History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 110

were gradually absorbed into the life of the towns. The Government did not look upon
all the sects with favour; the political views of the Anabaptists made them obnoxious,
and in 1575 thirteen Dutch and Flemish Anabaptists were burnt as heretics. There
were Low Dutch communities in many towns; the largest was in London (in 1618 it
had 10,000, mostly Flemings and Walloons), and there were settlements in Norwich,
Sandwich (where 406 persons settled in 1561 to engage in weaving and fishing),
Canterbury, Maidstone, Southampton, Lynn, Rye, Colchester, Ipswich, Thetford,
Stamford, and Dover.
1. 4.
Intercourse with Holland in the 17th century was of two kinds. Englishmen visited
Holland and became familiarized with Dutch political, industrial, and commercial
practice. During the Civil War and the Commonwealth many Royalists found a refuge
in Holland; when the Commonwealth envoy Doreslaat was murdered at The Hague by
some of these refugees, the assassins remained unpunished under the pretext that
they could not be discovered among the many English there. Of the last half of the
century it would be true to say that there was hardly a leading man, from Charles II
downwards, who had not had some experience of Dutch conditions. But beside the
visitors to Holland there were also immigrants from Holland. It is not easy to assess
how much each of these classes had to do with the conscious imitation of the Dutch
which went on during this period. It is at least true to say that the immigrants took a
leading part in suggesting and carrying out the changes by which many English
activities were brought into close accord with the Dutch model. There was a long
preparation in the deliberate imitation of Dutch methods, or the nation would not have
been ready to welcome William III.
The following were the main lines of approach: (1) through commerce - Dutch
business men came to a country where commerce was developing rapidly, and they
entered into keen competition with the London merchants both in trade and finance,
even assisting in the financial affairs of state; (2) through artisans who came in the
wake of the Dutch capitalists; (3) through the military element, which was
comparatively unimportant, though William brought a few regiments from Holland
which did not return there, but were garrisoned permanently in England and Ireland. It
is evident that the United Provinces were for England a more apposite model than was
France at this time.
1. 5.
The proper names of Low Dutch countries, nations, and districts were borrowed from
the various Low Dutch dialects. It is impossible to specify the particular channel of
introduction; they could have come in by way of trade, travel, or war, or through
political intercourse. Very interesting are the names of Northern, Baltic, and South
German countries and peoples which came into English through the medium of Low
Dutch.
Dutch (c. 1460), of or pertaining to the people of Germany; (1568), of the Low Dutch
people of the Netherlands and Holland; (1592), of or belonging to the Dutch: as a sb.
(o. 1380, Wyclif), the German language in any of its forms; (1647), the language of
Holland or the Netherlands; (1577), the Dutch; ad. M.Du. dutsch, duutsch, duutsc
(e.mod.Du. duytsch, Du. duitsch). The senses of the word have changed in English to

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