Domestic Animals of the Netherlands
A short overview of the domestic animals of the Netherlands.
Location: Netherlands
Cattle Farming in Dutch Culture
By the 17th century, the Netherlands sat at the center of a global trade network. Imported goods poured into its ports and trickled inland, including abundant supplies of grain. This allowed Dutch farmers to use their land for commercial pastures instead of subsistence crops. Their most important livestock were cattle. Large operations fattened calves for veal or kept dairy cows. Merchants then purchased their meat, butter, and cheese as lucrative exports.
As a result, cattle farmers during the Golden Age enjoyed a status similar to merchants, craftsmen, sea captains, and local officials. Plentiful feed and high food prices favored economies of scale. Farms quickly expanded and specialized to meet demand. Former small farmers, pushed out of the market, found new roles supporting the large dairies. Whole industries popped up in rural villages, fed by the wealth of farmers. In this way, cattle farming both benefited from and contributed to the overall prosperity of the Golden Age.[1][2]
Falling markets and waves of cattle plague troubled dairy farmers throughout the 18th century. The industry recovered in the 19th century by modernizing its farms and dairies, famous for their cleanliness. Cheese exports rose from 11.8 million kilograms at the start of the century to 27.8 million by 1875.[3] Today, the Netherlands produces nearly 800 million kilograms of cheese each year.[4]
Horses of the Netherlands
Like many European nations, the Netherlands worked to improve its native horses by importing foreign stallions. Farmers kept horses for harness work, both in the field and on the roads. They combined their heavy, high-stepping horses with lighter Thoroughbreds and Arabians. The resulting Dutch Warmbloods are now some of the most popular sporthorses in the world. They fall under the KWPN registry, which also oversees harness and draft breeds in the Netherlands.[5]
Other Livestock of the Netherlands
Before the cattle industry boom, farmers of the Netherlands kept diverse farmyards. Their early livestock supported a subsistence lifestyle, replaced by a mercantile one. Sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens were all common. Later, after several crashes in the cattle market, many small farmers returned to more generalized farming. This pattern of life continued in rural areas until the 20th century, when the government encouraged rapid modernization.
Dutch immigrants and colonists spread across the world during the Colonial era. As they built new ports and farms, families imported livestock from their former home. Dutch livestock supported many of the early farms of New Netherland in America. This region now covers New York, New Jersey, Delaware and the surrounding states.[6][7]
Pets in Dutch Culture
The urban middle class of the Golden Age kept a variety of animals as companions. Parrots, captured in far-off colonies and brought back on ships, became trendy pets after the 16th century. They, along with dogs, appear in many paintings from the time. Cats, while widespread, were less popular than dogs. Both folk custom and Calvinism viewed them as sinful and potentially supernatural animals. In the 16th century, they were closely associated with witches.
Dogs, meanwhile, are credited with several heroic feats in Dutch history. William the Silent's pug, Pompey, is said to have awoken him just in time to escape Spanish assassin's in 1572. The House of Orange kept pugs for centuries afterward and introduced them to England. Dog breeds like the Keeshond and Kooikerhondje spaniels are still popular in the Netherlands. Families also keep dogs from neighboring countries, such as Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds.[8][9]
Bibliography
Willem Frijhoff and Marijke Spies, Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1650, Hard-Won Unity (Assen: Royal Van Gorcum, 2004), 191.
J. L. Price, Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (London: Reaktion Books, 2012).
Jan Bieleman, Five Centuries of Farming: A Short History of Dutch Agriculture, 1500-2000 (Wageningen, Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2010), 119-132.
Jacques Claassen, "New Dairy Export Era as EU Quotas End," Farmer's Weekly, February 28, 2017, Farmer's Weekly Magazine, accessed June 08, 2017.
Margaret Derry, Horses in Society: A Story of Animal Breeding and Marketing Culture, 1800-1920 (Toronto: University Of Toronto Press, 2015), 242-243.
Kees Schuyt and Ed Taverne, Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1950, Prosperity, and Welfare (Assen: Royal Van Gorcum, 2004), 136-140.
David Steven Cohen, "Dutch-American Farming" in New World Dutch Studies: Dutch Arts and Culture in Colonial America: 1609-1776, ed. Roderic H. Blackburn and Nancy A. Kelley (Albany: Albany Institute of History and Art, 1987), 171-184.
Kathleen Walker-Meikle, The Dog Book: Dogs of Historical Distinction (Oxford: Old House, 2014).
Claudia Swan, *Art, Science, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Holland: Jacques de Gheyn II (1565-1620) *(New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 173.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
