The theme of History Month this year is “Me &We”. Kennislink is also participating in this month:you will find a historical photo competition on the 'History' page and articles on the theme. We kicked off with an article about our long relationship with immigrants.
Economic immigrants from the 1970s and 1980s were initially temporarily in the Netherlands, but due to the deterioration of the economy and higher unemployment, immigration rules became stricter.
These guest workers, who initially intended to return to their families after work, now stayed here because otherwise they would no longer enter the Netherlands. They therefore had their families or future brides come over en masse.
Now – years later – the media and some political parties are regularly negative about these migrant workers. They would abuse social arrangements, impoverish the neighborhood, integrate poorly; you name it.
And that, while an estimated 98% of the Dutch are descended from an immigrant.
Fighting aliens
The Netherlands has sometimes been friendlier to its economic immigrants. In the 15 e century, people even lobbied fanatically to get them to the Dutch cities. Foreign traders brought contacts and knowledge with them and the goods and growing economy would follow naturally. City councils appease prospective immigrants with gifts and discounts on rent. Mandatory integration courses or giving up your nationality were not included. And yet these families were well integrated and they even achieved high official positions within the city, such as the mayoralty.
Spanish traders who were persuaded to settle in the important trading cities of the 15 e century, such as Antwerp, Bruges but to a certain extent also Middelburg, often visited their Spanish fellow citizens in the new environment. The Zeelanders did not see the difference, but in Antwerp, for example, there were Spaniards from the Aragon region and in Middelburg from Castile.
Trade was the main reason for their presence so it was to no one's advantage if the ties with their homeland were clouded. The contacts in Spain, and in the other international cities where they established trading houses with the help of relatives, were very important. Governments understood this and in some cities the Spaniards got additional benefits. They could live in the city and remain subjects of the Spanish crown. As a result, they partly fell under the Spanish justice system and had fewer duties in the city.
King gives immigrants access to city government
In 1517, representatives of the Middelburg city council traveled to the court of Charles V in Spain. At their request, he granted Middelburg the exceptional right to include residents in the city council who did not possess official citizenship. Born in Zeeland was now the minimum requirement for an administrative position.
For the second generation of Spaniards, this meant that they could now also take a seat in the city council. This turned out to be desirable because the same year a Spaniard was elected to the city council. Foreign influences occasionally led to unrest among the population, such as an uprising in 1523. But in general it was not difficult:Spaniards in the city government meant economic growth and the city embraced that enthusiastically.
Social position more important than origin
For the second and later generations it was important to maintain their Spanish identity and thus the economic ties with the motherland, as well as to integrate. The sons of the original immigrants often took over their father's profession and maintained close ties with the European family network. In addition, there was plenty of marriage with Dutch people. The social position of the bride-to-be was generally more important than origin. The godparents were often chosen from among the Spanish relatives to keep the family ties strong.
All in all, the Spaniards integrated well, married the Dutch and even made it to high administrative positions such as that of mayor. On the other hand, they kept their own identity in order to best continue trade with Spain. The extra benefits for immigrants came in handy here.
Access to Dutch banks facilitated the transit of Spanish trade goods to other countries. And once integrated into Dutch society, they formed a springboard for other Spaniards who also wanted to settle here permanently or sought shelter during a business visit.
Other religions are also welcome
With the advent of Protestantism, the predominantly Catholic Spaniards often moved to Roman-oriented cities such as Utrecht. But many of them also switched to the new faith. The Sephardic Jews, who fled Spain from the terror of the Spanish Inquisition, also liked to settle in the Netherlands. The trading climate was fine here and more importantly:here they could practice their religion in peace.
Read more
More information about Dutch immigration history can be found at migration in the Netherlands and in the book New Dutchmen. Settlement of migrants through the ages.