. In addition to all these civil disabilities from which the Dutch Roman Catholics suffered, they were for long regarded by many of their Protestant compatriots as being real or potential traitors – from 1568 to 1648 in the interests of Spain , and from 1648 to 1748 in that of France.” C.R. Boxer, The Dutch Seaborne Empire, 1600-1800, (London: Penguin Books, 1990), pp. 137-138.



[6] Although baptized Catholic in Turnhout, Loockermans must have had some affidavit of his Reformed Church credentials (and they must have been deemed legitimate.) since he was married in a Reformed Church in Amsterdam and later became a prominent member of the church in New Amsterdam (e.g. churchwarden from 1655-1656). Interestingly, from 1624 (the first WIC settlers in New Netherland) to 1664 (when New Netherland fell to the English) 13 Dutch Reformed Ministers – including the Fleming Samuel Drisius – served in New Netherland. Of course only a fraction of those at any time served concurrently – even though there were 11 churches in New Netherland in 1664. For the source of this information and further details behind this, please see “Gerald F. De Jong, “The Education and Training of Dutch Ministers”, pp. 9-16 in Charles T. Gehring & Nancy Anne McClure Zeller, Education in New Netherland and the Middle Colonies: Papers of the 7th Rensselaerswyck Seminar of the New Netherland Project, (Albany: New York State Library, 1985). Of course, this does not include the hidden Lutherans, Catholics, Quakers, and others who either followed their conscience in private or met secretly in home services. A list of the clergymen – Dutch Reformed, Independent, and including Jesuit missionaries to the Iroquois – can be found in E.B. O’Callaghan, The Register of New Netherland 1626 to 1674, (originally published at Albany, 1865; Genealogical Company reprint at Baltimore, 1998), pp. 118-122.



[7] “Jan de Water, had been active with his brothers Isaack and Jacob in the Arctic trade…[and his family was] among the financial backers to a Swedish colony on the Delaware River promoted by disillusioned Dutch West India Company director Samuel Blommaert….[but he] subsequently disappeared at sea during a hurricane, [as captain of] the Kalmar Nyckel, lead ship of the two vessels the Swedish South Sea Company sent to the Delaware in 1637.” David William Voorhees, “Family and Faction: The Dutch Roots of Colonial New York’s Factional Politics,” pp.129-147 in Martha Dickinson Shattuck,Explorers, Fortunes & Love Letters: A Window on New Netherland, (Albany: Mount Ida Press, 2009), p.132.



[8] The spellings of “Van Cortlant” are also variable. I will use the most common version: Van Courtlandt.



[9] J. Franklin Jameson, “The Representation of New Netherland, 1650,” in Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elibron Classics Reprint, 2005), pp.285-354; p. 290.


[10] “A common soldier in the employ of the West India Company [when he arrived in New Netherland circa 1637-1638], Oloff soon added the patronymic “Van Cortlandt” to his name and began a meteoric rise to a position of prominence in [p.4] the nascent colony. Starting his office-holding career as an inspector of tobacco in 1640, Oloff, some six years later, became a member of the short-lived legislative unit known as The Nine Men. Oloff filled many posts on the municipal and provincial levels between 1640 and his death in 1684. He did not forget his military past, because among his various capacities he served as a colonel in the Burghers’ Corps, or municipal militia, helped improve the fortifications of Fort Amsterdam, and became a commissioner of Indian affairs for the province. While performing these duties, he acquired one of the great fortunes in the colony through his brewery activities.” Jacob Judd, The Revolutionary War Memoir and Selected Correspondence of Philip Van Cortlandt, (Tarrytown: Sleepy Hollow, 1976), pp.3-4.


[11] This Van Couwenhoven may have been part of the same extended family from which sprung the Vancouver family – of which “Van Couwenhoven” is an Anglicized version. Please see my “Was George Vancouver Flemish” http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/01/was-george-vancouver-flemish.html


[12] J. Franklin Jameson, “The Representation of New Netherland, 1650,” in Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, (New York: Elibron Classics Reprint, 2005), pp.285-354; p. 290.


[13] Jaap Jacobs, New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America, (Leiden: Brill, 2005), p.70.


[14] Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer, The Goede Vrouw of Mana-ha-ta: At Home and In Society, 1609-1760, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898), pp, 23-24.


[15] “It will be interesting at this point to pause a moment and to take a hasty survey of New Amsterdam at this period. The town was clustered about the fort, which faced Bowling Green, and is now occupied by a row of trans-Atlantic steamship offices. The northern limit of the city was at Wall street, where a fence of wooden palisades stretched across the island from river to river. Two gates, one at Broadway, the other close to the East River, were the only means of egress. These gates were guarded by sentries and were closed every evening, precisely at nine o'clock. Seventeen streets traversed the settlement, but of these all but three were little crooked lanes, determined, in all likelihood, by cows, that had their own notions regarding the nature of thoroughfares. The principal path was Pearl street, which skirted the [p. 143] shore, (Water, Front and South streets, at this period being still under water). Broad street, a ditch, extending almost to the present Sub-treasury, was crossed by two bridges and in appearance was a reminder of the Water streets of Old Amsterdam. Broadway was the relic of an old Indian trail and was not of much importance. Its western side was a stretch of farm land and the east was occupied by small houses, tenanted by tailors, bakers and other small tradesmen. None of the roads were paved at this time. A few years later, Madame Van Courtlandt, wife of Oloff Van Courtlandt, the Brewer, a worthy dame of Old Holland, who abhorred dust, began a series of complaints that resulted in a pavement of cobble stones along the lane in which she lived. People came from far and near to see the great improvement and laughingly called it "the Stone Street," which name it still retains at the present day.” The Judaens Society Addresses, 1897-1899, (New York: The Judaean Society, 1899), pp. 142-143


[16] “The houses were built of yellow and black Dutch bricks, giving the place the appearance of a city of checker boards. The gable ends faced the street and the roofs showed a series of "crow-steps" leading up to the chimneys, thus enabling the "sweeps" to reach without trouble, their destination. There were no stoves in the town, but the open fire-places bordered with tiles containing biblical scenes, offered abundant comfort and genial warmth. No carpets adorned the rooms but the parlor floor was covered with a layer of sand in which the "Goede Vrow" [Annetje Loockermans] drew all sorts of fancy tracings, this being one of her proudest accomplishments. In the reception room, there was a closet, built into the wall which, on being opened, disclosed a shelf and bedding, that were always [p. 144] ready for the sudden guest. This, no doubt, was the prototype of our modern Yankee folding bed. The Judaens Society Addresses, 1897-1899, (New York: The Judaean Society, 1899), pp. 143-144.


[17] Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer, The Goede Vrouw of Mana-ha-ta: At Home and In Society, 1609-1760, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898), p.131


[18] Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer, The Goede Vrouw of Mana-ha-ta: At Home and In Society, 1609-1760, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898), pp.117-118.


[19] “Maria Van Cortlandt Van Rensselaer (July 20, 1645-January 24, 1688/89) was born in New Amsterdam. Her mother was “well-connected” and her father was wealthy. When she was only 17 [April 27, 1662], Maria married Jeremais Van Rensselaer and moved to his landed estate near Albany. In their ten-year marriage they had four sons and two daughters. In 1624 [sic – actually 1674], her husband died and Maria had to assume responsibility of running and managing gristmills and sawmills on the 24-mile square [actually it was 528 square miles – 24 miles by 24 miles] property. In addition she had to hire workers and pay all the bills. She succeeded in getting a clear title to the property after the English ousted the Dutch in 1673. She was harassed by male family members who wanted to take over her land and business, but she prevailed. In 1685, a settlement was reached and she remained in charge of her estate as well as securing it for her children. Maria Van Rensselaer died at age 43. She had gained for her children the richest land patent in the colony. Marriages of her children created alliances with other important clans and established one of the most important families of early New York. She is an early model of a widow learning business skills to secure a future for her children.” The author of this piece somehow missed the fact that she suffered from a debilitating handicap that made it difficult for her to walk and confined her to bed for long periods on top of all the above. See http://www.nwhp.org/resourcecenter/pathbreakers.php downloaded March 17, 2011.


[20] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_P._Morton


[21] Please see my earlier post on the Gentenaars of New Netherland here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/07/gentenaars-of-nieuw-nederland.html


[22] The exact amount of his wealth varies dramatically. “Gouvert Loockermans died in 1670, reputed the richest individual in North America. He was worth 520,000 Dutch guilders, an immense sum for the period in which he lived.” See the Biographical and Genealogical History of the State of Delaware, Volume 1, (Chambersburg, PA: J.M. Runk & Co., 1899), p. 93. More recently: “Merchant Govert Loockermans from Turnhout, Antwerp Province (Belgium), whose 52,702-guilder estate at the time of his death in 1671 made him New York’s wealthiest merchant.” David William Voorhees, “Family and Faction: The Dutch Roots of Colonial New York’s Factional Politics,” pp.129-147 in Martha Dickinson Shattuck, Explorers, Fortunes & Love Letters: A Window on New Netherland, (Albany: Mount Ida Press, 2009), p.131.


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

The Flemish Founding of the W.I.C. (Dutch West India Company) - Part 1

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With this post I hope to re-ignite my discussions about the Flemish involvement with the American Pilgrims. For those unfamiliar with those postings #1,#2,#3,#4,#5,and #6, can be accessed by clicking on the relevant #. In that sense, this might be viewed as #7 of the “Flemish Influence on the American Pilgrims” series.

Permit me then, Gentle Reader, to offer you evidence of the involvement of the Flemish in the establishment of the W.I.C. Obliquely, I will also illustrate through this the West-Indische Compagnie’s importance to the Discovery and Settlement of America. Part 2 of this monograph will post under the date July 1st. Later, in a subsequent post, I intend to detail the heavy Flemish involvement through the W.I.C. in Nieuw Netherland itself.


Background

While the W.I.C. was chartered in 1621, its origins stretch back half a century to a place broadly called “The Low Countries” (Flanders and the Netherlands) and to the time of the Protestant Reformation.[i] To understand the story of the W.I.C. we need to recap the historical context.[ii]

The roots of the West India Company began amidst the confusion of civil disorder and religious strife. In 1566 a revolt broke out in a village in western Flanders.[iii] It began with Dutch-speaking Protestant youth smashing statuary, burning Roman Catholic missals, and roughing up clergy.[iv] It spread east and north throughout the Low Countries: a volatile mix of hooliganism[v], Calvinism and nationalism.[vi]

Since the sovereign ruler of what we now know as Benelux and northern France was the Spanish king, Phillip II, it was inevitable that Spanish troops were ultimately brought in to restore order. While initially successful, the presence of a foreign standing army, the imposition of additional taxes to absorb the cost, and the underlying friction between counter-reformation Catholics and hard-core Calvinists doomed the region to almost exactly 80 years (1567-1648) of ruthless warfare.[vii]

For the first thirty or so years (i.e., until the 1590s) the Dutch-speaking Protestants had the worst of it. At least 175,000 fled the rich cities of Flanders.[viii] Some went to Protestant port cities (like Rouen and La Rochelle) in France; many more onto Reformation England and Protestant Germany (especially Cologne).[ix] Many exiles likely viewed their departure as a temporary measure.

Of course not every Calvinist, Lutheran and Anabaptist left Flanders at this time. Many went underground and outwardly accepted Catholic practices while secretly professing something else.[x] For those who remained behind, external funding (from Protestant rulers and the Dutch-speaking diaspora)[xi] and a steady stream of illicit returnees enabled them to continue as fighters. These men first launched guerilla-style raids on the Flemish coast (from piratical lairs across the Channel in England) and ultimately seized control of coastal enclaves.[xii] As Dutch-speaking territory was liberated from Spanish control, Flemish Calvinists in England and Germany followed the military advance by resettling in these more familiar environments.[xiii]

The overseas Flemings, many of whom were hardened by Calvinist conviction[xiv], privation, and certainly exile, were not content to remain in “liberated” cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, and Middleburg.[xv] Rather, they were impatient to reclaim their lost homes in the South Netherlands (modern-day Belgium and northern France). Moreover, because of their unwavering belief in the justness of their cause, this war assumed the status of what today we might call a “jihad”. Any opposition posed to the Flemish Calvinists’ objectives was perceived as resistance to God’s Will. As a prominent Dutch historian remarked, “The value of Calvin’s teaching in the Low Countries, among a population long unhappy under foreign domination, lay in the fact that it sanctioned all human action.”[xvi]


The Role of Antwerp

At the center of many of these historical developments was the city of Antwerp.[xvii]“Antwerp was truly the leading [European] city in almost all things [in the 1500s], but in commerce it headed all the cities of the world,” as the Italian contemporary historian (and 16th century Antwerp resident) Gucciardini observed.[xviii] Antwerp was the center of the printing industry[xix] and was also the most important bourse and capital market in Europe (and thus the world at that time).[xx] It was here that everything from West African gold to North American beaver pelts, from spices from the East to copper from Hungary and textiles from Flanders was brought to market. In short, “Antwerp’s economy was an important, and sometimes even the principal, artery of the whole European economy.”[xxi]

Antwerp, “held a position such as [has] never been held before or since by any other town…this cosmopolitan city controlled exclusively the money market of the known world, and the whole varied interchange of goods and wealth. Every nation had its concessions within its walls, every important loan in Europe was negotiated here.”[xxii] It was in 16th century Antwerp that the Fugger family made their fortunes in trading world commodities – reputedly at 50% net profits over the course of fifteen years.[xxiii] It was in Antwerp too that the Portuguese king sold the spices that his ships brought back from India with a return of more than 50x.[xxiv] It was a place where cultures mingled, fortunes were made, and ideas allowed to percolate. In other words, sixteenth-century Antwerp was the New York City of its day.

Within the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, Antwerp’s position was also pre-eminent. The Belgicist historian Henri Pirenne (no fan of things from Flanders and Brabant) observed that “’The Netherlands, are the suburb of Antwerp’”.[xxv] While the rest of the world is “its [Antwerp’s] periphery.”[xxvi]Flanders and Brabant were urbanized and prosperous; the rest of the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands (at this time) were, by comparison, backwaters.[xxvii] Innovations and connections for the entire “Low Countries” [modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg and northern France] radiated out from this critical hub; resources – whether people or materiel – were pulled to its marketplaces.


Antwerp’s Émigrés

Despite their attachment to material success, the Flemish did not neglect the spiritual. As suggested above, during the first decade of the “Dutch Revolt” the impetus for the movement came out of Flanders and Brabant. Such momentum for the Revolt quickly concentrated in the primary cities: Gent, Brugge, and Antwerp. Of these cities, in the fight against Spain, Antwerp was the most important.

After a confusing series of twists (which are not central to our story) religious and linguistic divisions among the inhabitants of the Low Countries assisted the Spanish military’s reconquest of their wealthiest dominion. From the late 1570s the Spanish reduction of Flanders proceeded with steady success. Town after town fell. Up until the mid/late 1580s, the “final redoubt” of the “Dutch Revolt” was Antwerp.[xxviii] It was here that the Prince of Orange for a time made his headquarters and it was at Antwerp that the Prince’s spymaster, Philip Marnix, a native of Brussels, ruled until 1585 as Antwerp’s Burgemeester (mayor).[xxix]

In 1585 the Spanish armies finally stormed and took Antwerp after a three year siege. Resident merchants – Protestant as well as Catholic – sought safer refuge. Some families again went back to southeastern England, coastal France or western Germany (especially Cologne). Many more – sometimes via a circuitous path – left for the pockets of liberated territory in the “North.” They swarmed cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem, Middleburg, and Leiden. In some places the Flemish and Brabander “exodus” swamped the locally-born population, altering customs and dialects.[xxx]

But these exiles were not (for the most part) impoverished illiterates. They were, by and large, as one historian called them, “men of the greatest distinction in their chosen fields.”[xxxi] They retained their influence while in exile. “The [Flemish] exiles were very numerous and enterprising. An astonishingly large number of the men eminent in this generation in Holland and Zealand came thither from the southern provinces. [Cornelis] Aerssens, the secretary of the States General, his son [Frans], the ambassador at Paris[xxxii], [Francois] Caron the ambassador in England, [Nicasius] de Sille the pensionary of Amsterdam[xxxiii], Justus Lipsius[xxxiv], [Franciscus] Gomarus the leader of the [Calvinist] orthodox, [Petrus] Plancius the geographer, [Emanuel] van Meteren [xxxv] the historian [and Dutch Consul at London], Judocus and Hendrik Hondius the engravers, Balthazar de Moucheron, Isaac and Jacob Le Maire, [Samuel] Godyn [and Samuel Blommaert] and [Johannes] de Laet – all these were natives of the region now called Belgium.”[xxxvi] By no means is this list exhaustive: it is only a sampling of a few of the prominent men of the “Dutch Golden Age” who came from Flanders.

Regardless of their numbers or the fact that they kept status in the North, it still was not home. These Flemish Protestant exiles wanted their ancestral homes back and they would not rest until they had made that happen. Pre-empting Douglas MacArthur nearly 400 years later (“I shall return!”), Philip Marnix, the Brussels-born former Burgemeester of Antwerp and a close confidant of Prince William of Orange, offered a plaintive vow to those in Spanish-occupied Flanders and Brabant before he died in 1598: “Hoe cond ik U mijn broeders oyt vergheten?” [How could I forget you, My Brothers?].[xxxvii] As one historian observed: “In 1600…the hope of recapturing Flanders still lingered in the hearts of her refugees.”[xxxviii]

From Antwerp to Amsterdam

As we have seen, up until 1585, Antwerp was the pre-eminent city in not only Flanders but also the Netherlands. Up until 1585 80% of all exports from the entire Netherlands shipped through Antwerp.[xxxix]With the destruction and reduction of not only Antwerp but the rest of Flanders, artisans and merchants were forced to flee. It was not logical for these Antwerp merchants to chose Amsterdam: it had neither the best harbor (poorly accessible) nor industry, nor surplus capital.[xl] However, those same features made the city physically defensible and hospitable to those who brought industry, connections and capital.

In the years after 1585, Amsterdam experienced a “huge influx of young merchants and entrepreneurs” from Antwerp.[xli]This influx included young merchant-entrepeneurémigrés from such prominent Antwerp families as the Bartholotti, Coymans, Godijn, Van Os, Sautijn, de Schot, and de Vogelaer. These families (and other less prominent families from the South) converted Amsterdam from a place notable only for buying wainscoting in the 1560s[xlii] to the dominant center for shipping, commodities and capital by the early 1600s.[xliii] All these families came to play a significant role in overseas trade – especially through the V.O.C. (established in 1602).

The V.O.C.– Vereinigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Company – “served as a model for the establishment of [trading] companies in other countries”, which underscores its importance to history.[xliv] By the time of the founding of the W.I.C. in 1621, they had not only turned the V.O.C. into one of the most profitable companies in history[xlv], they had become the merchant-elite of Amsterdam.[xlvi] As such, these émigré merchants of Antwerp played a dominant role in the Discovery and Settlement of America.


The influx of Antwerp merchant-entrepeneuers, had a profound impact on Amsterdam and its relations with the outside world. The Flemish émigrés’ capital and connections, enabled Amsterdam, by the end of the 16th century, to dominate not only culture, language and customs, but also overseas trade and diplomacy for the entire Dutch Republic.[xlvii] In the words of the 19th century U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. (and trailblazing Henry Hudson scholar), Henry Cruse Murphy, “A large portion of this new impulse [for foreign trade and exploration by the “Dutch”] was due to that element of the population which had emigrated from Antwerp and other commercial and trading cities of the Spanish Netherlands, refugees for conscience sake; to whom,

indeed, much more of the maritime greatness and prosperity of the United Provinces are to be attributed than has generally been conceded.”[xlviii]

Surprisingly, despite the influx, ‘Zuidnederlanders’ were only 11% of the merchants in Amsterdam in 1585. But by 1610 were fully 1/3 of all Amsterdam merchants. By 1630 that percentage had slipped back so that only 1/5 of all Amsterdam merchants could be identified as ‘Zuidnederlanders’.[xlix] Nevertheless, the Flemish émigrés remained a potent component in Amsterdam well into the remainder of the Dutch Republic’s “Golden Century”.


The “Originator” of the West India Company

One of these Flemish merchant-entrepeneur émigrés became the “Originator” of the W.I.C. His name was Willem Usselinckx. According to Emanuel Van Meteren (a confidant of William, the Prince of Orange[l]), and like Usselinckx, a fellow Protestant refugee from Antwerp, Willem Usselinckx was “a man well informed of trade and conditions in the West Indies.”[li]

That knowledge of Iberian America and the sources of its wealth there were to become a cornerstone of the founding of the W.I.C. Johannes de Laet,[lii] an Antwerpenaar and the unofficial historian of the W.I.C., began his 1644 edition of the Jaerlijck Verhael, with a rationale for the existence of the Company. In his words, the King of Spain (Philip II until 1598 and his successors thereafter), was the greatest power in Christendom and indeed the whole world. Yet he had set the power and might of this kingdom – derived from the wealth of the Americas – against the United Provinces of the Netherlands (by which he meant modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands). De Laet concludes his opening address by stating that, “the entire world knows the great amounts of gold and silver carted out [of America] yearly.”[liii] Ergo, steal the Spanish king’s gold and silver treasure fleets and one can cripple his ability to make war against the Dutch-speaking peoples.

Willem Usselinckx had an idea, a vision. His concept was rooted in experience and offered a solution that might defeat the Spain and eject her armies from Flanders. “According to the plan [that Willem Usselinckx devised], the Dutch [speaking] colonists [in America] would convert the Indians to Calvinism, arm them,….and initiate them in[to] the techniques of modern warfare.”[liv]

Usselinckx first got the idea of establishing the W.I.C. when he as a young factor (merchant) in the Azores, Portugal, and Spain. More importantly, since the Azores were a “service depot” for Spain’s returning treasure fleet from the Americas, Usselinckx observed the paths of the Spanish treasure galleons and watched them unload chests of sugar, bullion, and slaves at Spain’s port in Seville.[lv] Chock full of gold and silver extracted at great human cost from the mines at Potosi, Peru and in Mexico, it was not difficult for a fervent Calvinist like Usselinckx to see that the Achilles heel of his homeland’s “erf-viand” (arch-enemy), Roman Catholic Spain, was the shipment of bullion across these vast, open seas in large, unwieldy Spanish galleons.

When Willem Usselinckx finally did return to the Netherlands, in about 1591, he was a very rich man.[lvi] He was also described as a man who was, “Intelligent and well-spoken… a devout Calvinist and hater of the Spanish monarchy” whose life-long obsession was to undermine the Spanish position in the Americas.[lvii] These attributes enabled Usselinckx to be taken seriously by other, unyielding Protestants from Flanders such as Petrus Plancius. It was at this time [the early 1590s] that Usselinckx first began advocating for a West India Company.[lviii] But while Usselinckx had the vision, the passion, and the energy, he needed the assistance of others to make this vision a reality.

One of those able to take this vision to the next level was Petrus Plancius. Plancius, a native of Dranoutre (near Ieper/Ypres in West Flanders), was a fiery theologian whose beliefs are best described as ‘old school’ Calvinist. Plancius was also a well-respected cartographer with practical experience as an investor in trading voyages to Africa and Asia. Plancius later became an investor in the V.O.C. (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie – the“Dutch” East India Company)and, until his death in 1616, supplied all of the charts and maps used by the V.O.C. In this capacity Plancius supplied the charts that Henry Hudson used to sail to New York in 1609.[lix] But most importantly for our story here, Plancius came to know Willem Usselinckx early – certainly no later than 1600[lx]– and believed in Usselinckx’ vision.

The Role of Radical Calvinism

Besides his cartographic knowledge and his adherence to Usselinckx’ plan for a West India Company, Petrus Plancius brought other attributes to the table. Plancius was a well-respected theologian at a time when theologians of the right stripe mattered. He had also invested in and made money from far-reaching trading voyages.[lxi] Critically for this story he also was well connected to other influential men in the Dutch Republic. One of these influential men was the Councilor of the High Court, Francois Franeken. The scholar and jusrist believed in this project and sought to promote it at the highest levels. Franeken “saw in a West India Company an excellent tool with which to fight Spain in the New World.”[lxii]Collectively these men, and other Flemish Calvinists like them, saw a win-win scenario. The establishment of a W.I.C. could offer a chance for the United Provinces to reclaim Flanders from Spain, end the war, achieve great wealth, and spread the gospel according to Calvin.

However, not everyone believed in the mission to recover Flanders from the Spanish and spread the war to new territories. Often, those who did not believe in this were humanist Protestants. They also tended to not be exiles, rather they came from among the residual landed elites of Holland and other northern Netherlands provinces. As a Dutch historian put it, they were “humanistic Calvinist[s]…too lukewarm to be martyrs, too honest to be hypocrites.”[lxiii]

This segment of society, because they had at one time printed a “Remonstrance” against the predestination theology of the Flemish refugees, were called “Remonstrants”.[lxiv] Their opponents, dominated by the émigré merchant-entrepeneurs overwhelmingly from Antwerp, were naturally called “Counter-Remonstrants”.Since as one historian points out, “the W.I.C. was the creation of the Counter-Remonstrants,” it is important that we understand the religious issues.[lxv]

At the risk of overly simplifying a complicated theological debate, the Remonstrants were Dutch humanists[lxvi] who believed that every person had free will. One's salvation was a matter of making the right choices, so an individual could either accept or reject God’s offer of salvation. The Counter-Remonstrants, on the other hand, that God’s omniscience cannot be limited. Since He knows all things and stands outside history (as it were) He already knows who the chosen few are. In other words, history unfolds as part of His plan, and those granted salvation was known by Him since before time. A concept many refer to as “Predestinantion”.

The debate between these two groups of Protestant theologians spilled over from the academic to the political. Generally speaking, those theologians who believed in free will (the Remonstrants or “Arminians” – after the Remonstrants’ Dutch leader) became closely identified with the “peace party” in politics. They saw more value in trade and accommodation with Spain than in unrelenting warfare. Their most prominent political supporter was Johannes Oldenbarnevelt.

The Counter-Remonstrants (or “Gomarists”, after their West Flemish leader, Franciscus Gomarus), became strongly identified in Dutch Republic politics with the “war party”. Their most prominent national advocate (besides Gomarus himself) was the son of the Prince of Orange, the Stadhouder Maurice, Captain-General of the army.

Both Arminians and Gomarists believed that these tensions between the two theological camps could only be resolved through a conclave of leading Protestant theologians. The Arminians began calling for a synod in 1610 which finally convened for six months in 1618-1619 at Dordrecht. While officially theological in nature, it was presided over by the United Provinces’ ruling body, the States General. Flemish attendees included the enterprising polymath Johannes De Laet of Antwerp as well as the relentless Petrus Plancius.

There were several important outcomes of the Synod. First, the Contra-Remonstrants under the Bruggeling Franciscus Gomarus were victorious. The Arminians were chased from pulpits in the Netherlands and scattered. The Gomarists’ interpretation of Scripture (making Predestination a central pillar of the Dutch Reformed Church) was deemed the correct one (and is today generally called the Belgic Confession). Second, a committee of 6 Hebrew/Greek scholars – three for the Old Testament and three for the New Testament – was appointed to preside over a new translation of the Bible (to correct what were perceived to be the Lutheran tilt of the first Dutch-language Bible printed at Antwerp in 1526).

This new Bible was to be the standard for the Dutch Reformed Church until the 20th century. At least half of these scholars – William Baudartius of Deinze, and Gerson Bucerus on the Old Testament; and the Gentenaar Antonius De Waele on the New Testament – were Flemings.[lxvii]Overseeing the entire effort were two others whom today we would call Flemings: The Antwerpenaar Anthonius Thysius and the Bruggeling Hermannus Faukelius[lxviii]. Later editing and revisions of these initial translators was tightly controlled by Franciscus Gomarus. Gomarus’ Contra-Remonstrant team included Gomarus, Thysius, Sebastian Damman of Antwerp and the sons of two Flemish immigrants: Joos Larenus (=Van Laren), and Johannes Polyander van Kerckhoven.[lxix] The Bible translation and editing project consumed the attention of these scholars until 1635. Upon completion, half a million Bibles were printed and disseminated throughout the Netherlands and its overseas settlements – including New Netherland of course.

Protestant Christian theology was not the only area impacted by the Flemings who controlled the Synod of Dordrecht. The political implications of the Synod were far-reaching too. The Arminians’ loss of influence in the theological debate was matched by the Peace-Party’s loss of political power. The Synod concluded May 9, 1619. Four days later (May 13th) Johannes Oldenbarnevelt, the Pensionary of Holland who in the interests of the 12 Year Truce with Spain (1609-1621) had quashed efforts in 1606-1609 to set up the W.I.C., was beheaded.[lxx]

The way was now open for the Republic to resume a war footing. And, as part of that effort, a quasi-military company was needed that would take the fight to Spain’s rich New World settlements. In the words of one historian of the W.I.C.: “The establishment of the [Dutch] West India Company resulted from a mixture of political and economic objectives, but its development was determined chiefly by political events and motives.”[lxxi]

Please see Part 2 of the Flemish Founding of the W.I.C. here.


Endnotes

[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), 1st 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), 2nd 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 16th 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 16th 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, 15th-18th 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, 15th-18th 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), 2nd 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), 2nd 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 17th 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 17th 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 17th 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 20th 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 1st cousin Abraham Ortelius (March 15, 1576 in Antwerp and April 13, 1577 in London), Daniel Rogers another 1st 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.

[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., 1st 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.

The Flemish Founding of the Dutch West India Company - Part 2

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In my earlier post we reviewed the historical conditions that explained Antwerp’s pre-eminence in business, finance and trade in the 16th century. Next, we looked at the exodus of Zuidnederlanders – Southern Netherlanders, of whom the Dutch-speaking Flemings and Brabanders predominated – from Antwerp, especially to Amsterdam.We then reviewed the heavy Flemish involvement in and influence upon religious orientation in the Netherlands. Because one’s religious stance was strongly correlated with one’s political stance, we showed how the interconnectivity between the Flemings and the Contra-Remonstrants created an environment conducive to the establishment of the “Dutch” West India Company – the W.I.C.

In this post I will attempt to highlight another tranche of the many Flemish contributions to the founding of the Dutch West India Company, aka, the W.I.C.


Fish and Furs
The founding of the Dutch West India Company (the “W.I.C.” in Dutch) in 1621 follows a direct chain of events back to Henry Hudson. But Henry Hudson’s 1609 “discovery” of the river valley that bears his name, while important, was hardly the first time Flemings (or others, for that matter) had sailed to the North American coast. The Vikings of course had made it perhaps as far south as Cape Cod or even Rhode Island around the year 1000.[i] Flemish “mijts” – the small denomination copper coins the Bible calls “mites” in English[ii]– have been found by the 10s of 1000s near Concepcion Bay in Newfoundland[iii]. These coins were minted in the late 1300s to mid-1400s. So it is eminently feasible that Flemish fishermen made it to Newfoundland more than 100 years before Hudson reached the North American coast.[iv] But as I will show below, we do not need to look that far into the past to find Henry Hudson's Flemish predecessors along the North Atlantic coast.

The drivers of these Flemish predecessors were fish and fur. In fact, among other motives, the push to the North American coast by pre-Hudson Flemings was to meet an insatiable, commercial demand for fish. The twin pressures of religiously-mandated fasts (where fish but not meat could be consumed) and a rising population in Europe, could only find relief through increased fish supplies.[v] Because refrigeration was non-existent and salting was not always possible, the cod (pictured above) which is not an oily fish, and hence can be air-dried[vi], was ideal. Of course, as cod fish stocks close to Europe’s coasts were depleted, fishermen were forced to sail deeper into the North Atlantic for good catches.[vii] Since cod prefer shallow water – they are commonly found at depths of 20 fathoms (120 feet) or less[viii]– where one finds cod, one is likely not far from a shoreline.



Nor was it a matter of guesswork to find the cod: in modern times cod have been tracked migrating from the North Sea near the Flemish and Dutch coast direct to Newfoundland (aka, "Terra Nova" as pictured above) .[ix]Following schools of migrating fish is one thing but it helps to know where one is going. Flemish innovations in fishing, navigation and shipbuilding (e.g., the “Flemish Buss”[x] enabled fish to be dried on board) made such journeys across the North Atlantic possible. As one very prominent Dutch historian has stated, “the Dutch had no knowledge of the techniques of cod fishing off Newfoundland and no shore rights to dry their fish.”[xi] But merchants at Antwerp and along the Flemish coast from Oostende south to Gravélines and Dunkirk did.[xii]
Flemish fishermen had perfected the technology of preserving fish first.[xiii] Flemish fishermen – often from the diaspora, such as the “Flemish Isles” (i.e., the Azores) – utilized these advance-
ments to efficiently catch codfish.



Once caught, the cod were gutted and dried. Initially this was done at beachcomber camps but it could also be accomplished from the deck of a Flemish buss.[xiv] The fishermen who sailed to and from Newfoundland – as Columbus learned firsthand – utilized a “Flemish needle”[xv] (compass) and a “compass rose” (whose wind directions were, even for the Spaniards and Portuguese, printed in Flemish).[xvi] In short through direct experience and the application of this experience to solutions Flemings solved important problems for trans-Atlantic explorers.



Even with the application of the innovative tools the Flemings developed, fishing expeditions were costly and risky. Crews were compelled then to engage in part-time whaling and trading in order to make the voyages profitable. Whaling, of course, was done while seaborne. The trading, on the other hand, started while the fishermen were drying cod on coastal flats: the fishermen then engaged in petty trade (personal items) with the aboriginals they encountered. Over time, this became an important supplement to the uncertain results fishing yielded. The attractiveness, on the one hand, of European manufactured goods (axes, knives, utensils) to aboriginals was matched by the European hatters’ need for inexpensive furs – especially beaver pelts[xvii]– that Native Americans had access to. By the late 1500s, each side found great value in this exchange.[xviii] That there was a value proposition attractive to both sides hastened the arrival of Europeans to North America.




The French (Canadian) Connection
The innovations that made trans-Atlantic fishing economically possible were also those that made trans- Atlantic seafaring possible. Noted Amsterdam archivist/historian Simon Hart has shown that in the years immediately prior to Henry Hudson’s “discovery” of the Hudson Valley area, ships owned by Flemish émigrés were sailing, trading, fishing, and fighting up and down the North American coast. To offer but one documented case: the Antwerp émigrés Balthazar de Moucheron (about whom more later) and Cornelis Meunicx sent at least one ship “for the fishery near Terra Nova [Newfoundland]” in March, 1597.[xix] Others certainly preceded and more definitely followed. Most likely de Moucheron sought to secure cod to sell at Bristol, La Rochelle (where he had
family), and of course Amsterdam.


It is important to note, as just suggested with de Moucheron of Antwerp, that Flemish émigrés had long nourished a network of contacts in ports around the Atlantic littoral. The Flemish Protestant-led maritime warfare conducted by the Sea-Beggars against the Spanish under Admiral Dolhain actually used La Rochelle as one base of operations as early as 1569.[xx] Until the Catholic French forces under Cardinal Richelieu took the city in 1628, it remained a bastion of Flemish Protestants, but more so as a trading entrepot than as a scene of military action. As a trading entrepot, it was linked to other Flemish émigré communities in English, German, French, and of course Dutch coastal cities.

One Canadian historian has called this string of contacts in Atlantic ports the ‘Protestant International’. Linked closely by similar religious convictions, driven by a fury at a common enemy, and united by blood and marriage ties, these Flemish émigré families formed a vast trading network. “A cosmopolitan society of shipping merchants, a ‘Protestant International’, already existed at the time Quebec was founded in 1608, indeed much earlier.”[xxi]

The ‘Protestant International’ in France was heavily infiltrated by Flemish Protestant émigrés at La Rochelle and Rouen[xxii]. Flemish merchants ran their own enclaves within these French coastal towns called “cantons des Flamands”[xxiii] as they had done since the Middle Ages.[xxiv] Logically, then, when local troubles compelled Antwerp’s merchants to flee, they sought refuge with their relations in ports where they could continue – with as little disruption as possible – the trade they had carried on from Antwerp.


Several of the Flemish families that later became prominent in New Netherland and America – the De Peysters from Gent[xxv] Gouverneurs from Hondschotte[xxvi], and the Van Sevenhovens from Antwerp[xxvii], to name just a few prominent examples – set up as merchants in French coastal towns such as La Rochelle, Rouen, and St. Malo. It is no accident that these towns, heavily connected to French trade with North America, should trigger one aspect of the wave of Flemish involvement in the discovery and settlement of North America.

Of course when these merchants re-established themselves they retained many of their previous habits. Antwerp merchants exploited an elastic, multi-city trade: from Amsterdam to Plymouth, England, down to Portugal or the Flemish (Azores) Isles[xxviii], over to the Caribbean and up to Newfoundland and then back (sometimes with an intermediate port call at Bristol) home.[xxix] As émigrés the Flemish merchants attempted much the same circuit (minus of course Antwerp). Each year, in competition with those around them, they sought better sources of goods and better markets. Moreover, these émigré merchants often did not have direct access to those in power (who usually awarded geographic monopolies. Thus to earn a living they must The notarial record, while spotty, suggests many illicit voyages were conducted each year. “The posts being established in the new French colonies were linked in trade with the Protestant Dutch and English and with various European cities.”[xxx]

Several factors accelerated the expansion of the Flemish column within the ‘Protestant International’. As arcane as it may seem, fashion was one of these factors. Paris even then set the pace for modish dress in the Western world and in the second half of the 16th century there was an increasing push toward felt hats (made from treated fur) for men. Siberian furs, supplied by Flemish expatriate merchants like Olivier Bruneel from Narva, were shipped through Antwerp.[xxxi] The furs were sufficiently inexpensive to generate profits along the supply chain and feed the rising demand for men’s felt hats in western Europe.[xxxii]

However, several political events interrupted this flow of furs. First, in 1580, Narva, the gathering point of Siberian furs, fell to the Swedes who cut off access to this portal for these inexpensive pelts.[xxxiii] Second, and exacerbating the first, Antwerp, the primary European marketplace for all goods (including of course the Siberian fur market for west European buyers) was under nearly constant attack from 1578 until 1585, when it captured by Spain. France at the time was also at war with Spain. Parisian hatters, then, faced a difficulty in not only accessing the emporium where these furs normally could be bought (Antwerp), they also faced a serious problem of access to the Russian hinterland from which came those Siberian furs.[xxxiv] Logically, then, after Antwerp fell in 1585, Flemish Protestants in neighboring diasporas “began to reach out to North America and to take French ports into [their] orbit.”[xxxv]

The process of integrating Flemish trading networks with links between France and New France began long before either Narva or Antwerp fell in the 1580s. Flemish Protestants, such as the West Fleming Adriaen van Bergues, had combined trade and piracy from French and English seaports at least as early as the 1560s. Van Bergues himself used Sandwich, England as his primary base but would make regular runs to La Rochelle, where later even the mayor, Jean Guiton, had Flemish relatives.[xxxvi] By 1568 van Bergues was leading the watergeuzen (Sea Beggars) as an admiral on behalf of the Prince of Orange.[xxxvii] Nor was this a simple bilateral situation. No later than the following year (1569), the Antwerp native Jean van Resteau, while resident in Cologne, was making regular visits to La Rochelle for trade.[xxxviii]

Once on site, the Flemings jumped right in. As early as the 1570s (and possibly earlier), Flemish Protestants in France were financing trade to North America. In the words of one Canadian historian, this was another case of “economic interlacing [that] was the presence in French port towns on the Atlantic of ‘Flemish neighbourhoods’”.[xxxix] To take but one example, the Fleming Corneille de Bellois, likely from the town of Belle near Antwerp, financed French fishing voyages to Newfoundland in the 1570s.[xl] De Bellois, who ultimately became a French subject, went from financier to furrier: he was fur-trading in Canada from 1604-1608 (outfitting perhaps 10 ships during that time). Later, from 1613 to 1620, de Bellois was a member of Samuel Champlain’s trading company.[xli] This trading company included other Flemish investors and participants, as we shall see.

As this suggests, De Bellois’ was not the sole Flemish involvement with France’s fur trading in North America. Trading partnerships of the time usually conducted trade through merchant families linked by marriage and blood (as well of course, by ancestry and religious affiliation). Take, for example, the Antwerp families of the Hontoms, Vogels, Jabachs, and Duysterloos.[xlii] Linked by marriage, religious affiliation (Lutheran), and origin (Antwerp), they eventually conducted a far-reaching trade with North America. This family network connected Paris, Rouen, LaRochelle, Cologne, Antwerp, Middleburg, and Amsterdam to French America.[xliii]

It’s All in the Family

It is difficult today to appreciate the transnational intricacies of such a family business. Consider Hendrick Hendricksz. Duysterloo, who was born at Middlebrug in 1569 to Flemish Protestant émigré parents from Antwerp. His mother was a Jabach and his step-mother a Pelgrom. Like his cousin Hans Honthom[xliv] (about whom more later), he traded beaver furs in Paris on behalf of the family business, which was called “Jean Honthom, Evrard Jabach & Co.”, well into the early 17th century. Eventually, Hendrick Duysterloo also became a French subject (in 1607).[xlv] Matthijs Duysterloo, who lived in Paris and was certainly a relative (brother? son?) of Hendrick, in fact “controlled the market for supplying Canadian beaver pelts to Parisian hatters.”[xlvi]

Hendrick Duysterloo himself was also a heavy financial backer of a prominent, Rouen-based, French fur trader: Francois du Pont Gravé.[xlvii] While not likely a name familiar to Americans, du Pont Gravé is well-known among Canadian students for co-leading Samuel de Champlain’s historic voyage to Canada in 1603 and co-founding New France[xlviii]. Du Pont Gravé’s involvement with Champlain is better understood when one takes into account the fact that he made multiple voyages for beaver pelts to North America from at least the 1590s until the 1620s.[xlix] For their involvement through du Pont Gravé then Flemings can also lay an indirect claim of assisting in the founding of New France.

Chronicling the role of these Flemings is not easy, which is one reason history textbooks rarely trumpet the role of the émigré Flemings. Family trading dynasties tend to be secretive. Many of their business exploits, records, and achievements are as a result lost to history. However, a few of these enterprises have left for us an archival trail.

In 1606, just two years before the Antwerp native Emanuel Van Meteren recruited Henry Hudson to explore for the V.O.C.[l], another group of Flemish merchants sent out the huge (320 lasts/640 tonnes) ship, the Witte Leeuw (“White Lion”) to trade, fish, and privateer along the North American coast. The Witte Leeuw partnership was owned by eight, prominent Amsterdam residents, three of whom at least, Bernaert Berrewijns, Hans Hunger[li] and Louis del Becque, were Antwerpenaar émigrés. It is probably not an accident that the supercargo of the Witte Leeuw was from Rouen, the same city where Cornelis De Bellois was based.[lii]

Although the United Provinces at the time were ostensibly allied with the French, Lonck attacked two French ships, seized their cannons and ammunition, and captured a Spanish and Portuguese ship as well.[lv] Along the coast he traded the Amerindians for furs and possibly fished for cod and whales. While a profitable trip, it did arose the ire of King Henri IV of France, who sent a letter of protest to the States General of the United Provinces in February, 1607, claiming that the Witte Leeuw had trespassed into French coastal waters.


The ships that the Witte Leeuw had in fact attacked belonged to a royally-mandated trading company called le Compagnie Francaise led by the French Protestant (and confidant of King Henri IV), Pierre du Gua de Mont.[lvi] Monsieur de Mont officially had a royal monopoly on trade between New France and France.[lvii] Curiously, one of his closest collaborators in this monopoly was Francois du Pont Gravé – the same fellow financed by the Flemish émigré de Bellois. Like his antagonists, de Mont also was a Protestant.[lviii] Despite this unfortunate event, de Mont had also had – and would continue to have – multiple points of contacts with Flemish merchants.

The Witte Leeuw was captained by Hendrick Cornelisz. Lonck (or Loncq), who was born on what is today the border between Flanders and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (a town called Roosendaal). Although a heavily Catholic region (then and now[liii]), Lonck was married and buried in the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam (where he had ample chances to interact with Petrus Plancius, the preacher there). Lonck’s wife, Grietgen Lenaerts, was from Antwerp and it is possible that she was related through marriage to the shipowners. Captain Lonck (like the Witte Leeuw’s owners) went on to accomplish great things under the banner of the W.I.C. (of which more later).[liv].

In partial response to the French king’s claims (as well as those of the Spanish and English), Hugo Grotius, in 1609, published his Mare Liberum (“Freedom of the Seas”), an argument for free trade.[lix] In spite of Grotius’ argument, and at the urging of another Antwerp émigré, the “Dutch” Consul to France Cornelis Van Aerssen[lx], the company that chartered the Witte Leeuw was ordered to pay restitution to de Mont and forbidden to sail into Canadian waters.[lxi] Ironically, it may have been the combination of the death of the French king (Henri IV) and the expiration the following year (1610) of Dugua de Mont’s monopoly for trade in Canada – more than Hudson’s discovery or Grotius learned treatise asserting freedom of the seas – that opened the door for a more aggressive influx of Flemish merchant adventurers in North American waters.[lxii]


My next post on the Flemish Founding of the Dutch West India Company/W.I.C. will focus on the “voorcompagnien” – the various ‘predecessor companies’ that paved the way for the W.I.C.


Endnotes


[i] Please see my earlier posts on Flemings amongst the Vikings and the possible Gent connection to Rhode Island’s Newport Tower here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/06/first-flemings-in-america-part-one.html

[ii] Those raised on the King James Version of the Bible may recall these passages: “And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.” (Mark 12:42) and “And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.” (Luke 21:2). http://www.biblelookup.com .

[iii]“The discovery, however, which has just been made on Newfoundland….A party of English settlers, in proceeding up the river which falls into Conception Bay, a little to the northward of St. John’s, observed, at the distance of about six or seven miles above the bay, the appearance of stone walls, rising just above the surface. On removing the sand and alluvial earth, they discovered the remains of ancient buildings, oak-beams, and mill stones sunk in oaken beds. Enclosures resembling gardens were traced out, and plants of various kinds, growing about the place not indigenous to the island. But the most decisive proof of these ruins being the remains of an ancient European colony was in the different kinds of coins that were found, some of ductile gold, which the inhabitants considered to be old Flemish coins, and others of copper without inscriptions. The coins, which are said to be in the hands of many of the inhabitants of St. John’s…are stamped with the impression of a sun, a star, or simply a cross, but without any inscription…they [the Viking inhabitants of Newfoundland] also trafficked even before that period [the late 1300s] with foreign money, which they received principally from the Flemings.” Sir John Barrow, A Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions: Undertaken Chiefly for the Purpose of Discovering a North-East, North-West, or Polar Passage Between the Atlantic and Pacific, (London: J. Murray, 1818), pp.24-25.

[iv] It is undisputable that Flemish priests made landfall (briefly) in Florida in 1512. It is also certain that Flemings visited and lived in Greenland in the 1300s, as Norwegian archives support. It is highly likely that Flemings were included amongst the Vikings at Newfoundland in the 1000s. See my earlier posts for detailed references to these items. Please note also that the eastern most extension of what we today call the Outer Banks, the rich fishing grounds off of the coast of Newfoundland, have traditionally been called the “Flemish Cap”. This is the closest North Atlantic fishing ground for Europeans. European fishermen could fish there literally year-round. Even today, fishermen, when making for the Flemish Cap from Europe, would often say, “We are headed for Flemish.” See Rosa Garcia-Orellan, TerraNova: The Spanish Cod Fishery on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the Twentieth Century, (Boca Raton: Brown Walker Press, 2010), p.222.

[v] An excellent book that details the link between the Catholic feast days, the diet shift to fish, and link between the subsequent demand for fish and the discovery of North America is Brian Fagan, Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting and the Discovery of the New World, (New York: Basic Books, 2006).

[vi] The Atlantic cod “preserves unusually well because its white flesh is almost entirely devoid of fat. Fat resists salt and slows the rate at which salt impregnates fish. This is why oily fish, after salting, must be tightly pressed in barrels to be preserved, whereas cod can be simply laid in salt. Also fatty fish cannot be exposed to air in curing because the fat will become rancid. Cod, along with its relatives including haddock and whiting, can be air-dried before salting, which makes for a particularly effective cure that would be difficult with oily fish such as anchovy or herring.” Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History, (New York: Penguin, 2003), p.114.

[vii]“The Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, flourishes over an enormous area of the North Atlantic, with a modern range from the northern Barents Sea south to the Bay of Biscay, around Iceland and the southern tip of Greenland, and along the North American coast as far south as North Carolina. Streamlined and abundant, it grows to a large size, has nutricious, bland flesh, and is easily cooked. It is also easily salted and dried, an important consideration when the major markets for salt cod were far from the fishing grounds, and often in the Mediterranean. When dried, cod meat is almost 80 percent protein.” Brian Fagan, The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850, (New York: Basic Books, 2000), p.70.

[viii]“Cod migrate for spawning, moving into still-shallower [less than 120 feet deep] water close to coastlines, seeking warmer spawning grounds and making it even easier to catch them.” Mark Kurlansky, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, (New York: Penguin, 1997), p.42.

[ix]“The record for long-distance travel belongs to a cod tagged in the North Sea in June 1957 and caught on the Grand Banks in January 1962 after a journey of about 3,200 kilometers.” Brian Fagan, Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting and the Discovery of the New World, (New York: Basic Books, 2006), p.228.

[x]“A Flemish Buss doth often take seven or eight Last [=14-16 tonnes] of herrings in a day. But if GOD gave a Buss, one day with another, but two Last of herrings a day, that is, twelve Last of herrings in a week; then at that rate, a Buss may take, dress, and pack the said whole Proportion of a hundred Last of herrings (propounded to be hoped for), in eight weeks and two days, And yet is herein[after] allowance made for victuals and wages for sixteen weeks, as after followeth. Of which sixteen weeks time, if there be spent in rigging and furnishing the said Buss to sea, and in sailing from her port to her fishing-place; if these businesses, I say, spend two weeks of the time, and that the other two weeks be also spent in returning to her port after her fishing season, and in unrigging and laying up the Buss: then I say (of the sixteen weeks above allowed for) there will be twelve weeks to spend only in fishing the herring.” Edward Arber, Social England Illustrated, a Collection of XVIIth Century Tracts With an Introduction by Andrew Lang, (Westminister: Archibald Constable & Co., 1903), Forgotten Books Classic Reprint, p.284.

[xi] Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), p.9.

[xii] Louis Sicking and Darlene Abreu-Ferreira, eds., Beyond the Catch: Fisheries of the North Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic, 900-1850, (Leiden: Brill, 2009), p.5.

[xiv] For the process see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbing . Note that in general the Flemish buss was a modest vessel and after 1600 almost exclusively for fishing. However, “a buss of 1523 was rated at over 200 tons. In 1570 there was a report of a buss which could bring home a catch of 140 tons. But from the 1570s size decreased and vessels of about 100 tons or less became the rule. The buss of those years would approach 25 meters in length and be over 5 meters broad with a depth of over 3 meters.”Richard W. Unger, Dutch Shipbuilding Before 1800, (Amsterdam: Van Gorcum, 1978), p.30.

[xv]“Columbus added to his own navigational problems by carrying both Flemish and Genovese compasses, and while the Genovese needle, or wire, was set in line with the north point of the [compass] card, the Flemish needle was probably offset to the east of north by three quarters of a point (8.4 degrees) as was the custom .” Lloyd A. Brown, The Story of Maps, (New York: Bonanza, 1949), p.133.

[xvi]“Portuguese mariners [at that time, considered leaders in the field] seem to have been quick to adopt the Flemish designations of the winds in preference to the Italian. In the Arte de navegar, of Pedro de Medina (Valladolid, 1545) [THE Bible of navigation for Europeans well into the late 17th century] the Flemish names are given on roses of four, eight, twelve, and thirty-two points. Roderigo Zamorano, in his Compendio del arte de navegar, (Seville, 1588) also used the Flemish names.” Lloyd Arnold Brown, The Story of Maps, (New York: Courier Dover, 1979), p.126.

[xvii] Please see my earlier post on the hows and whys of the beaver felt trade in North America here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/12/beaver-peltries-and-la-batard-flamand.html

[xviii] Bernard Allaire, “The European Fur Trade and the Context of Champlain’s Arrival,” pp. 50-60 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), pp.50-51.

[xix] J.K.J. de Jonge, De Opkomst van het Nederlandsch Gezag in Oost-Indie, (The Hague, 1892), Vol. I, p.31; quoted in Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), p.9.

[xx] Dolhain’s real name was Adriaen van Bergues. A native of Sint-Winnoksbergen, a village near Dunkirk, he was allied with the Prince of Orange as early as 1568. To raise men, money and materiel, the Prince of Orange sent Dolhain to the Flemish émigrés’ enclaves in England. See Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 212.

[xxi] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.3.

[xxii]“La Rochelle…was the point of departure for almost half of the ships sent to Canada.” Bernard Allaire, “The Occupation of Quebec by the Kirke Brothers,” pp. 245-257, in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.245.

[xxiii]“To the north and west of the port [of La Rochelle], the old parish of Saint Barthelemy was chiefly inhabited by foreign merchants and wealthier local gens de justice. Near the harbor, in rue Chef de Ville, congregated Dutch, Flemish, and German merchants with commercial operations in La Rochelle. In their honor, Rochelais [inhabitants of La Rochelle] called the main street intersection in the vicinity the ‘canton des Flamandes’.” Kevin C. Robbins, City on the Ocean Sea: La Rochelle, 1530-1650: Urban Society, Religion, and Politics on the French Atlantic Frontier, (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p.54.

[xxiv] Judith Chandler Pugh Meyer, Reformation in LaRochelle: Tradition and Change in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1568, (Geneva: Libraire Droz, 1996), pp. 25, 46-47. For the roots of these ‘cantons des Flamands’ in the early Middle Ages please see also Louis Sicking, Neptune and the Netherlands: State, Economy, and War at Sea in the Renaissance, (Leiden: Brill, 2004), p.21.

[xxv] For example, Jacques de Peyster, born at Gent in 1596, became a banker at Rouen, where he died in 1655. His wife Catherine de Lanoye, was incidentally, the daughter of Josse de Lanoye and Sara de Wannemaker of Antwerp. Another, Jean de Peyster, was a banker at La Rochelle. The rest of the family was scattered thru Haarlem, Utrecht, England, Ireland, and even Greece! See here, Henry De Peyster, “The Pre-American Ancestry of the De Peyster Family” in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, pp. 210-216 in Vol LXX (July, 1939) and pp. 313-331 of Vol.LXXI (October, 1939) for the detailed written backdrop with supporting documentation. Or, for a quick look at the simple connections, see http://www.frostandgilchrist.com/getperson.php?personID=I11518&tree=frostinaz01

[xxvi] The Gouverneurs were the maternal ancestors of Gouverneur Morris, one of the Founding Fathers of the American Republic. See Monroe Johnson, “The Gouverneur Genealogy”, in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, pp. 134-138 in Vol LXIX (April, 1939)

[xxvii] See Newbold LeRoy, III, “Appendix: The Van Sevenhoven Family of La Rochelle, Rotterdam, and New York”, pp.93-95 in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. CXXXI, (April, 2000). For the specific Antwerp connection please see Th. Van Lerius, Biographies D’Artistes Anversois, (Antwerpen: P. Kockx, 1880), Vol.II available in scanned online format here: http://scans.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/4/3/biographiesdarti01leriuoft/biographiesdarti01leriuoft.pdf

[xxviii] For an explanation (in Dutch) of how these islands came to be called the Flemish Isles, please see my earlier post here http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/11/een-vlaamse-voorloper-van-columbus.html

[xxix] That this was a trade route linked to the émigrés from Antwerp, is underscored by the anecdote about one of the few Dutch patroons in New Netherland, David Pietersz. De Vries: “In 1619, some Amsterdam merchants made him a proposal:’They suggested that after the ship [that de Vries was constructing] was built they would [pay] me to perform something which was never before practiced in this country [Holland]; that is, that I should sail to Terra Nova [Newfoundland], there loading my ship with fish.” Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), pp.8-12.

[xxx] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.3. See also Emanuel Van Meteren, Histoire der Neder-landscher ende haerder Na-buren Oorlogen ende geschiednuissen, Tot den Iare M.VIXII…, (‘s-Gravénhage, 1614), folio 63: “Et certes on en trouvera un plus grand nombre que communement on n’estime. Que sit ant seulement on regarde la multitude de ceux qui se sont retirez seulement en Angleterre tant a Londres qu’a Santwick, la ou ils ont leurs assemblees publiques en nombre infini; puis qu’on face monster de ceux qui sont a Francfort, a Strasbourg, a Heidelberg, a Franckendal, Coloigne, Aix, Dusbourg, Embden, Geneve, et aultres plusieurs villes et villettes, certainement qu’on n’en trouvera pas moins de cent mille.” Quoted in Dr. J. Briels, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek 1572-1630: Een Demografische en Cultuurhistorische Studie, (Sint-Niklaas: Danthe, 1985), p.223, n.12.

[xxxi] See here for an excellent post in English on Olivier Brunel of Leuven/Brussel and his critical ‘first mover’ efforts to connect Flanders to China: http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/brunel.html

[xxxii] Bernard Allaire, “The European Fur Trade and the Context of Champlain’s Arrival,” pp. 50-60 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), pp.50-51.

[xxxiii] An excellent discussion of the Antwerp merchants’ dominance of this eastward-looking trade network in the period 1550 to 1580 (with a superb map on p.28 of Antwerp export markets) can be found in Cle Lesger and Eric Wijnroks, “The Spatial Organization of Trade: Antwerp Merchants and the Gateway Systems in the Baltic and the Low Countries c.1550,” pp. 15-35 in Hanno Brand, ed., Trade, Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange: Continuity and Change in the North Sea Area and the Baltic, c.1350-1750, (Hilversum: Verloren, 2005).

[xxxiv] Bernard Allaire, “The European Fur Trade and the Context of Champlain’s Arrival,” pp. 50-60 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), pp.50-51.

[xxxv] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.3.

[xxxvi] See, for example, P.S. Callot, Jean Guiton Dernier Maire de l’Ancienne Commune de La Rochelle, 1628, (La Rochelle, 1872), pp.137-139. Also, seeJean Guiton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Guiton

[xxxvii] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 212.

[xxxviii] Gustaf Asaert, 1585: De Val van Antwerpen en de Uittocht van Vlamingen en Brabanders, (Tielt: Lannoo, 2004), p. 109.

[xxxix] Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.239.

[xl] The profits must have been outrageous on these fur trading ventures: De Bellois lent his money to one Frenchman, Pierre Chavin, for a fur trading expedition to Tadoussac in 1605 at 30% per annum. See Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.243.

[xli] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.4.

[xlii] Although he slips into the errors of many other historians without a deep understanding of Flemish history by classifying natives of Flanders and Brabant as “Dutch”, the source for this is the well-written and (unpublished?) article by York University Professor J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”especially pp.4-7.

[xliii] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.4.

[xliv]Hunthum was a Fleming but with a reputation for cruelty to the natives (mutilating an Indian chief’s genitalia when he did not receive beaver peltries quickly enough). So he was hardly a credit to the reputation of Flanders. For references to Huntum’s “black reputation”, see Van Cleaf Bachman, Peltries or Plantations: The Economic Policies of the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland, 1623-1639, (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1969), p. 131 and p. 131, n.35. That reputation hurt the Netherlanders’ trading opportunities with the Mohawks. For at least 20 years (1613-1633) Hunthum traded and lived in Nieuw Nederland. He was a ship captain and fur trader, later in the service of the WIC. Hunthum was killed by Cornelius vander Vorst in a quarrel in April, 1634 at Rennsselaerwyck. Hunthum’s father's name was Joris. Hunthum married Ibel Hendricks,the widow of Adriaen Mathyszen vander Put, on May 8th, 1618 at Amsterdam and his son Hans born 5/2/1619 in Amsterdam. Hans Jr. was first a clerk and later a cashier for the WIC in the 1630s. See Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), pp.60-62.

[xlv] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.4.

For a description of the beaver trade in North America with the Amerindians, its role in settlement and intercolonial rivalries, and its importance to Europe, please see my earlier posting here: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2010/12/beaver-peltries-and-la-batard-flamand.html .

[xlvi] Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.241.

[xlviii] Du Pont Gravé actually commanded New France, supplanting Champlain, for several critical years. See http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=321

[xlix]“On [the company’s] behalf he [Duysterloo] lent 1,190 livres in 1608 to Francois Gravé du Pont who was sending two ships to trade for furs at Tadoussac [a village at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada] and Canso (Le Blant & Baudry, Nouveaux documents, p.83). This was a bottomry loan [loan against the goods of the ship] at 25 per cent premium. On 25 February 1609 Duysterloo lent du Pont 1,000 livres to send [the ship] Le Francois to trade for furs at Tadoussac, again on behalf of Jean Honton, Jabach & Cie., and on 23 December he bought 100 beaver skins from du Pont for 772 livres, these furs to be brought from Tadoussac to Honfleur by the Scottish captain William Douglas (Le Blant, “Un commerce international”, p.11-12). Earlier that year [1609] Duysterloo had bought 200 Canadian beaver furs from Jean Sarcel of Saint Malo. In 1620 Duysterloo was a member of the Compagnie du Canada and in 1622 of the Compagnie de Montmorency (Le Blant & Baudry, Nouveaux documents, pp. 182, 418-19, 432, 466-468).” J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,” p.18, n26. Needless to say, there is an entire subject here – Flemish Protestants in France and their connection to North American trade and discovery. But it will have to wait for a future post.

[l] While the Antwerp native Emanuel Van Meteren reportedly made the initial overture in England (since he was physically present and the Dutch Consul), in the V.O.C. leadership itself, Antwerp native Dirck Van Os (Head of the Amsterdam Chamber of the V.O.C.) and the Brugge native Jan Janszoon Carel together with Pieter Dirckszoon Hasselaer of Haarlem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Hasselaer were all heavily involved with the Dutch East India Company and with Henry Hudson's recruitment and engagement. All three were members of the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company ("VOC"). Van Os, a native of Antwerp, was the most important: he was the 'originator' and head of the VOC. He was also the person who signed Henry Hudson's contract on behalf of the VOC. See 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.

[li] Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), pp.47-48.

[lii] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.4. Note that one historian refers to the supercargo as “none other than the smuggler from Rouen Nicolaes de Bancquemaire,” Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.242.

[liii] Roman Catholics are currently the largest denomination in the Netherlands, accounting for more than 25% of the population. Mainline Protestants account for another 15%. Ironically, for a country formed in the fires of faith, the majority of the Dutch population today rejects Christianity. See Wikipedia for excellent visuals and an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Netherlands

[liv] Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), p.13, n.7.

[lv] Lonck admitted in a notarized statement (now in the City of Amsterdam Archives) to have captured 107 barrel of grain and seven guns from the Spanih ship and 24,000 codfish from the Portuguese ship. See Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), pp. 13-15.

[lvi] Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.239. Samuel Eliot Morison in his Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France, (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1972), says (on p. 148) of Pierre Dugua de Monts: “As a founder of New France, de Monts was second only to Champlain in importance, and often Champlain’s commander; but he has received precious little recognition from French Canadians, or anyone.”For an excellent biography of this “honest, likeable, generous man” who could was also brave, efficient, and loyal, please see Jean-Yves Grenon, “Pierre Dugua de Mons Lieutenant General of New France,” pp. 143-150 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004).

[lvii] J.F. Bosher, “French Ports and North America Before 1627: The View From LaRochelle,”p.4.

[lviii] Pierre Dugua De Mons affirmed this before a notary in 1596, two years before both the Edict of Nantes (which allowed freedom of religion in France) and when Dugua de Mons first visited Canada (and observed the trading for beaver pelts). See Jean-Yves Grenon, “Pierre Dugua de Mons Lieutenant General of New France,” pp. 143-150 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p. 144.

[lix] Despite having many Flemish Contra-Remonstrant admirers, Grotius was imprisoned as an Arminian for several years. Ironically, Grotius fled to France and was taken in by Louis XIII. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Grotius downloaded July 15, 2011.

[lx] Cornelis’ son Francis was a prominent Contra-Remonstrant and played a role in the execution of Johan Oldenbarnevelt. See http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelis_van_Aerssen_(1545-1627) downloaded July 15, 2011.

[lxi] The restitution included handing over the Spanish guns! See Simon Hart, The Prehistory of the New Netherland Company: Amsterdam Notarial Records of the First Dutch Voyages to the Hudson, (Amsterdam: City of Amsterdam Press, 1959), pp. 13-15.

[lxii] Cornelius Jaenen, “Champlain and the Dutch,” pp. 239-244 in Raymond Litalien and Denis Vaugeois, eds., Champlain: The Birth of French America, trans. By Kathe Roth, (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004), p.242..

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

Symbols of Liberty

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This post will be a brief one. Partly, because the subject matter is succinct. Partly also because I am putting the finishing touches on a blog post (which will appear under the date July 1st) on the West India Company (Geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie), the official proprietor of Nieuw Nederland sive Nova Belgica. Later (July 12th) I will post on the richest man in North America when he died in the late 17th century: Govert Loockermans. So I have much to catch up on.

However, on today's post, I wish to highlight not only two symbols of liberty - the Flemish Lion and the Statue of Liberty - but the intertwining of America's liberty with Flemish traditions. The tie is closer than one suspects. It is important that not only Americans know the debt that they owe to Flanders, but that Flanders reclaim ownership of that gift of liberty. It was selflessly granted to this country and I wish to thank Flanders publicly for that gift.


Today in America it is July 4th. Here in the U.S. we celebrate the anniversary of the United State's Declaration of Independence.

That declaration is often depicted as the spark of one man's - Thomas Jefferson's - creation. But the fact of the matter is that Jefferson leached heavily from precedent. More than a decade ago, an article appeared (which I reproduce in its entirety, although the bold emphasis is mine):

June 29, 1998

by Barbara Wolff

When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson penned words that would live forever in history. But was he the first to write them?
A UW-Madison expert says that Jefferson may have modeled the Declaration after a 16th-century Dutch document.
Stephen Lucas, professor of communication arts, has spent the last 15 years studying the origins of the Declaration, "arguably the most masterful state paper in Western civilization," he says. He has concluded that Jefferson and his colleagues in the Continental Congress based the Declaration in part on the Dutch Plakkaat (plah-KAT) van Verlatinge (vur-LAT-ing-uh), issued in 1581 to justify the Netherlands' revolt against Spanish rule.

While very little is known about the Declaration's true genesis, scholars generally agree that the document was influenced by several British state papers, especially the 1689 Declaration of Rights, which deposed King James II and brought to power William and Mary of Orange. Lucas, however, is the first to point to the Plakkaat, one of the earliest statements of the rights of citizens to combat a tyrannical ruler.
"Of all the models available to Jefferson and the Continental Congress, none provided as precise a template for the Declaration as did the Plakkaat," says Lucas, an expert on historical rhetoric. "When you look at the two documents side by side, you cannot avoid noticing that the American Declaration more closely resembles its Dutch predecessor than any other possible model."
Both documents, for example, begin with a preamble that justifies, in remarkably similar fashion, the right of citizens to revolt against tyrannical authority, Lucas notes. British state documents, he says, say nothing about the natural rights of citizens to remove a tyrannical leader.
It is merely the first of many parallels, Lucas says, between the Declaration and the Plakkaat, written to justify the actions of a long-suffering Dutch people to shake off colonial domination and establish a sovereign nation. Further comparison illustrates more similarities:

·Both present a lengthy catalog of grievances as evidence of their king's tyranny;

·Both document repeated attempts by the authors to seek redress of their complaints through existing legal and civic channels;

·Both conclude that, having repeatedly been rebuffed by despotic authority, the plaintiffs have no alternative but to invoke the right of revolution.

Lucas says it is feasible that Jefferson turned to the Plakkaat in pondering the Declaration. Jefferson used inspirational models in virtually every sphere of his artistic activity, including his design for his home Monticello, which he consciously derived from the great Italian architect Andrea Palladio.
But Lucas stresses that the resemblance between the two papers should not diminish our appreciation of the Declaration.
"Unlike our own age, which prizes originality, the 18th century gave its greatest accolades to those able to master the art of imitation," Lucas says. If done well, the imitation should surpass the model, and Lucas says our Declaration has served as the gold standard of such documents since 1776.
"The Declaration is a work of consummate artistry that sustains a perfect synthesis of style, form and content," Lucas says. "There could be no greater literary or rhetorical achievement."
http://www.news.wisc.edu/3049


In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed heavily and freely from the Plakkaat. A logical next question might be, "who authored the Plakkaat?" While it goes down in history as a "Dutch" document central to the "Dutch" Revolt and their Eighty Years' War for Independence (1568-1648), there was heavy Flemish involvement. In fact at least two - and possibly three - of the authors of the Plakkaat were Flemish.

The rebellious States-General decided on 14 June 1581 to officially declare the throne vacant[3], because of Philip's behavior, hence the Dutch name for the Act of Abjuration: "Plakkaat van Verlatinghe", which may be translated as "Placard[4] of Desertion." This referred not to desertion of Philip by his subjects, but rather, on a suggested desertion of the Dutch "flock" by their malevolent "shepherd," Philip [II].

A committee of four members – Andries Hessels, greffier (secretary) of the States of Brabant; Jacques Tayaert, pensionary of the city of Ghent; Jacob Valcke, pensionary of the city of Ter Goes (now Goes); and Pieter van Dieven (also known as Petrus Divaeus), pensionary of the city of Mechelen– was charged with drafting what was to become the Act of Abjuration.[3] The Act prohibited the use of the name and seal of Philip in all legal matters, and of his name or arms in minting coins. It gave authority to the Councils of the provinces to henceforth issue the commissions of magistrates. The Act relieved all magistrates of their previous oaths of allegiance to Philip, and prescribed a new oath of allegiance to the States of the province in which they served, according to a form prescribed by the States-General.[5] The actual draft seems to have been written by the audiencier.[6] of the States-General, Jan van Asseliers[7]

The Act was remarkable for of its extensive Preamble, which took the form of an ideological justification, phrased as an indictment (a detailed list of grievances) of King Philip. This form, which is strikingly similar to that of the American Declaration of Independence, has often given rise to speculations that Thomas Jefferson, when he was writing the latter, was at least inspired by the Act of Abjuration.[8][9]

The Preamble was based on Vindiciae contra tyrannos by Philippe de Mornay, and other works of monarchomachs may have been sources of inspiration also.[10] The rebels, in their appeal to public opinion, may have thought it more important to quote "authoritative" sources and refer to "ancient rights" they wished to defend. By deposing a ruler for having violated the Social Contract with his subjects, they were the first to apply the theoretical ideas that two hundred years later would ultimately form the basis for the American Declaration of Independence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Abjuration


These authors too, although heavily Flemish, borrowed from the past. What were their sources?
Like Jefferson himself, these authors looked to precedent and history to justify what in effect was revolutionary. Permit me to quote at some length from a Belgian constitutional history study.

Excerpt from Introduction to Belgian Law, by Hubert Bocken & Walter de Bondt (Kluwer 2000)

p. 20 IV. Belgium’s contribution to law

The idea of the rule of law was already present in Flemish cities in the twelfth century….When count William Clito came to power in Flanders in 1127, he guaranteed the inhabitants of his cities a right judgement of the cities’ aldermen against every man and against himself [the count]. The prince is already [at this time then] subject to the laws. The 1127 city charters were not mere words. On 16 February 1128, Ivan, Lord of Aalst, acted as the spokesman of the city of Ghent before the count. Ivan rebuked the court [sic] for not respecting the privileges he had given the burghers of Ghent and other cities. To settle the matter, he proposed [that] a special court should convene, in which the Peers of Flanders and representatives of the clergy and the people would sit to judge over the count. If this court should find the count unworthy of the countship, he would have to give it up. The count did not agree to this and Ivan and Ghent rose in revolt.

William was killed in the civil war that ensued and a new count came to power. The background of the conflict was the opinion of Ghent and other cities that there was a contractual relationship between the count and the citizens. They recognized him as their lord and he, in turn, recognized their privileges. If the count no longer respected his part of the deal by acting against the rights of citizens, they had a right to break their contract and to fight him. This contractual conception of the relationship between ruler and subjects returns in the city charters granted by William’s successor. Thereafter the counts managed to suppress it, but it reappeared at regular times in Flemish history. In 1191 the first article of a charter for the city of Ghent stated that the citizens were only subject to the count as long as he wanted to treat them justly and reasonably….The 1581 Act of Abjuration is reminiscent of Ivan of Aalst. By his failure to respect the rights of his subjects, Philip II of Spain had lost his right to rule the Netherlands.


In short, Thomas Jefferson borrowed from the strongly Flemish authors of the Plakkaat. They in turn borrowed from Flemish history and the rights of the medieval Flemish city states. Specifically, they looked to Gent and its traditions for the rights of its citizens in their interaction with the Count of Flanders.

The thread from today, through Thomas Jefferson, the authors of the Plakkaat, and back to 12th century Gent is a direct one. It is a claim Flemings and Flemish Americans can take pride in. It is also one more example of the Flemish contribution to the Discovery and Development of America.



Text and Liberty Dusk photo Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. Flemish American Home photo Copyright 2011 by Wim Vanraes. Two Symbols of Liberty photo Copyright 2011 by Christophe Vandaele. Messrs Vanraes and Vandaele's photos used with permission. No reproduction in any format permitted without the express, written consent of the authors.


My deep thanks to Matthias Storme, Christophe Vandaele, and Wim Vanraes: Flemings all and Flemish Americans at the core.

Steenvoorde, Iconoclasm, and the Start of the Dutch Revolt

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Today, August 10th, 445 years ago, the Dutch Revolt started. It started in Steenvoorde, Flanders - territory now occupied by France but historically, ethnically, and linguistically Flemish. In fact, the municipality of Steenvoorde in France literally rests just outside the current borders of West Flanders, bordering the West Flemish town of Watou.




This post will be brief. I doubt many have a chance to actually read the details of what happened that day. So I will quote, in detail, from an authoritative historian of the period: my former professor, Geoffrey Parker, in his classic, The Dutch Revolt, (pp.74-76):

"In 1566 a [Spanish] government agent was able to report by mid-July that:

'The audacity of the Calvinist preachers in this area [of Flanders] has grown so great that in their sermons they admonish the people that it is not enough to remove all idolatry from their hearts; they must also remove it from their sight. Little by little, it seems, they are trying to impress upon their hearers the need to pillage the churches and abolish all images'


Similar tidings flowed in from other quarters. The deputy bailiff of Veurne noted on 22 July that the tone of the Protestant sermons delivered in his locality was becoming more strident and 'it is to be feared that...they will soon commit some shameful pillage of the churches, monasteries and abbeys; some of them are already making boasts about it.'


On 2 August Viglius wrote to a friend in Spain:

'The town of Ieper, among others, is in turmoil on account of the daring of the populace inside and outside who go to the open-air services in their thousands, armed and defended as if they were off to perform some great exploit of war. It is to be feared that the first blow will fall on the monasteries and clergy and that the fire, once lit, will spread, and that, since trade is beginning to cease on account of these troubles, several working folk - constrained by hunger - will join in, waiting for the opportunity to acquire a share of the property of the rich.'



If any group now controlled the march of events in the Netherlands, it was the predikanten, the Calvinist pastors, who seemed to make new converts every day. The Ghent patrician and chronicler, Marcus van Vaernewijck, marvelled that four or five sermons were enough to change the beliefs ordinary people had held for thirty or forty years, but so it was. After decades of neglect from the old church and a mounting tide of anti-clerical criticism, many people appear to have become spiritually disoriented and ready to rally to any authoritative figure who could reassure them about the after-life and salvation.



Such figures were to hand in increasing numbers. A steady stream of new preachers arrived in the Netherlands, some from Geneva, more from France, England and Germany, some of them wearing (of all things) blue leggings (blaye upgherolde slapkauskens), which appear to have become, at least in Flanders, the insignia of the 'hedge preacher'.



Some of the predikanten were foreigners, like Johan Scheizhabener (the senior pastor of Maastricht, who was born in the Rhineland), or Francois du Jon or Junius (from Bourges), but most were born in the Netherlands.Many were returning from several years of exile, determined that they would never be chased out of their homeland again.


One such returned exile was Sebastian Matte, a hatmaker by trade, born at Ieper in or about 1533 and forced to flee to England in 1563 on account of his Protestant sympathies. By 26 May 1566 he was back in his native Flanders and preaching at Roesbrugge (north-west of Ieper). On 1 August he appeared before the walled town of Veurne with an entourage of 2,000 armed Calvinists from the Ieper area, hoping to force an entry and make the town a fortified base for further operations. The plan failed.


Undaunted, Matte continued to preach and on 10 August he delivered an inflammatory sermon just outside the monastery of St. Lawrence at Steenvoorde. The exact text of his sermon is unknown, but after he had finished a group of about twenty of his audience went into the convent and smashed all the images there, led by another predikant, Jacob de Buzere (a renegade Augustinian monk, also from Ieper and also an exile returned from England).


On 13 August de Buzere preached a rousing sermon himself and promptly led his hearers to the monastery of St. Anthony outside Bailleul, which they proceeded to sack. The following day [August 14] Matte preached at Poperinghe and this time his sermon was followed by a rather larger iconoclastic outburst, involving about 100 people (over half of them refugees returned from England) and from there Matte's disciples fanned out to break images in scores of towns and villages all over Flanders. The 'iconoclastic fury' had begun."



noto bene: I have re-arranged the sequence of some of the text from the original published format. However, I have not altered the text as it appears in my 1979 Penguin Books copy.

Text copyright Geoffrey Parker. Arrangement copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction without my express, written consent.

The Establishment of Nieuw Nederland

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This post will be a brief one. Last night I gave a presentation at De Orde van den Prince in New York City called "Vlamingen in Nieuw Nederland". It is a superb group that deserves sponsorship.

My presentation is in powerpoint and for those of you interested in it, please contact me and I will send it to you.

That said, I am posting today because it is the anniversary of the granting of the right to trade in North America to group of Northern and Southern Netherlanders (i.e., Flemings) based in Amsterdam. These adventurers, who even before Emanuel Van Meteren's publication of Hudson's voyage in 1611, swarmed the Hudson River estuary trading and fighting for animal (especially beaver) pelts, were the creators of the name "Nieuw Nederland" (New Netherlands). Below I post the English translation of the document by E.B. O'Callaghan. The names in bold are Zuidnederlanders (Flemings).



"On October 11, 1614 ”The united company by whom they had been employed, lost no time in taking the steps necessary to secure to themselves the exclusive trade of the countries thus explored, which was guarantied to them by the ordnance of the 27th of March [1614]. They sent deputies immediately to the Hague, who laid before the States General a report of their discoveries, as required by law, with a figurative map of the newly explored countries, which now, for the first time, obtained the name of ‘New Netherland.’ A special grant in favor of the interested parties was forthwith accorded by their High Mightinesses, in the following terms:




'The States General of the United Netherlands to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Whereas Gerrit Jacob Witsen, former burgomaster of the city of Amsterdam, Jonas Witsen and Simon Morissen, owners of the ship called the Little Fox (het vosje), Captain Jan de Witt, master; Hans Hongers, Paul Pelgrom, and Lambrecht van Tweenhuysen, owners of the two ships called the Tiger and the Fortune, Captains Adriaen Block and Hendrick Christiaensen, masters; Arnoudt van Lybergen, Wessel Schenk, Hans Claessen, and Barent Sweetsen, owners of the ship Nightengale, (Nochtegael), Capt. Thuys Volckertsen, merchant in the city of Amsterdam, master; and Pieter Clementsen Brouwer, Jan Clementsen Kies, and Cornelis Volckertsen, merchants in the city of Hoorn, owners of the ship the Fortune, Capt. Cornelis Jacobsen Mey, master, have united into one company, and have shown to Us, by their petition, that after great expenses and damages, by loss of ships and other perils, during the present year, they, with the abovenamed five ships, have discovered certain new lands, situated in America, between New France and Virginia, being the seacoasts between 40 and 45 degrees of latitude, and now called New Netherland:'






[p.75]
'And whereas, they further represent that We did, in the month of March, publish, for the promotion and augmentation of commerce, a certain consent and grant, setting forth that whosoever should discover new havens, lands, places, or passages, should be permitted exclusively to visit and navigate the same for four voyages, without permitting any other persons out of the United Netherlands to visit or frequent such newly discovered places, until the said discoverers shall have performed four voyages, within the space of time prescribed to them for that purpose, under the penalties therein expressed, &c., and request that We should be pleased to accord to them due testimony of the aforesaid grant in the usually prescribed form: '




'Wherefore, the premises having been considered, and We, in our Assembly, having communication of the pertinent report of the petitioners relative to the discoveries and finding of the said new countries between the abovenamed limits and degrees, and also of their adventures, have consented and granted, and by these presents do consent and grant, to the said petitioners, now united into one company, that they shall be permitted exclusively to visit and navigate the above described lands, situate[d] in America, between New France and Virginia, the seacoasts of which lie between the 40th and 45th degrees of latitude, and which are now named New Netherland, as is to be seen on the figurative maps by them prepared; and to navigate, or caise to be navigated, the same four voyages, within the period of three years, to commence from the first day of January, 1615, or sooner, without it being permitted, directly or indirectly, to any one else to sail, to frequent, or to navigate, out of the United Netherlands, those newly discovered lands, havens, or places, within the space of three years, as above, on penalty of the confiscation of the vessel and cargo, besides a fine of fifty thousand Netherlands ducats, for the benefit of said discoverers.





'Provided, however, that by these presents We do not intend to prejudice or diminish any of our former grants and concession; and it is also our intentionthat if any disputes or differences should arise from these concessions, that they shall be decided by ourselves. '




[p.76]
'We, therefore, expressly command all governors, justices, officers, magistrates, and inhabitants, of the aforesaid United Netherlands, that they allow said company peacefully and quietly to enjoy the whole benefit of this our grant, and to interpose no difficulties or obstacles to the welfare of the same. Given at the Hague, under our seal, paraph, and the signature of our Secretary, on the 11th day of October, 1614.'”




- E.B. O’Callaghan, History of New Netherland, pp.74-76






Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction without my explicit, written consent.

Vlamingen in Nieuw Nederland

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently gave a talk called "Vlamingen in Nieuw Nederland" [Flemings in New Netherland]. It is too long (150 slides) to reprint here. But I do feel that select bits might be of interest - especially the original research. So below, please kindly find a few snippets from my "Vlamingen in Nieuw Nederland" talk.


The Flemish in New Netherland
As regular readers may be aware, in multiple other posts on this blog I have chronicled the Flemish contribution to the inspiration, financing, discovery and development of New Netherland. Here I would like to offer a bit of color on the Flemish settlement of Nieuw Nederland. By this I mean who some of these Flemings were, where did they come from, and what percentage of the population did they represent?

Unfortunately, surviving records are neither thorough nor complete. However, historians in the past have attempted to give us some sense of the Flemish settlers in Nieuw Nederland. In an article ("How Dutch Were the Dutch of New Netherland?", pp.43-60) in the January, 1981 issue of the New York History Journal, David Steven Cohen studied the records of 904 immigrants who came to Nieuw Nederland between 1624 and 1664. Of the 904, only 31 (e.g., 3%) came from areas we would call part of Flanders. Specifically, his breakdown (Table 2, "Place of Origin of 904 Immigrants to New Netherland") looks like this:

Antwerp: 5
Leuven: 2
Brugge: 4
Ieper: 2
Other:18

Total:31


It is unclear which names were included as well as the source for Mr. Cohen's data. Yet it is clear that he missed a number of Flemish immigrants to Nieuw Nederland. Moreover, he neglected to count children of Flemish refugees who had settled in France, Germany, England and elsewhere as anything other than Dutch.

Just to give one example, Gwenn F. Epperson in her book New Netherland Roots (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994), offers this observation about one of her ancestors. "Regardless of the voluminous material suggesting a Dutch background for the Ten Eyck family of New York, a Dutch acquaintance remarked, 'Ten Eyck is not a Dutch name!'" [p.125]. She then proceeds to show that the Ten Eyck and Boel families had emigrated en masse from Antwerp to Cologne and surrounding villages in the 1589-1590 period (because the Spanish general Duke of Alva required all Protestants to convert or flee). Later these same families emigrated again to Amsterdam (1610-1630s) before again uprooting themselves to Nieuw Nederland (1640s & 1650s).




Below are the places of origin together with the decade and Flemish surnames that I have compiled of select New Netherland settlers.


Aalst 1640-1649: Joosten
Aecken1640-1649: Vincent; 1650-1659: Van Coster;
Antwerp 1610-1619: Hontom, ‘t Kindt, and Vogel; 1620-1629:Provoost; 1630-1639: Van Antwerpen; 1640-1649: Boel, Ten Eyck & Melijn;1650-1659: Schoof, Van Antwerpen& Van Cleef ; 1660-1669: de la Warde, Harsingh, Paulussen& Verelle; 1670-1679: Schampf.
Bael/Belle 1630-1639:Van derLinde
Brugge1620-1629: Van Brugge; 1640-1649: Verbrugge; 1650-1659: VerbruggeStephenszen, & Tibout; 1660-1669:Aerts& Cocquyt; 1670-1679: Jacobs.
Brussel1650-1659:Farmont& Vander Linden
Damme1650-1659: Van Damme
Deinze1640-1649:Beekman
Dendermonde1640-1649:Van derVoort
Duynkercken1660-1669:Journay& Stilteel
Flanders 1620-1629: Bogaert ; 1660-1669: Enjart& Parmentier
Gent 1630-1639: de Pauw ; 1650-1659:de Beauvois& Van Sycklin
Herenthals1650-1659: Cobus
Hasselt 1650-1659:Follenaer; 1660-1669:Rombout
Hoboken 1620-1629: Van Hoboken; 1660-1669:Van Hoboken
Hulst1620-1629: Verhulst
Ieper 1650-1659:de Mille & Meynaerts;
Kortrijk 1650-1659:Willays; 1660-1669:Van Kortryk
Leuven 1650-1659:Couverts& Corbesye& Mettermans ; 1660-1669:Van Leuven & Vanschure
Lier1660-1669:Evertszen;
Limburg 1640-1649:Nagel
Lokeren1650-1659:Evertsen
Maldegem1630-1639:Bidloo/Bedlow
Mardyk1660-1669:Journee
Mechelen1650-1659:de Sille
Oudenaarde1620-1629:Thienpont; 1660-1669: Vanderbeke
Overpelt1660-1669:Van Pelt
Sluys1660-1669:Pieters
St Laurens 1650-1659:Van Langevelt;
Straboeck1650-1659:Thomaszen
Tongeren1660-1669:Doske
Turnhout1630-1639:Loockermans; 1650-1659:Cobus; 1660-1669:Loockermans, Muller & Van derBaest
Zandvoorde1660-1669:Abrahamsen
Zele1670-1679:Croucheron


To place the same data in a slightly different format, notice the influx by decade from the various cities across today's Flemish region:

1610-1629: Hontom, ‘t Kindt, and Vogel (all Antwerp) + others…
1620-1629: Van Brugge (Brugge), Van Hoboken (Hoboken), Provoost (Turnhout), and Bogaert (unknown Flanders), Thienpont (Oudenaarde), & Verhulst (Hulst);
1630-1639: Van Antwerpen (Antwerp), Van derLinde (Belle/Bael), de Pauw (Gent), Bidloo/Bedlow (Maldegem), Loockermans (Turnhout)
1640-1649: Joosten (Aalst), Vincent (Aecken), Boel, Ten Eyck & Melijn (Antwerp), Verbrugge (Brugge), Beekman (Deinze), Van derVoort ( Dendermonde), Nagel (Limburg)
1650-1659: Van Coster (Aecken), Schoof, Van Antwerpen& Van Cleef (Antwerp), VerbruggeStephenszen, & Tibout (Brugge),Farmont& Vander Linden, (Brussel),Van Damme
(Damme), de Beauvois& Van Sycklin (Gent), Follenaer (Hasselt), Cobus(Herenthals), de Mille
& Meynaerts (Ieper), Willays (Kortrijk), Couverts& Corbesye& Mettermans (Leuven),
Evertsen (Lokeren), de Sille (Mechelen), Bedlow/Bidloo (Maldegem), Van Langevelt (St. Laurens), Thomaszen(Straboeck).
1660-1669: de la Warde, Harsingh, Paulussen& Verelle (Antwerp), Aerts& Cocquyt (Brugge), Journay& Stilteel (Duynkercken), Rombout (Hasselt), Van Hoboken (Hoboken), Kortryk (Kortrijk), Van Leuven & Vanschure (Leuven),Evertszen (Lier), Journee (Mardyk)Vanderbeke (Oudenaarde), Van Pelt (Overpelt), Pieters (Sluys), Doske, (Tongeren),Loockermans, Muller & Van derBaest (Turnhout), Abrahamsen (Zandvoorde), Enjart& Parmentier (Flanders);
1670-1679: Schampf (Antwerp), Jacobs (Brugge), Croucheron (Zele)


As one can see, the origins of these Flemish immigrants to Nieuw Nederland spans the entire range of the modern-day Flemish region, as well as areas that were Flemish then but since 1689 occupied by France. the important point here is that my list is not exhaustive but it does suggest that a broad swathe of New Netherland had Flemish roots.



If one digs deeper into the origins of New Netherland settlers, one finds that a substantial number came from cities that in 1622 had a heavy composition of "Zuidnederlanders": immigrants from Flanders and Wallonia. These first generation Dutchmen still considered themselves Flemings. Consider the Hondius family. Judocus Hondius - Flemish Father of America and the man who acted as the interpreter for Henry Hudson in preparation for the famous voyage to 'discover' the Hudson River valley - was born in Wakken, near Gent (Ghent). While a young man, he fled (in 1584) for London and lived there at least 16 years. His son Henricus Hondius was likely born in England (in 1593) but raised in Amsterdam and may not have ever set foot in Flanders. Yet, in 1630, long after his father's death, pointedly included the title "Flandriae" above his father's likeness in a famous world map (see above, lower right corner of the map or click here).



The Hondius family was likely not alone in this attachment to their Flemish roots. As a point of reference, see the following table. What it shows is the % of immigrants (overwhelmingly although not exclusivelky from the Southern Netherlands) in 1622. The source is J.G.C. Briels, Zuidnederlanders in de Republiek, 1572-1630.


Note that in Leiden and Middleburg Zuidnederlanders constituted more than 60% of the population. In Haarlem, the 50%+ Flemish immigration had such a powerful impact that the local dialect pronunciations changed to conform to Flemish usage (de schlachte 'g'). Even Amsterdam counted about a third of the population as Zuidnederlander.

Nor were these Flemings simple farmers, soldiers, and tradesmen. Of course, there were plenty of these solid citizens (I offer brief vignettes on somne of the Gentenaars in Nieuw Nederland here). But a disproportionate number of the Flemings in Nieuw Nederland actually ran things. For example, the advisory governing councils (variously, "Twelve Men", "Eight Men", or "Nine Men"), the Schepens (aldermen/mayors), Schout (sheriffs), Notaris (notaries), Schoolmasters and Predikanten (preachers) were of Flemish origin.

1641-1642 : “Twelve Men” – includes 2 from Antwerp & 1 from VL
1643-1645 : “Eight Men” – 2 Antwerpenaars& 1 married to Turnhouter
1645-1653 : “Nine Men” Bruggeling, Turnhouter& 1 married to a Turnhouter, descendants of Deinze, Antwerp
1653-1674 : ”Mayors” – descendants of Bruggelings, Gentenaars, Deinze, and 1 married to a Turnhouter
1656-1674 : SchepenTurnhouter, descendants ofAntwerpenaar, Bruggeling, Gentenaar, Deinze, and 1 married to a Turnhouter
1623-1674 : Schout-FiscaalFleming, Mechelenaar, descendants ofAntwerpenaar, Deinze, and 2 married to Antwerpenaar/Turnhouter
1633-1674 :NotarisHerenthals
1633-1674 : ”Schoolmasters” 2 Antwerpenaars, & descendant of
1628-1674 - Predikanten– descendants ofGenetenaar, and 1 married to Antweerpenaar

Still, although Flemings in Nieuw Nederland were clearly both present and influential, they were not numerous. Perhaps, as in the northern Netherlands, they numbered 10% of the total population. Or maybe David Steven Cohen's assessment is accurate and the Flemish share of New Netherland's population hovered closer to 3% of the total. Regardless of the percentage (and no one knows for sure), the Flemish were present in Nieuw Nederland and played a significant role in the development of this "Dutch" colony.

Permit me then to take one final stab at the Flemish population of Nieuw Nederland. It is little better than my educated guess. But it sets the stage for future posts where I hope to offer bios of some of the prominent Flemings in Nieuw Nederland.



All Colonies Later Part of the United States

of Which in Nieuw Nederland

of Which Flemings

Year Population
1625 1,980ca 150?ca 20?
1628------ca 270ca 30?
1630------ca 300ca 35?
1640------ca 500ca 60?
1641 50,000----------------
1650------ca 800-1000ca 100?
1664------ca 9,000*ca 500?
1688 200,000(* “of which 3,000 were English"
1702 270,000- Dillen, Van Rijckdom, p173)
1715 435,000----------------
1749 1,000,000----------------
1754 1,500,000----------------
1765 2,200,000----------------
1775 2,400,000By 1775 the “Dutch” poputation of America was ca 80,000



Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. No reproduction without my express, written consent.

The Flemish Claim To Discovering & Settling America: Timeline & Petition

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This evening I gave a detailed talk at De Orde van den Prince - a slightly reworked version of the one I gave on October 10th. This talk was entitled "The Flemish Origins of Nieuw Nederland". Those of you interested in a copy please let me know and I can either e-mail you or post it on Dropbox.

Today, November 7th is the date in the year 1609 that the rascal Henry Hudson - after accepting money, men, maps, and materiel from the Flemings Dirck Van Os, Petrus Plancius, and Judocus Hondius (and after being recruited by Emanuel Van Meteren) docked into Dartmouth, England. He had just "discovered" the Hudson river valley, an abundantly rich region. Although Hudson never returned, within one year (July 26th, 1610) the Antwerp emigre Arnout Vogels dispatched a ship (de Hoope) to trade for beaver pelts with the Amerindians.

Regular readers of this blog know that I believe the Flemish have been neglected by historians and others in recognition of their contributions to the Discovery and Settlement of America. To me this is especially galling because Walloons have received extraordinary official recognition from the U.S. government - in the form of an official U.S. coin as well as stamps and a monument. I believe the time has come to right this wrong. If you agree with me, please kindly register that sentiment with the U.S. White House on this official petition.

For those of you who believe my claim is exaggerated, I offer the below timeline as a partial proof to the Flemish contribution to the Discovery and Settlement of America. A gentle hat tip to the good folks at the New netherland Project since I essentially followed and built upon their original timeline here: http://www.nnp.org/vtour/timeline.html [Noto Bene: Those of you interested in a specific source for a reference I have posted below please e-mail me and I will happily supply you with it.]


Timeline of Flemish Discovery & Settlement of North America

·862-864 Baldwin Iron Arm establishes the County of Flanders in response to the depradations of Norsemen

·600s Sint Baaf (Saint Bavo) helps establish Christianity in Flanders

·800s St Ansgar of Tourhout becomes the first Catholic missionary to make a dedicated evangelization effort to Scandinavia (and some claim as far as Greenland)

·982-985The Norseman Eric the Red founds a colony in western Greenland; the settlement lasts until the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

·990-999Dankbrand, a Flemish missionary from Tourhout (and the Archbishop of Bremen, which diocese at that time explicitly included Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland) converts first King Olaf of Norway and then Leif Ericsson

·c. 1000Leif Ericsson, returning to Greenland from Norway, is driven onto the North American coast, which he explores and tries unsuccessfully to settle. With Leif is a “Southlander” [e.g., German/Dutch/Flemish] Catholic priest named “Dirck” who gives Vineland its name.

·1147 Burgundian knightRaymond de la Coste, as a reward for serving the King of Portugal, Afonso I, in the siege of Lisbon, is granted a fief and the surname Corte Real.

·1297 Flanders is the first maritime nation to be accorded the honors of a naval salute (by England, via treaty)

·1302 Guldensporenslag/Battle of the Golden Spurs (July 11th)

·1320-1350 Jan de Langhe of Ieper writes The Travels of John Mandeville– which inspires Columbus & later explorers

·1327 Jan d’Ypres from Bruges purchases approximately 1500 pounds of walrus tusks from the archbishop of Nidarios who had received the tusks as tithes from Greenland (August 11th).

·1364 Jacobus Cnoyen pens the Inventio Fornato which describes the Arctic cartographic discoveries of a “fifth-generation Bruxellois” priest resident in Greenland. This is a book that inspires Columbus, Ruysch, Mercator, and the English thru John Dee to seek a northwest passage to Asia.

·Early 1400s “The use of the initials of the Frankish names of the winds – N, NNE, NE, etc. – on compass cards, seems to have arisen with Flemish navigators, but was early [1400s] adopted by the Portuguese and Spanish.”

·1427 circa Azores discovered by a Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges

·1429 Columbus’ father Domenico, at the age of 11, is apprenticed to a Flemish weaver from Brabant

·1447 Dirck Maartens, first printer in the Low Countries, is born at Aalst.

·1450 Jacome de Bruges (aka, Jacques/Jaak van Brugge) is granted a donatory as Capiton Terceira (March 2nd) by Prince Henry the Navigator.

·1450s-1470s Thousands of settlers from the Franc of Brugge emigrate to the Azores under the sponsorship of Prince Henry’s sister, Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy; the last European settlers die in Greenland – gravesite excavations uncover the latest Flemish fashions of 1450-1470 Flanders: pleated dresses for the women and conical hoods for the men.

·1460-1470 Joost Van Hurtere becomes lord/captain of the islands of Fayal and Pico (dies 1495).

·1471 1st printed book in the Low Countries (at Aalst); Alvaro Martins Homem granted captaincy of Angar region of Terceira

·1474 First book in English printed at Brugge by William Caxton (who calls the Flemish, one of the seven races of the British Isles); Jacome de Bruges dies (April 2nd); Joao Vaz Corte Real and his Flemish partner, Alvaro Martins Homem, are granted (for maritime services rendered) governorship of Terceira, Azores, by the widow of Prince Fernando (February 12th).

·1476 Columbus embarks on his first voyage – on a Flemish urca called the Bechalla bound for Flanders: it is attacked and sunk by the French pirate Casenove off the coast of Portugal (August 13th)

·1470s Willem Van der Haegen (aka Silveiras) becomes lord/captain of the island of Flores (most northwesterly of the Azores)

·1483 Joao Vaz Corte Real also granted governorship of the island of S. Jorge in the Azore islands

·1484 Columbus demands King John II of Portugal supply ships and men to discover the Indies sailing West

·1486 Ferdinand Van Olmen and Joham Afonso do Estreito agree to split 50/50 the rights to lands granted Van Olmen by King John II of Portugal (June 12th– ratified by king July 24th) to find the Islands of the Seven Cities

·1487 Ferdinand Van Olmen sent out in a northwesterly direction by March; later Van Olmen becomes lord/captain of the area on Terceira Island called Ribeyras; King John II also sends out Bartolomeu Dias around the south coast of Afgrica and Afonso da Pavia across the north coast of Africa (both to seek a path to the Indies)

·1488 Bartolomeu Dias returns first to Spain, then Portugal, proving that the Indies can be reached by sailing around the southern tip of Africa (December)

·1492 Columbus granted rights to seek out a westward path to the Indies (April 17th); and “discovers” America (October 12th). His two most heavily annotated “guide books” are The Travels of John Mandeville (written by Fleming Jan De Langhe) and the Discoveries of Marco Polo (printed at Antwerp in 1475). His most common trade item is Flemish bells; his most important cartographic tool is the Flemish language compass rose (with a “Flemish needle”). Martin Behaim, a son-in-law of Joost van Hurter of Moerkercken/Winendaele, West Flanders (the Flemish Lord of first Fayal/Neu Flandern and then Pico in the Azore Islands) and the cartographic advisor to the King of Portugal, creates the oldest existing globe on which he describes the Flemish Azorean discoverers of islands in the Indies (September)

·1493 Columbus returns from America (March 4th). First return land sightings are the ‘Flemish Islands’ aka, the Azores (February 12th). He pens a missive (officially dated March 14th) which is widely reprinted by Flemish printer from Aalst Dirck Maartens in Antwerp and Gerardus de Lisa [Gerard van de Lys, a Gentenaar] in Italy; On his second voyage Columbus takes two Franciscans from Ath, Henegouwen (September 24th).

·1494 The Pope awards Spain all lands west and Portugal all lands east of an imaginary line 100 leagues west of the Azores in the Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7th)

·1497 John and Sebastian Cabot depart Bristol, England (May 2nd) and arrive at Cape Breton Island (June 24th). They are guided by Joao Fernandez, the Labrador, “because he who gave the information to the King of England was a labrador of the Azores”; Johannes Ruysch of Utrecht & Antwerp is also believe to have been on the Cabots’ voyage.

·1499 Miguel Corte Reale embarks from the Azores to “Terra Nova” [Newfoundland]. His fleet is shipwrecked on the Massachusetts coast but leaves distinct carvings on the Deighton Rock. Joham (Joao) Fernandes of Barcelos, near Van Olmen’s on Terceira, is granted the right, by King Manuel of Portugal, to search for and discover islands to the northwest (October 28th).

·1500 The future Charles V, first ruler of an empire on five continents, is born on the road near Eeckloo, East Flanders (February 24th); King Manuel grants Gaspar Corte Reale jurisdiction over all discovered lands and “enterprises that he now desires to continue;” he then sails (June) to Greenland and Newfoundland (returning before January 27, 1501).

·1501 Gaspar Corte Reale again departs Lisbon (May 15th) with three ships for Newfoundland; two return on October 8th/9th and October 12th (respectively).King Henry VII of England grants three Azoreans resident at Bristol (Joao and Francisco Fernandes and Joao Goncalves) letters-patent for any discoveries to the west (March 19th) thereby creating the “pioneer corporation of the British Empire”.

·1502 Cantino Map created by Flemish mapmaker (Breelant?) which shows Newfoundland as “Terra del Rey de portugall” (territory of the king of Portugal) – it also shows the Yucatan and Cuba years before they were officially “discovered”; The first recorded shipload of Newfoundland cod is brought back to England – by an Azorean Fleming; Miguel Corte Reale departs Lisbon for Newfoundland (May 10th) with three ships of which two return (August 20th); King John II of Portugal decides to sell all of his spices at Antwerp (instead of Bruges or Lisbon)

·1506 Christopher Columbus dies (May 20th)

·1507 Johannes Ruysch of Antwerp/Utrecht prints the very first printed global map that shows America and Newfoundland (“Terra Nova”), where it seems to have copied the Cantino map. Ruysch clearly borrows from Behaim’s 1492 globe and also relies on the Inventio Fortunata for information on a Northwest passage to Asia. Ruysch’s map becomes an important source for future cartographers such as Mercator; Waldseemueller’s map using the name “America” is printed [in 1513 Waldseemueller rejects the name “America”]

·1509 Joost Van Hurtere II becomes lord/captain of the islands of Fayal and Pico (May 31st)

·1511 Gerardus Mercator born at Rupelmonde, E. Flanders (March 5th); The very first book on the “discovery” of America in English, Peter Martyr’s “New Founde Landes”, is printed at Antwerp; Deighton Rock in Massachusetts is carved by Miguel CorteReale.

·1517 Adolf of Wynendaele (West Flanders) ferries Charles to Spain to assume the throne; Jan de Witte of Brugge is named Bishop of Cuba (August).

·1518 Adolf of Wynendaele (West Flanders) is granted ownership of the island of Cozumel off the coast of the Yucatan and therefore is named by Charles “Admiral of Flanders” and Governor of Cuba (March 29th); Laurrent de Gorrevod, Flemish majordomo for Emperor Charles V, requests a license for exclusive trade and to establish a colony on the Yucatan.

·1519-1522 Charles V funds Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world, which leaves Spain with 5 Flemings. Only 1, Roland van Brugge, survives.

·1520 One of the 5 Flemings of Magellan’s fleet, Roland van Brugge, becomes the first man of the fleet to see the Pacific

·1522 The 33 survivors (including Roland van Brugge after imprisonment in the Azores) return to Spain

·1523 Maximillanus Transylvanus of Brussels, after interviewing nearly all of the 33 survivors (including Roland van Brugge) of Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe – the world’s first – publishes the report (January 1st).

·1527 Abraham Ortelius, 1st cousin of Emanuel Van Meteren and Daniel Rogers, born at Antwerp (April 14th) dies in the same city, June 28th, 1598. Philip II of Spain also born and dies the same years as Ortelius (b May 21st at Vallodolid; dies September 13th, San Lorenzo).

·1533 Willem van Oranje born at Dillenburg (April 24th)

·1534 Dirck Maartens, first printer in the Low Countries, printer of Columbus’ copy of Marco Polo at Antwerp and of Columbus’ First Letter in 1493, as well as of Thomas More’s Utopia, dies at Aalst (May 2nd).

·1535 Corte Real voyages again launched; Emanuel Van Meteren born at Antwerp (July 8th).

·1538 Gerardus Mercator of Rupelmonde, East Flanders, creates a world map for the use of the world’s first global emperor, Charles V (born near Eeckloo, East Flanders) and uses – for the first time ever – the name “North America” for the current continent; Mercator also labels the channel between Canada and Greenland as the “Strait of the Three Brothers through which Portuguese attempted to sail to the Orient and the Indies and the Moluccas”. Manoel Corte Real, son of Vasco Eannes Corte Real (the 1st), declared “Lord of Terra Nova”.

·1545 ”It remains to be remarked that the Portuguese mariners at an early date seem to have adopted the Flemish designations of the winds…In the Arte de Navegar of Pedro de Medina (Valladolid, 1545), the Flemish names are given.”

·1550 “Dutch” Church established in London by Micronius of Ghent

·1552 Petrus Plancius born at Dranouter (near Ieper, West Flanders) – dies May 15th, 1622 in Amsterdam

·1555Abdication of Charles V in favor of his son Philip and brother Ferdinand; Philip II inherits control over the Low Countries; tensions between actual (Philip II) and emotional (Willem of Orange) sons evident at Brussels abdication; Muscovy Co in England established at London by Sebastian Cabot, John Dee, and depending upon

·1556 Dirck Van Os born in Antwerp (March 13th) – critical Fleming in the discovery and settlement of America (dies May 20th 1615 at Amsterdam).

·1558 Charles V dies (September 21st)

·1561 Manoel Corte Real, son of Vasco Eannes Corte Real (the 1st), prepares ships of Azorean settlers in Terceira to colonize Newfoundland – the colonization of Sable island; Samuel Godijn is born at Antwerp

·1563 Franciscus Gomarus, leader of the Counter-Remonstrant party, born at Brugge (January 30th); dies at Groningen, January 11th, 1641.

·1566Beeldenstorm (“Iconoclastic Fury”). Considered the start of the “Dutch Revolt” (De Opstand) begins in Steenvoorde, Flanders (August 10th), Spreads from Steenvoorde to the rest of the Netherlands. Nine Flemings and one Spaniard land near St. Augustine FL and spend 10 days there before seeking a Spanish settlement to the south (September 16th). Manoel Corte Real, son of Vasco Eannes Corte Real (the 1st), prepares ships of Azorean settlers in Terceira to colonize Newfoundland.

·1567 Manoel Corte Real, son of Vasco Eannes Corte Real (the 1st), prepares three ships of Azorean settlers in Terceira to colonize Newfoundland.

·1568 Azoreans begin colonization of Newfoundland in conjunction with Native American villages (March). Dutch nobles Egmont and Hoorn beheaded at Brussels; the Dutch revolt against Spain begins; Willem Usselinckx of Antwerp, whose life span in years mirrors exactly that of the Dutch Revolt, is born.

·1569 Gerardus Mercator creates his world map with “rhumblines” which solves a navigational problem (accounting for the curvature of the earth when plotting sailing routes on maps) that had caused mariners problems for centuries

·1572 Expulsion of the Flemish and Dutch privateers (watergeuzen) from England (March 31st);Capture of Den Briel, strategic city at the mouth of the Rhine, by "Sea Beggars" led by the Flemish Admiral Lumey (April 1st); Abraham Ortelius, with guidance and assistance from his good friend Gerardus Mercator, creates the first “atlas” (which furthers navigation)

·1573Dutch defeat Spanish fleet at battle of Zuiderzee

·1574 Vasco Eannes Corte Real sails on the last known colonization voyage from the Azores to North America (Labrador). Relief of Leiden (Ontzet), on October 3rd made possible by the Antwerpenaar Moons and the Flemish-led watergeuzen (the commemoration of this event forms the basis of American Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims land in America). Pacification of Ghent (Pacificatie van Gent), November 8th unites all Netherlanders of all stripes against the Spanish

·1575 As a reward for resisting the Spanish siege, William of Orange permits Leiden to establish the first university of the northern Netherlands. The first President of the University is Justus Lipsius of Vilvoorde, Flanders.

·1577 Gerardus Mercator, in a letter to John Dee (April 20th) shares details he culled from the Inventio Fortunato about the information of a Flemish priest in Greenland in 1364 who knew of both northwest and northeast passages to Asia

·1577-1640Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter

·1579 The Union of Utrecht, a mutual defensive pact unites all the Dutch-speaking provinces against Spain, is signed by Holland, Zealand and parts of Utrecht and Groningen (January 23rd) and then by Ghent, parts of Friesland, Guelders and Utrecht as well as all of Ieper, Antwerp and Breda (February 4th); George Calvert (later, Lord Baltimore and founder of the English colony of Maryland), a grandson of refugees from Antwerp, is born in England.

·1579-1584Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, serves as first stadhoulder – appointment negotiated and promoted by Philip Marnix of Brussel

·1580 The Union of Utrecht is signed by Bruges, Lier, the city of Groningen, Zutphen, and Guelders (February) as well as Overijssel and Drenthe (April). Crowns of Spain and Portugal united under Philip II

·1581Act of Abjuration (later the basis of American Declaration of Independence) declared: drafted by four men, three of whom Flemish; representatives of the United Provinces (led by Philip Marnix of Brussel) abjure their oath of allegiance to Philip II at The Hague; Johannes De Laet born at Antwerp.

·1582-1612 Emanuel Van Meteren of Antwerp (son of Jacob, first cousin of Ortelius and Daniel Rogers), is appointed Dutch Consul at London

·1583 Samuel Blommaert is born at Antwerp (August 21st)

·1584Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, assassinated at his home in Delft (July 10th)

·1584-1625Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau assumes the inherited stadholdership

·1588Spanish Armada defeated (August 8th); initial surprise lost when two Flemish sailors escape the Armada and alert the English

·1590 Willem Usselinckx of Antwerp returns from a pro-longed sojourn in the Azores and the Iberian Peninsula with wealth and a plan to defeat Spain

·1594 Petrus Plancius is awarded a patent for a navigational solution to determining longitude at sea; largely under Petrus Plancius’ urging, the Compagnie Van Veere is established to seek out trade in the Far East.

·1595 “The placing of the compass-card in a fixed position beneath the needle, as in miner’s dials, surveying instruments, and opticians’ compasses, appears to have originated with Stevinus [Simon Stevins] of Bruges about the year 1595.”

·1598-1599The first real circumnavigation Netherlanders thru the Strait of Magellan led by first Simon de Cordes (a Zuidnederlander, who commanded the ship “de Liefde” which was piloted by Will Adams and made it to Japan) and then Jacques Mahu and financed by Johan van der Veeken of Mechelen as well as by Antwerpenaars Isaac and Simon LeMaire and Balthasar Coymans (who invested 18,000 guilders in the V.O.C.).

·1602United East India Company chartered by the States General of the United Provinces (March): Subscriptions taken over 5 month window (April 1st thru August 31st); largest chamber is Amsterdam with 57% of capital; it is run out of Antwerp emigres’ Dirck Van Os’ house half of all shareholders are “Zuidnederlanders” and 6 of the top 8 shareholders are as well.

·1605 Cecilius Calvert, son of George Calvert (later, Lord Baltimore), grandson of Flemish émigrés from Antwerp, is born in London (August 8th). Cecilius becomes the first proprietor of Maryland a Roman Catholic refuge, and it is for him that the city of Baltimore (established 1729) is named.

·1606 The Virginia Company established (April 10th) with investors including George Calvert (later, Lord Baltimore); the ship “de Witte Leeuw” (partially owned by Hons Honger of Antwerp), captained by Hans Lonck/Loncq of Roosendaal, trades and raids in the St. Lawrence Seeway for furs and fish (April-December).

·1607The Virginia Company establishes Jamestown, which includes some Anglo-Flemings, such as John Ganne (May 14th)

·1609 Dirck Van Os of Antwerp establishes the Bank of Amsterdam (Amsterdamsche Wisselbank) which later becomes the model for Alexander Hamilton’s Buttonwood Agreement of 1792 (January 31st); Henry Hudson, in command of the East India Company ship Halve Maen, recruited, financed, and advised by Flemings, departs Amsterdam (April 4th) to find a Northeast Passage to Asia; Pieter Winne of Ghent (later of Nieuw Nederland) baptized at St. Baaf’s Cathedral (April 14th); Twelve years' truce with Spain (April 23rd); founding of the bank of Amsterdam by Dirck Van Os of Antwerp; Hudson ultimately explores North American coast from Delaware Bay to the upper Hudson as far as present-day Albany (Sept 3rd to October 22nd) and makes return landfall at Dartmouth, England (November 7th).

·1610 Beginning with Arnout Vogels of Antwerp (July 26th), Flemish merchants in Amsterdam send ships to exploit Hudson’s “discovery”

·1611 Arnout Vogels with fellow Antwerpenaars Francoijs and Lennaert Pelgrom charter the 120 ton (60 lasts) ship “St. Pieter” to trade for two months in New Netherland [likely Adriaen Block’s first voyage to New Netherland] (May 19th); Emanuel Van Meteren publishes the first written account of Henry Hudson’s “discovery” in his book Belgische ofte Nederlantsche Oorlogen en de Geschiedenissen

·1612 Adriaen Block purchases for Arnout Vogels and the Pelgrom brothers, the 110 ton (55 last) ship “Fortuyn” to sail to New Netherland (January 12th); Emanuel Van Meteren of Antwerp dies at London (April 18th); Govert Loockermans, later of Nieuw Nederland, baptized at St Pietrskerk in Turnhout (July 2nd);

·1613 Francoijs Pelgrom, in a letter to his wife, says that the just returned voyage by Adriaen Block on the ship “Fortuyn” was “a better voyage even than last year” (July 30th); Arnout Vogels and the Pelgrom brothers, the first of the “Voorcompanieen” to define the region that later is called New Netherland, calls itself (August)“the Company of lands situate[d] between Virginia and Nova Francia” and has an exclusive license to exploit the area from Prince Maurits, which the Prince later rescinds (September 23rd) and admonishes disputing to work thru a solution under the arbitration of Petrus Plancius

·1614The name New Netherland first appears in an official document; New Netherland Company licensed by the States General (October 11th); fur trading post Fort Nassau established on Castle Island, present day Port of Albany

·1615 New Netherland Company Charter officially begins (January 1st)

·1618 New Netherland Company Charter expires (January 1st)

·1618-1619Synod of Dordrecht; heavy representation by Flemish delegates including Franciscus Gomarus of Brugge, Petrus Plancius of Dranouter, Johannes De Laet of Antwerp and others (November 13th, 1618-May 29th, 1619); beginning of Thirty Years' War in Germany

·1619Beheading of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt [who opposes the establishment of the WIC and brokered the Truce with Spain], leader of the peace party, at the Hague (May 13th)

·1620 Arnout Vogels of Antwerp, the first to exploit New Netherland, dies (May 16th); the Pilgrims arrive off of Massachusetts and sign the Mayflower Compact (November 11th) – including Isaac Allerton, later a close friend and business partner of the wealthiest man in Nieuw Nederland, Govert Loockermans of Turnhout; George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) of Antwerp extraction, purchases a tract of land on Newfoundland to establish a colony of Christian freedom he calls "Avalon".

·1621End of the Twelve years' truce with Spain (April 23rd); patent granted for the West India Company [WIC] by the States General (June 3rd, effective July 1st); George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) of Antwerp extraction, sends his first colonists to the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, arround a site called Ferryland (August); the States General permits a partnership led by Hans Hontom (or Houton) of Antwerp to send his ship “de Witte Duyf” under the command of Hontom’s brother Jan to New Netherland (September 13th); the States General permits a partnership led by Petrus Plancius to send two ships to New Netherland – one to the Hudson and the other to the Delaware – as long as they return by July 1622 (September 24th)

·1622 Petrus Plancius dies at Amsterdam (May 25th); the largest single investor in the W.I.C. (100,000 guilders) is the Antwerp émigré Guillielmo Bartholotti and more than half of all the 7 million+ guilders in capital raised is from the Amsterdam Chamber which is dominated by Flemings and Brabanders (and directs the activities for New Netherland); Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp is appointed a Director of the Amsterdam Chamber of the W.I.C. (October); census data show that more than half of the populations of Haarlem, Leiden and Middleburg are of Southern Netherlands origin and that even large cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam are more than one third immigrants from modern day Belgium; George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) of Antwerp extraction

·1623 George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) of Antwerp extraction, is awarded all of Newfoundland as his "Province of Avalon" by James I (January); Adriaen Jorisz Thienpont (born at Oudenaarde) appointed the first Director General of Nieuw Nederland (June 20th)

·1624First colonists – 24 Walloon and 6 Flemish families – sail on the ship called “Nieu Nederlandt” and arrive in New Netherland where they are settled at Fort Orange (Albany), the mouth of the Connecticut River, on Manhattan Island, and on High Island (Burlington Island) in the Delaware River (April); Cornelis May, as senior skipper, becomes first director of New Netherland science of international law;

·1625-1647 Prince Frederik Hendrik becomes stadhoulder upon death of Prince Maurits (dies April 25th)

·1625Willem Verhulst departs Amsterdam and is named Director General of New Netherland (April 22nd) Sarah Rapalje, whose father may have been a tailor at Antwerp, is the first European child born in New York (June 6th); Publication of De Jure Belli et Pacis, by the Dutch statesman and jurist Hugo Grotius, lays foundation for the freedom of the seas; publication by the Elsevir brothers of Leuven of Johannes De Laet’s Nieuwe Wereld (1st book to describe and use the term “Nieuw Nederland”); George Calvert made Lord Baltimore.

·1626 Daniel van Crieckenbeeck, commander at Fort Orange, killed while supporting a Mahican war party against the Mohawks; Peter Minuit replaces Verhulst as director (July 31st); purchases Manhattan Island (some sources say May 24th but others suggest August 10th); moves settlers from Fort Orange, Connecticut, and Delaware to Manhattan

1627 George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore and a descendant of Antwerp, arrives at Ferryland, the Province of Avalon, Newfoundland(July 23rd)

·1628Piet Heyn captures Spanish silver fleet for the W.I.C. (September 8th); Samuel Godijn of Antwerp, Samuel Blommaert (both of Antwerp), and Kiliaen Van Rensselaer agree to hire two men and send them to New Netherland to purchase land from the Amerindians (December)

·1629Samuel Godijn of Antwerp, Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp, and Kiliaen Van Rensselaer formally announce to the Amsterdam Chamber of the W.I.C. their intention to plant a colony or colonies at New Netherland (January 13th); "Freedoms and Exemptions," establishing the patroonship plan of colonization, granted by the Lords XIX of the W.I.C. (June 7th); Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp resigns as a Director of the Amsterdam Chamber of the W.I.C. (June 30th)

·1630 Messrs Blommaert and Godijn of Antwerp with Kiliaen Rensselaer (and Albert Burgh) establish a partnership for a colony on the “South River” (February 1st); Michael Paauw of Ghent granted a patroonship (on the site of Jersey City, New Jersey) called “Pavonia” (July 13th); Samuel Godyn/Godijn of Antwerp granted a patroonship at Cape Hinlopen/Delaware River Bay ” (July 15th); Michael Paauw of Ghent granted a patroonship for Staten Island (August 10th); A new partnership is formed by Messrs Blommaert, De Laet and Godijn of Antwerp with Kiliaen Rensselaer (and others) for Rensselaeswyck (October 1st); A new partnership is formed by Messrs Blommaert, De Laet and Godijn of Antwerp with Kiliaen Rensselaer (and others) for the establishment of a colony on the South (Delaware) River (October 16th); Michael Paauw of Ghent granted a third (New Jersey) patroonship at “Ahasimus” (November 22nd); Johannes De Laet of Antwerp joins with Samuel Godijn of Antwerp, Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp, and Kiliaen Van Rensselaer to form a general partnership (October).

·1631 First colonists for Swaenendael landed at Blommaert’s Kill/Lewe’s Creek (March?); Samuel Godyn/Godijn and Samuel Blommaert [and later including Johannes De Laet] – all of Antwerp – were granted a patroonship at Cape May (June 3rd); Kiliaen Van Rensselaer granted the east side of the Hudson River later called Rensselaerwyck (August 6th); Kiliaen Van Rensselaer granted the west side of the Hudson River also included in Rensselaerwyck (August 13th) – he includes the Antwerp natives Samuel Godyn/Godijn, Samuel Blommaert, and Johannes De Laet.

·1632George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, grandson of Antwerpenaars and Founder of the English colony of Maryland, dies in London (April 15th); Pieter Minuit removed as the Director General of New Netherland and replaced by Bastiaen Jansz Crol; the Delaware River colony of Swaenendael (population 34) is destroyed by Indians (November 18th).

·1633 JanBaptist van Antwerpen, gunners mate on the ship “Nieu Nederlant:, brings back to Patria 23 beaver pelts for private trading (April 7th); The very first military force to defend New Netherland of 104 soldiers arrives with the new Director General Wouter Van Twiller on the Zoutberg (April) accompanied by the captured Spanish yacht St. Martyn (commanded by Juriaen Blanck of Flemish origins) on which is also Govert Loockermans of Turnhout (April); Samuel Godijn dies (September 29th); first purchase of land from Indians outside Manhattan (on the Schuykill) is witnessed by Govert Loockermans (October 24th).

·1633-1638Wouter van Twiller, director of New Netherland (April)

·1634 Adriaen Vincent/van Sant, born at Aecken near Ghent, arrives in New Amsterdam from London on the English ship “Mary&John”; the first colonists from England arrive to establish the Royal Colony of Maryland, under the proprietorship of Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, and of Antwerp descent (March 25th); Hans Hontom, originally of Antwerp, and who first arrived in New Netherland in 1611, is killed by Cornelius vander Vorst in a knife fight at Renseselaerswyck (April);“Pretensions and Demands of the Patroons of New Netherland” delivered to the Directors of the West India Company (June 16th);

·1635 The W.I.C. agrees to Michael Paauw of Ghent’s terms to buyback his patroonships for Pavonia and Staten Island (January 1st)

·1636 Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp becomes an agent/advisor of the Swedish government (November).

·1637 Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp sends Pieter Minuit to Sweden to prepare for a Swedish colony near the old Swaenendael patroonship in Delaware (February).

·1638Peter Minuit hired by Swedish South Company, establishes New Sweden on the Delaware River (Wilimington, Delaware); Minuit lost at sea while returning to Sweden; Johannes De Laet proposes an official plan for the colonization of Nieuw Nederland (August 30th)

·1638-1647Willem Kieft, director of New Netherland

·1639 The sale of muskets or gunpowder to Amerindians in New Netherland is forbidden on pain of death (March 31st); The W.I.C. opens fur trade to everyone (May); Isaac Bedlow, with origins in Maldegem (near Middleburg, East Flanders), and who became the owner of Bedloe’s Island (where the Statue of Liberty stands) and Pieter van der Linde (from Belle Flanders, a surgeon the ship “De Liefde” and later, in 1648, schoolmaster) arrive in New Netherland.

·1640 Emmigrants to New Netherland are no longer required to pay for their passage over (May);Cornelis Melyn of Antwerp receives the rights of patroonship for Staten island (July 3rd); Michael Pauleszen van der Voort (from Dendermonde, East Flanders) marries Maria,Rapalje (daughter of Joris and sister of Sara – 1st European born in New York) at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (November 18th)

·1641 Cornelis Melyn of Antwerp arrives at New Amsterdam on the ship “Eyckenboom” and establishes his colony at Staten Island (August 20th)

·1642 AnnekenLoockermans of Turnhout, sister of Govert, marries Olof Van Courtlandt (February 26th) in the Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam; Govert Loockermans is granted the Brooklyn Ferry as well as a a house and lot in Manhattan (March 26th);Cornelis Melynis granted “the major part” of Staten Island (June 19th); Pieter Loockermans (brother of Govert) arrives in New Netherland.

·1642-1654Johan Printz, governor of New Sweden

·1643 Stephanus Van Courtlandt, son of AnnekenLoockermans of Turnhout and nephew of Govert Loockermans (and brother of Maria Van Rensselaer) and the first, native-born mayor of New York City is born in New Amsterdam (May 7th)

·1643-1645Kieft's war with the Indians around Manhattan Island

·1644 Cornelis Melyn of Antwerp awarded a double lot in Manhattan along the Strand (April 28th); Adriaen Vincent “from Aecken near Ghent” awarded a double lot in Manhattan on Ditch (later Broad) Street (June 1st); Pieter (vander) Linde of Belle, Flanders, marries Martha Chambert of Newkirk, Flanders (July 10th); Johannes De Laet publishes a chronicle of the W.I.C. (with details relating to New Netherland) in his Histoire ofte Iaerlijck Verhael.

·1647 Wilhelmus Beekman, the longest serving mayor of New York, and a grandson of Deinze (thru his maternal grandfather Willem Baudartius) and Brugge (thru his paternal grandfather Hendrik Beekman) arrives in New Netherland

·1647-1650Prince Willem II as stadholder

·1647Petrus Stuyvesant becomes director general of New Netherland, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, and other dependencies in the Caribbean; WIC ship Princess Amalia lost in Bristol Bay, former Director Kieft and Domine Evardus Bogardus drowned with 82 others

·1648Peace of Westphalia, settling Eighty Years' War with Spain; end of Thirty Years' War

·1649Simon Joosten of Meerbeke (near Aalst) marries Marritje Simons at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (August 4th); Johannes De Laet of Antwerp dies (at Leiden).

·1650States General, opposing authority of princes of the house of Orange, assume control over Dutch general policy; Hartford Treaty, settling boundary dispute between New Netherland and New England

·1651Stuyvesant abandons Fort Nassau (Gloucester, New Jersey); replaces it with Fort Casimir (New Castle, Delaware) below Swedish Fort Christina; Teunis Janszen Couverts (of Loemel in Limburg) arrives in New Netherland; Jan Coster van Aecken near Ghent (Beverwyck blacksmith and fur trader) marries Else Janse (); Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp dies at Amsterdam (December 23rd).

·1652-1654First Anglo-Dutch War

·1653 Isaac Bethloo (later Bedloe) marries Lysbeth Potters of Batavia, East Indies at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (May 16th); Jan Corneliszen Van Cleef, grandson of Martin from Antwerp and ancestor of actor Van Cleef, arrives in New Netherland; Construction of defensive wall across Manhattan Island (Wall Street) after threat of invasion from New England

·1654Swedes under new governor, Johan Rising, capture the Dutch post Fort Casimir on Trinity Sunday, rename it Fort Trefaltighet (Fort Trinity); Samuel Blommaert of Antwerp dies, still a part owner of Rensselaerwyck .

·1655 Joris Stephenszen of Brugge marries Geesje Harmens at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsteredam (May 5th); Nicasius de Silla of Mechelen marries Tryntje Crougers in New Amsterdam (May 26th); Stuyvesant conquers New Sweden in the Delaware Valley; Indians around Manhattan attack New Amsterdam, Pavonia, and Staten Island in a conflict called the Peach War.

·1656 Daniel Janszen Van Antwerpen of Beverwyck and later Schenectady, marries Maria daughter of Symon Symonsen Groot; Jan Tibout of Brugge settles near Ft. Casimir on the S. Delaware River; Pieter Janszen Loockermans of Turnhout purchases a house in Beverwyck (November 1st)’ Johanna De Laet, widowed daughter of Johannes De Laet, arrives in New Netherland.

·1657 Gabriel Corbesye, from Leuven, marries Teuntje Straetsmans in New Amsterdam (June 15th); Fernand Willays (born in Kortrijk) and Joost Koochuijt [sometimes listed as Kockuyt] born at Brugge arrive on the ship “De Verguilde Otter” in New Amsterdam (December 22nd)

·1658 CornelisVan Langevelt of St. Laurens, East Flanders, marriesMairitie, daughter of Jan Corneliszen Jonkers at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (January 19th); Christaen Toemszenof Strabroeck (Stabroek, Antwerpen) marries Engeltje Jacobs at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (February 10th); Jan Evertsen of Lokeren, East Flanders and Anthony de Mil, grandson of Mennonite Bruggelings who emigrated to Haarlem, arrive in New Netherland on the ship “de Verguilde Bever” (May 17th); Philippus Jacobus Schooff of Antwerp marries at the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam Jannetje Toenis Kay (July 26th); Jacobus Van Courtlandt, son of AnnekenLoockermans of Turnhout and brother of Stephanus, and grandfather of the first U.S. Chief Justice, John Jay, is born at New Amsterdam.

·1658-1663Esopus Indian War in New Netherland

·1659 Johanna De Laet (daughter of the Antwerpenaar Patroon and WIC Director Johannes De Laet) marries (Jeronimus Ebbing) in the same church in New Amsterdam on the same day (February 22nd) as Jan Guisthout Vander Linden of Brussels (who marries Jannetje daughter of Barent Balthus Van Kleeck from Haarlem); Pieter Follenaer (of Hasselt, Limburg) arrives in New Amsterdam on the ship “De Bever” (April); Karel de Beauvois (born in Leiden) lists himself as Flemish (father from Ghent) when he arrives at New Amsterdam; WIC soldier Jacob Farmont (born in Brussels) marries Annetje Andries in New Amsterdam (September 5th).

·1660 Anries Pieterszen a soldier and Willem Vanschure (both born in Leuven), Willem Vanderbeke (born in Oudenaarde), Ludovicus Aerts (born in Brugge), Jean Verele [Verhelle?] (born in Antwerp), and Pieter Bayard (born in Nieuwpoort, West Flanders) arrive in New Netherland on the ship “De Moesman” (March 9th); Ferdinandus Van Sycklin (born in Ghent; ancestor of U.S. Civil War general Dan Sickles) marries Eva, daughter of Anthonee Van Salee [the infamous Dutch pirate and convert to Islam] in New Amsterdam.

·1661 Jan Doske, a soldier born in Tongeren, Limburg, marries Styntje Klinckenborgs from “Aken” (February 19th); Jacob Abrahamsen, born in Zandvoorde, West Flanders, arrives in New Netherland on the ship “Johan de Doper” (May 9th); Jan Evertszen of Lier, East Flanders, arrives in New Netherland; Cornelis Stevenszen Muller of Turnhout marries Hillitje Loockermans (niece of Govert, daughter of Pieter) in Beverwyck.

·1662 Jan de la Warde, listed as a Fleming, (born in Antwerp), arrives in New Netherland on the ship “De Vos” (August); Balthus Loockermans [brother of Govert] is in New Amsterdam; Harmanus Van Hoboken (schoolmaster 1555-1559 in New Amsterdam) marries Claertje Pieters (October 28th) at the Dutch Reformed Church.

·1663 Alexander Stilteel of Duynkerken marries Maria Burchhardts in New Amsterdam (February 10th); Jan Gysberstzen Meteren [grandson of Antwerpenaar Emanuel Van Meteren], Teunis Janszen Lanen van Pelt (from Overpelt, Limburg), his four children and brother Matthys Janszen Lanen van Pelt (from Overpelt, Limburg) and Jan Bastiaenszen van Kortryk [Kortrijk], ancestor of First Lady Elizabeth Kourtright (President James Monroe’s wife) arrive in New Amsterdam on the ship “de Roosebloom” (March 15th).

·1664 Meynard Jurnay of Duynkerken marries Lysbeth Durmon in New Amsterdam (May 16th); Carel Enjart “from Flanders” arrives in New Netherland (descendants known as “Injyard”); English naval force funded by the Duke of York and Albany captures New Netherland in a surprise attack during peace time

·1665-1667Second Anglo-Dutch War

·1665 Christina Pieters “Van Sluys in Vlaenderen” marries Johan Letelier (April 26th); Francoys Rombout (the first New York mayor born in what we now call the Flemish Region, Hasselt, Limburg) marries Aeltje Wessels; Admiral Michiel Adriaansz de Ruyter retakes most of the WIC trading posts lost previous year to English in Africa; De Ruyter's plans to retake New Netherland aborted

·1667 Marye Van Hoboken marries Otto Laurenszen at the Dutch reformed Church in New Amsterdam (February 20th); Admiral Abraham Crijnsen retakes former Dutch colonies in the Guianas (Wild Coast of South America) seized by the English

·1670 Jean Crocheron (born in Zele, East Flanders) arrives at Staten Island; Ms. Beelitie Jacobs of Brugge marries Frans Hendrickszen of Breevoort (November 4th)

·1672-1674Third Anglo-Dutch War

·1673New York captured by Dutch naval force; New Netherland restored as a Dutch colony; Anthony Colve, grandson of Bruggelings, becomes Nieuw Nederland’s final governor.

1674 Lieutenant Herman Anthony Hubert (“from Hulst in Flanders”) marries Lucretia Rodenburg (January 21st) in New Amsterdam; WIC soldier Pieter Schamp of Ghent marries Jannetje, daughter of Dirck Volkertzen in the New Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Church (October 24th); New Netherland becomes New York again as a result of the peace of Westminster (November 10th)


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

Happy Thanksgiving!

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There really is little for me to add about the Flemish contribution to Thanksgiving. What's more, I will actually be in Flanders for a few days immediately after Thanksgiving (on business, so unfortunately I will not get a chance to visit as I would like to).

For those of you contemplating the nexus of Flanders and Thanksgiving (and of course the Flemish contribution to this very American holiday), I gently offer a redirect to my earlier piece on this subject: http://flemishamerican.blogspot.com/2009/11/flemish-influence-on-pilgrims-part-5.html

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

The Flemish Claim to Sinterklaas in America

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Today, December 6th, children in Flanders receive gifts. These gifts ostensibly come from Sinterklaas with the aid of his Moor assistant, "Swarte Piet". This tradition had strong Catholic origins, which of course made it anathema to 17th century convicted Calvinists. Thankfully, key members of the Dutch Reformed Church in Nieuw Nederland who had roots in officially Catholic Flanders, were unwilling to give up their cultural traditions.

One of these key individuals was Annetje Loockermans (whose story I have told earlier here). Annetje was the sister of Govert Loockermans and together with several of her other brothers, represented the Brabantian town of Turnhout well in 17th century America.


Annetje married Olaf van Courtlandt and her children led the Netherlandic colony culturally, politically and economically: her son Stephanus was the first native-born mayor of New York City. Her daughter Maria married Jeremias van Rensselaer (son of Kiliaen, the founder of Rensselaerswyck and the subject of recent books). Later, when her husband died, the young widow raised her children and kept the patroonship profitable. She also kept the traditions alive she had picked up from her Turnhouter mother Annetje.

Baker’s account from Wouter de backer



The earliest evidence of any practice related to Sinterklaas is found in the New York State archives. A surviving receipt from Wouter de Backer (Walter the Baker) to Maria van Rensselaer in 1675, (please see the embedded picture), lists (8 lines from the bottom) says that in addition to cookies ("koeken"), Mrs. Van Rensselaer purchased 2 guilders and 10 stivers worth of Sinterklaas "goet" ["goodies"] - please see an excerpt above and the actual scanned image here.

Later descendants of Annetje Loockermans were to carry the Sinterklaas theme even further: they gave us here in America the poem we know as "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as well as pushed the date we celebrate Christmas from the evening of December 5th/6th to December 25th. Cultural influences being what they are, Christmas is now celebrated even in non-Christian countries like Japan (albeit as a cultural, not a religious, holiday).

So as you hum the latest Christmas jingle, bake your Christmas 'goodies', or scramble for those last minute gifts, take a moment to reflect, if you will, on the debt owed to a few hardy Flemish women in 17th century Nieuw Nederland who transmitted their cultural traditions to the world from Turnhout.



Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without my express, written permission.

Prettige Kerstdagen! Merry Christmas!

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The West Flemish priest (and poet and Father of the Flemish Movement) Guido Gezelle, nearly always had something so perfectly dead on to say. It may seem a stretch to incorporate him here, but since he did have a strong literary (and emotional) attachment to America (inspired by , he certainly has a stake in the Flemish Contribution to America.

Permit me to pass along this along to you:


Ik wense U:

Ik wense u een jaar, dat zacht als zijde is ;
Ik wense u een jaar, dat blank en blijde is;
Ik wense u een jaar, dat ver van krank is,
Een deugdelijk jaar zo breed als ’t lang is;
Ik wense u een jaar, dat als ’t voorbij is,
Een zalig jaar voor u en mij is.

- Guido Gezelle - "Jaarkrans" 1893
( I wish you a year that is as soft as silk;
I wish you a year that is bright and cheerful;
I wish you a year of endless good health;
A solid year that is as broad and long as it can be;
I wish you a year [which, when it is over, will be] a blessed year for you and for me.
- translation courtesy of Leo Norekens)



Lastly, since this is a day of joy, celebration, and at least occasional heavenly glances, please allow me one more Flemish reference to the Spirit of the Season.

Although he never visited America - and perhaps had zero ties with America - Ludwig van Beethoven was like yours truly the grandson of Flemish emigrants. Beethoven's Flemish origins were however from Antwerp, a port which has given more than its fair share of emigrants to America.

It seems, then, only fitting that since Beethoven's Ode to Joy is not only a popular Christmas tune but also the anthem of the European Union, that I wrap up with this.


Merry Christmas and to all of you my heartfelt wishes for a New Year with all the best to you humanly possible.

Prettige Kerstdagen & Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!



Copyright 2011 by David Baeckelandt. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without my explicit, written consent. Merry Christmas!
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