The Dutch are a Germanic people living in the Netherlands primarily descending from Franks and Saxons from Lower Saxony, who lived in the Netherlands during the 5th century.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Netherlands: 14.7 million United States: 1.0 million (est) | |
| Languages | |
| Dutch, (Afrikaans) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Other, None | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germans, English, Flemings, Frisians, & Afrikaners |
History
The Dutch people descend from two early medieval people: the Franks and the Saxons. Dutch people living in the southern and western parts of the Netherlands descend from the Franks, while Dutchmen living in the eastern part of the Netherlands (those living in the provinces of Gelderland, Overijssel, Drenthe and Groningen) descend from the Saxons.
The Franks have had the most influence on the Dutch culture in the early Middle Ages which makes the Frankish heritage the most dominant in Dutch culture though Saxon cultural heritage persisted in the eastern parts of the Netherlands until the 1960s.
Since the year 1000 the Dutch culture has been fairly independent from those of its neighbours, but the cultures of neighbouring lands have had their influence on Dutch culture, as the Netherlands were occupied by foreign powers several times in its history.
The Dutch people are strongly affiliated to all West Germanic peoples, such as the English and German peoples, and less so to North Germanic peoples (Danes, Norwegians, Swedes and Icelanders). Ethnic affiliation is strongest between the Dutch people and the Flemish and Frisian peoples. The Frisian people, who speak their own language and live in Friesland (a province of the Netherlands), have had some influence on Dutch culture, especially in the western Netherlands. Flemish culture has had some influence on Dutch culture in the southern Netherlands. The Flemish tongue, though different from Dutch, is intelligible for Dutch people. The Frisian language is much harder to understand for the average Dutchman. It´s actually closer related to the English language than to the Dutch language. Dutch people, especially those in the eastern Netherlands also have a strong correlation with people living in the German Bundesland of Lower Saxony.
Since the late 16th century, when the Netherlands became an independent nation, Dutch culture has become more independent from that of its neighbours.
Culture
Contribution to humanity
Since the late 16th century the Dutch people have become heavily involved in world trade and have contributed heavily to it and to the emergence of capitalism. The Dutch also contributed to shipbuilding. Dutch influence has been dominant on the terrain of dike construction and water management. A large part of the world's polders is located in the Netherlands.
For a more complete list of famous Dutch people see List of Dutch people.
Language
Almost all ethnically Dutch people speak the Dutch language, except for some elderly people who still can only speak their own dialect. The Dutch language is a West Germanic, Low Franconian language. The language originated in the Middle Ages, was standardized in the 16th century and has many Frankish and some Saxon influences. As the Netherlands have colonized Suriname in the 17th century, the language is also spoken there. Most people in Flanders speak Dutch as well.
Religion
Secularization is high in the Netherlands: A plurality of Dutch people (41% of the Dutch people) does not belong to any denomination. Those belonging to a denomination are mainlyChristians. 30% of the Dutch people are Roman Catholic and 13% are Protestant. Currently, apprroximately 10% is muslim.
Symbols
The Dutch flag consists of three horizontal bands coloured red (top), a white and a blue. The flag originated in the late 16th century. The red band which originally was orange represents the house of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since William of Orange made the Netherlands independent from Spain. The colour blue also symbolises the house of Orange-Nassau. The origin of the white band is not certain.