The Netherlands was a Spanish possession for nearly a hundred years, beginning in 1556 when its crown passed to the foreign king Philip II of Spain. There was a Dutch revolt in 1566 and a declaration of independence in 1581, and while the north part of the Netherlands was effectively autonomous from 1585 onwards, their independence wasn’t formally recognized until 1648. In the hundred years of Spanish rule parts of the country were subject to Spanish occupation.
I’ve visited the Netherlands, and don’t seem to recall there being much trace of Spanish culture or language. Was I not looking hard enough, did the Dutch thoroughly eradicate any trace of the Spanish after their independence, or did the Spanish not influence Dutch culture very much to begin with? Even if there is no surviving architecture and other visible art in the Spanish style, surely there must be some traces of Spanish influence in the Dutch language. I mean, you can’t go through a hundred years of Spanish rule, commerce, and occupation without acquiring at least a few loan words, can you?
Are there any Spanish loan words in Dutch dating to the time of Spanish rule, and if so, what are they?
The Netherlands belonged to the Habsburg family, who were monarchs of Spain to be sure. But during the Middle Ages they were an assortment of Counties, Duchies, and Sovereign Bishoprics, most of which were amalgamated under the House of Burgundy, which held a dominion stretching from Grenoble and Dijon through Lorraine up into Limburg and Holland. The last sovereign Duke of Burgundy left a daughter who married a Habsburg heir; their son Philip I married the (insane) heiress of Ferdinand and Isabella and fathered Charles V. Charles himself thought of himself more as a Nederlander than a Spaniard or Austrian; it was only his son, Philip II, who essayed Spanish domination, and held that without revolt for only about ten years.
Catholicism in the Low Countries was somewhat influenced by Spanish rule. Bear in mind, though, that much of what was called the “Spanish Netherlands” is actually part of modern Belgium, not the modern Netherlands; the Spanish colonial government was based in Brussels, I think. The city of Mons is said to have some Spanish architecture.
There is some French influence in Netherlands Dutch (less in the Flemish of the more francophobic Flamands), but I don’t know of any Spanish influence. (Interestingly, Spanish “filibustero” is said to be from Dutch “vrijbuiter”, so there is at least some influence the other way around!)
This is completely untrue, Belgian Dutch dialects use significantly more French words than Netherlands Dutch, and when it comes to word usage, we’re much more Neerlandophobic than Francophobic.
