366 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



with the Osterlin^G or Easterlings of the Hanse Towns in the 

 Baltic. That with Venice was conducted partly by the Germans, 

 and partly by the Dutch, the Venetians themselves taking no 

 active part in the carriage of the goods. Repeated interchanges 

 took place in the German towns in the course of transit, so that 

 the same commodities were rarely carried from one extremity to 

 the other. 



Dordrechc, now called Dort, one of the oldest Dutch cities, is 

 situated in the estuary of the Maas, on an island torn from the 

 mainland during a flood in 1421, about 400 years after the 

 foundation of the city. Dort was formerly the capital of the 

 province, and the residence of the Counts of Holland. Its 

 natural strength was too great for its rulers to be coerced by 

 feudal rivals. Heavily-laden vessels could come close to the 

 quays, and the city would have been an important trading-place 

 even without the unusual privileges which its princes conferred 

 upon it, and by which it was enriched. English wool was one 

 of the commodities, of which, for German dealers, it became 

 the sole factory. Salt, wines, grain, hops and wood, were sub- 

 ject to pre-emptive reservations. Being the last port on the 

 Rhine, it was the point where the huge rafts of timber floating 

 down from the German forests were broken up and sold. A 

 great trade was also carried on in salt fish and fish oils, as well 

 as in corn and flax. Manufactures of cloth, both woollen and 

 linen, employed many hands ; ship-building, sawing, and other 

 industrial occupations, added to the importance of the town. 



Zierikzee, which now has its harbour choked up with sands, 

 was, before the thirteenth century, a rich and flourishing port ; 

 in the fifteenth it possessed the largest ships and most nume- 

 rous mercantile fleet in the Netherlands, and traded with Portu- 

 gal and Spain. Hoorn or Horn, on the Zuyder Zee, owed its 

 origin to some Hamburg merchants, who established a trading 

 station there in 1316. The trade they brought to the place was 

 chiefly that in beer, but Hoorn also became the seat of a traffic 

 in cattle with Denmark, and in provisions and dairy produce with 

 the maritime countries further south. Its ship-building yards 

 were extensive, and its inhabitants were amongst the ablest 

 navigators of Holland. Zierikzee and Hoorn are of histories 1 ,! 

 as well as commercial interest, for the public spirit with which 

 they resisted the levies of money and men made by Charles the 

 Bold. As a consequence of the wars of this prince, Dutch mer- 

 chantmen became the frequent prizes of France and other king- 

 doms ; valuable cargoes were annually sacrificed, and crews 

 made prisoners ; while at home, taxes were enforced the more 

 rigidly as the citizens became less able to pay. Through the 

 vongeance taken by Charles upon the foremost towns, " cloth- 

 weaving, which had hitherto been a flourishing manufacture at 

 Hoorn, fell into decay, owing to the numbers of weavers and 

 fullers who were driven from their homes." Zierikzee was made 

 to pay a fine of 30,000 guilders, and to support a garrison of 

 foreign troops. 



Haarlem, once the capital of the province of Holland, was a 

 large but not densely peopled town noted for its varied indus- 

 try. Its staple manufactures of textile fabrics, particularly 

 woollens, were in demand in places as distant as Portugal and 

 Spain. Damask linen from the looms of Haarlem was esteemed 

 in every quarter of the world. Specimens of these damask 

 fabrics were produced of such wonderful fineness and beauty, 

 as to surpass those of the Saracens. Haarlem compounded with 

 the Counts of Holland in 1245, by a guaranteed payment of .20 

 a year, for freedom from taxes for ever. It suffered pillage in 

 1491 by the "Bread and Cheese" insurgents, who were incited 

 to revolt through the misrule of the House of Burgundy. 



Leyden at one time sent its cloth to Bergen, Bruges, Antwerp, 

 Calais, Deventer, Campen, Zwolle, and Zutphen, and contained 

 100,000 inhabitants, a great number of whom were engaged in 

 the weaving trade. This high state of prosperity resulted from 

 the liberality of the citizens. While the wealthier towns of the 

 South Netherlands were exclusive in their policy, North Holland 

 wisely welcomed all comers, and readily accorded to them the 

 rights of citizenship. Fugitives from Brabant and Flanders 

 settled at Leyden and other towns soon after the year 1300, 

 bringing with them their skill in handicrafts. The city grew 

 rich from the labour of these immigrants, and produced from 

 its 350 looms nearly 50,000 pieces of cloth annually. When 

 Antwerp was given up to carnage by Philip of Spain, Leyden 

 again received an accession of strength and skill. In this way 

 it became necessary on several occasions to enlarge the city. 



During the war of independence, these citizens proved by their 

 valour that their enfranchisement had inspired them with the 

 sympathies and loyalty of Dutchmen. 



Delft, like most of the Dutch towns, possessed cloth manufac- 

 tures, especially those of say or baize.: brewing was likewise an 

 important industry. Its potteries, too, were known far and wide, 

 so that Delf or Delft became the common name for that earthen- 

 ware which is now superseded, even in Holland, by the superior 

 Wedgwood ware and china of England. A considerable trade in 

 tobacco-pipes was also carried on. 



Enkhuizen was a ship-building and fishing port. The ships 

 built were for mercantile and fishing purposes. Herring boats 

 to the number of 400 and 500 a year i.3., three-fourths of all 

 the Dutch-built craft were constructed at this port. Its inhabi- 

 tants numbered 40,000, most of them dependent upon the "great 

 fishery." The verb einbceckel, einbceckelen, describes a method of 

 pickling herrings discovered later by Boeckel, and still practised 

 in Amsterdam, Enkhuizen, Delft, Hoorn, Schiedam, Brielle, and 

 Vlaardingen. The produce of this industry was exported all 

 over the world. 



The harbour of Deventer, on the Tssel, was used for trading 

 purposes in the year 882. It was burnt by the Norse pirates, 

 and when rebuilt was often subsequently besieged by con- 

 tending powers in Holland and Cologne. It was a free impe- 

 rial city, well defended, and for a long while a member of the 

 Hanseatic League, a connection which opened to its fleet the 

 trade with Bergen. Deventer also secured trading privileges 

 with Schonen. The exports were cattle, corn, butter, cheese, 

 beer, wool, and turf, and there was a busy trade in timber. 

 Coarse manufactures of linen and wool also employed the in- 

 habitants. 



Kampen, another town on the Yssel, resembled Deventer in 

 the character of its trade. It was once a considerable place, 

 boasting a mercantile marine of 120 vessels, and pursuing an 

 active maritime commerce with Holland and the South Nether- 

 lands, as well as with more northern states, and also a con- 

 siderable inland traffic by means of the Rhine. Merchants from 

 England, Germany, and tha Baltic assembled in its markets. 



Middleburg is a characteristic example of the Dutch towns, 

 which are said to have been in the Middle Ages not parts of the 

 state, but commonwealths in themselves. The municipal charter 

 of Middleburg, bearing date 1213, is the oldest document of the 

 kind extant, except that of Gertruydenberg. King William in 

 1253, and Floris V. in 1271, conferred further privileges upon 

 the town. This place was so flourishing that the English made 

 it, about 1380, a staple or market for the wool trade. Raw wool 

 from England came in free of all customs, the citizens, under the 

 protection of their charter, being " allowed to buy what they 

 liked, where they liked, to live at peace with their neighbours, 

 and to be left alone."* The wool trade of Middleburg between 

 1380 and 1390 drew to its mart merchants from Italy, Portugal, 

 and Spain, and this intercourse led to a prosperous trade in 

 wine. 



Nimeguen (Nymegen), in Guelderland, in 1050 was noted, 

 with Wyk de Duurstede, for the production of fine cloth of a 

 bright scarlet dye, which had retained its high character 120 

 years after, when the chief lord of the province stipulated for 

 a yearly tribute of three pieces to the Emperor Frederick. 

 Nimeguen was a member of the Hanse, and was in alliance witl? 

 Cologne. 



Rotterdam, the capital of South Holland, on the Maas, at the 



confluence of the Rotte, obtained municipal privileges in- 1270, 



extensions of which were secured in 1340 and 1361. William VI. 



also materially promoted the business of the town. Rotterdam has 



always ranked as one of the most commercial and populous cities 



i of Holland. It had inland communication, by means of canals, 



with every other town in the country ; and owing to the depth 



of its river, the largest ships could come up close to its quays. 



I Its manufactures of woven goods, liquors, beer, leather, and 



j many other articles, were extensive, and it carried on a large 



i trade in wines and grain. It was also one of the principal ports 



I for the herring fishery, and for trade with France and England. 



The inhabitants of Utrecht (Ultrajectum) carry their annals 

 back to the Romans ; they were early renowned as good sailors 

 and skilful weavers. They possessed the right of levying troops 

 and coining money. Their industry and power gave them such a 



* " Industrial History of the Dutch," by T. McCullagh. 



