The country now known
as the Netherlands was, during the Middle Ages, a
collection of autonomous duchies (Gelre and
Brabant) and counties (Holland and Zeeland)
together with the bishopric of Utrecht. These
territories, together with present day Belgium
and Luxembourgh, formed under Karel V the Low
Countries, which were part of the great
Burgundian-Hapsburg Empire. In 1568 when a number of the
provinces rebelled against Philip II of Spain it
marked the beginning of the 80 Years' War of
Independence. The revolt was led by Prince Willem
van Oranje, who has gone into history as 'the
father of the Netherlands'. The peace of
Westphalia (1648) recognized the Republic of the
Seven United Provinced as an independent state.
In the 17-th century,
Dutch merchants established trading posts all
over the world. This period was characterised by
an expansion of trade and shipping, earning it
the name 'the Golden Age'. First
there were many trading companies, which later,
due to heavy mutual competition, merged together
in a few big trading companies. The leading
companies were the Dutch East India Company (VOC:
Verenigd Oost-Indische Compagnie), which traded
with the Far East, and the West India Company
(WIC: West Indie Compagnie) responsible for
administration of New Amsterdam or New York as it
later became. The need to protect trade interests
led to several wars, notably against England.
In 1789 the French
Revolution broke out, with the result that French
troops occupied the Republic in 1795. In 1810
Napoleon incorporated the Northern Netherlands
into the French Empire as a vassal state. With
the fall of Napoleon the Netherlands regained its
freedom and in 1815 Willem I, prince of
Oranje-Nassau, assumed the title King of the
Netherlands. He was also Grand Duke of
Luxembourg. The Netherlands assumed its present
form when Belgium became independent in 1839.
During the First World
War, the Netherlands remained neutral. It
continued to pursue a policy of strict neutrality
right up until the Second World War, but was
nevertheless attacked and invaded by Germany in
1940 and occupied for 5 years.
T H E S T O R Y
Several
hundred years ago, in the year 1729 to be
exactly, there lived a Dutch sea captain of
fearsome temperament. With his ship he sailed
through the stormiest seas, and fared the hardest
routes. One day however, despite all his efforts,
a storm prevented him from rounding the steep
cliffs of a headland. He swore to the Devil that
he would never give in to Nature, and that he
would sail on until he rounded the headland, even
if it took him till Judgment Day.The Devil took
the Captain at his word and dammed him, that he
must stay as captain of his ship, now a
ghostship, sailing the seas, until Judgment Day
should come.The Devil left him just one small
hope. Only through the love of a woman could he
be released.
So, the
Flying Dutchman became the curse of the
seas. Any ship that met him became a ship of ill
fortune. No sailor would sail on her, any trader
would refuse to deal in it's wares.In order to
protect themselves against an encounter with the
ghost ship, ships took to nailing horseshoes to
their masts, which was said to bring luck, and
prevent an unhappy meeting.
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