A Dutch widow is a term that refers to a woman whose spouse is away from home for an extended period of time, often due to work or military service. The phrase originated in 17th century Holland (Netherlands) when many Dutch sailors and traders would be away at sea for months or years at a time.
Where did the term “Dutch widow” come from?
The term “Dutch widow” first appeared in the early 17th century during the height of the Dutch Golden Age. This was a time when the Netherlands was a major maritime and economic power. Dutch ships sailed all over the world trading goods, establishing colonies, and waging war.
With so many Dutch men away at sea for long stretches, their wives back home came to be referred to as “Dutch widows.” They were still married but living their lives effectively as widows due to their husbands’ absence.
The term was first recorded in English in 1667. It referred specifically to wives of Dutch sailors and traders who were left alone while their husbands were at sea. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the following early usage:
“She lives from her Husband…tho’ a Dutch-widow almost ever since she was married.” (1667)
Over time, the phrase broadened to refer to any woman whose husband was away from home for an extended period, whether for work, military service, imprisonment, or other reasons.
What was life like for Dutch widows?
Life was often difficult for Dutch widows in the 17th and 18th centuries. With their husbands gone for months or years, they had to independently manage the family business, household, and assets. Many took over their husband’s roles in merchant and trading ventures.
Running a business or trade was challenging at a time when women were excluded from guilds and forbidden from many public occupations. Restrictive laws limited economic activities seen as acceptable for women.
Despite legal and social barriers, many Dutch widows proved quite resourceful and successfully maintained family businesses. A few amassed substantial wealth and power in their own right.
However, Dutch widows were not able to full enjoy the same social and civil rights as men. And long separations took an emotional toll on families.
Raising families alone
Dutch widows bore the full responsibility for raising and caring for their children while husbands were away. This often involved making major decisions regarding their children’s education, marriage, and careers.
Many Dutch widows sent their sons to Latin schools to prepare them for university studies and future occupations. Daughters were trained in household skills to manage their own homes someday.
Maintaining family businesses
To support their families, Dutch widows took charge of family shops, brokerage firms, cargo fleets and more while husbands were abroad. Widows handled business correspondence, kept accounts, supervised employees, and made strategic decisions.
Some Dutch women showed remarkable business acumen. A few expanded their husband’s ventures and amassed great wealth through trade, real estate, and financial investments.
Enduring long separations
Dutch widows endured separations lasting many months or even years. It was not uncommon for seafaring husbands to be away from home for 8-10 years at a time.
Missing their husbands and lacking companionship, some Dutch widows wrote heartfelt letters and poetry expressing their grief and longing. But they had to persevere and carry on despite the pain of separation.
What roles did Dutch widows play?
As sole managers of their households and businesses, Dutch widows filled many different roles out of necessity.
Merchants & Traders
Dutch widows were often trained by their merchant husbands to help in all aspects of trade – bookkeeping, contracts, sales, investments. When husbands were away, widows took over their business dealings.
Ship Operators
Enterprising widows with access to capital sometimes assembled their own trading and whaling fleets, hiring captains and crews. Widows managed cargo, financed voyages, and sold goods brought back on consignment.
Bankers & Investors
Wealthy widows were active moneylenders. They provided business loans and mortgages, and invested in VOC ships, trading ventures, real estate, and government bonds. Savvy financial management allowed their wealth to grow.
Guild Members
Widows could retain their husband’s membership in a guild or charity board. This enabled them to continue running workshops and family businesses. However, widows were still barred from actual guild membership and leadership roles.
Attorneys & Agents
Absent husbands sometimes appointed their wives as legal agents and attorneys to manage business and financial affairs while they were away. As attorneys, widows pursued debt collection, settled accounts, signed contracts, handled disputes, and more.
Home Managers
As managers of their households, Dutch widows performed all duties necessary to maintain a home and family – childcare, cooking, cleaning, finances, repairs. Widows also managed any servants and farm workers.
What legal rights did Dutch widows have?
Dutch widows occupied an unusual legal position. They were still married, yet had to independently manage family affairs and businesses. Dutch law granted wives certain rights as “deputy husbands” but social attitudes imposed many restrictions.
Property and Inheritance
Dutch married women had limited property rights. By law, a widow assumed “guardianship” of her children, property and possessions while her husband was absent. But her husband still owned all marital assets unless otherwise agreed in a prenuptial contract.
Guild Membership
Widows were prohibited from actual membership in all-male professional and trade guilds. But a loophole did allow a widow to retain her absent husband’s guild membership and run his workshop or business. This allowed widows to train apprentices and sell goods.
Court Appearances
As deputies acting in their husband’s absence, Dutch widows could represent him in civil and commercial legal proceedings. However, they still lacked full contractual and legal autonomy. And women were barred from practicing as lawyers and appearing in criminal courts.
Business Oversight
Widows often continued their husbands’ business dealings, with or without formal power of attorney. Yet they faced legal hassles and fees. Male relatives sometimes tried to be appointed as formal “guardians” of widows to gain control over family assets.
Political Participation
Dutch women did not have rights to vote, hold political office, or shape policy decisions in government. Their political influence, when present, was only indirect through men.
What were some notable Dutch widows?
Despite restrictions, Dutch widows succeeded in business, finance, arts and other fields. Some exceptional women gained fame, wealth and influence that rivaled their male peers.
Merchants
- Catherina Questiers – Took over her husband’s tapestry business, expanded trade to Russia and the Ottoman Empire, controlled over half of Amsterdam’s production.
- Griet Coppit – Managed the family’s thriving timber trading business, speculated on VOC ship cargo to gain huge profits.
- Anna Adriaens van Broeckhuysen – Ran successful timber and iron businesses after her husband drowned at sea.
Ship Owners
- Margaretha van Bancken – Assembled a large trading and whaling fleet. Earned huge wealth through ship ownership.
- Maria Peperkamp – Inherited 5 ships from her husband, invested profits to expand her fleet to over 40 ships.
Financiers
- Agneta Deutz – Managed family’s international banking, expanded business through savvy loans to foreign rulers.
- Catherina Bicker – Acted as de facto city banker of Amsterdam, loaned large sums to VOC and foreign governments.
Artists
- Judith Leyster – Prominent portrait painter who led her own studio while husband was away.
- Magdalena van de Passe – Engraver and publisher who supported her children through her artistic work.
How were Dutch widows viewed by society?
Dutch widows were generally viewed with a mix of sympathy, admiration and suspicion by wider Dutch society in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Sympathy
Women whose husbands were away at sea for years at a time were often regarded sympathetically. Their plight – enduring long separations and single parenthood – seemed pitiable to many.
Admiration
At the same time, many Dutch people admired widows who capably handled family businesses and households despite lacking husbands at home. Their fortitude and perseverance were seen as virtues.
Suspicion
However, independent widows also faced social suspicion and limits on their autonomy. If widows appeared too successful or strong-willed, they could be gossiped about or even brought to court on charges of impropriety.
Isolation
Widows occupied an in-between spot – married but living as singles, tied to absent husbands. This fostered loneliness and isolation. In some cases, widows’ reputation suffered if they sought male company to ease solitude.
How did Dutch widows dress?
Wealthy Dutch widows in the 17th century often wore distinctive caps and veils following set mourning rituals. But there was variety in how long strict mourning dress was worn.
Mourning Caps and Veils
Widows donning caps and veils signaled their husband’s absence and unavailability. Affluent widows wore ornate caps with veils of sheer black silk falling over the face.
These caps covering hair signaled modesty. Veils denoted their marital yet “widowed” status to ward off male attention.
Duration of Mourning
Strict mourning dress lasted between 6-12 months up to 3+ years for some widows. Remarriage, wealth, family dictates influenced duration. Poorer women often couldn’t afford years of black garb.
Transition to Colors
After months of black, widows transitioned to lighter fabrics like gray and white. Wealthy widows might wear rich colors again, while some stayed in muted tones even when not full mourning.
Opulent Wealth
A few rich widows flaunted luxury by wearing extravagant satin, silk and lace caps with gems, gold threading, and exotic plumed feathers.
This conspicuous consumption contradicted somber customs. But it signaled the widow’s prosperity in her husband’s absence.
How were widows portrayed in Dutch Golden Age art?
Dutch Golden Age painting offers insight into widows’ lives and public perceptions. Widowhood was a common subject for artists of the era.
Portrait paintings
Portraits let wealthy widows project a carefully crafted image. Elegant dress and surroundings reminded they still enjoyed status and comfort despite being alone.
Scenes of mourning
Paintings and prints portrayed widows grieving over portraits of husbands lost at sea. These aimed to elicit public sympathy for widows’ sad plight.
Allegories
Widows were depicted in allegorical scenes representing patience, fortitude, and perseverance. Visual cues like black dress, children, ships implied their situation.
Scenes of domestic life
Widows going about daily errands or presiding over bustling households showed them capably performing “deputy husband” roles.
Scenes of excess
Some satirical genre paintings implied criticism of widows who flouted convention too brazenly. Exotic dress on arrogant widows hinted at excess and impropriety.
How did the status of Dutch widows change over time?
Dutch widows gained more legal autonomy and public presence starting in the late 18th century due to Enlightenment ideas and French Revolutionary reforms.
Property and Inheritance Rights
The early 19th century brought improved property rights. Widows could inherit shares of marital property. And prenuptial contracts gave wives more say over assets.
Participation in Public Life
Widows slowly gained greater educational, employment and political participation rights in the Netherlands. By the late 1800s, social reformers advocated for widows’ welfare.
Decline of Seafaring Economy
As the Dutch seafaring economy waned, the traditional role of Dutch widows faded. Widowhood was less frequently caused by maritime occupations.
Romanticization of Seafaring Widows
In the 19th century, the figure of the stalwart, waiting Dutch widow became romanticized as a cultural symbol of the Netherlands’ Golden Age might.
What modern connotations does the term have today?
The term “Dutch widow” is rarely used literally today. But it still echoes some traditional associations, often in a romanticized or ironic way.
Faithfulness
A Dutch widow awaiting her husband’s return invokes ideals of fidelity, loyalty and eternal hope, even if unrealistic. Unions disrupted by forces beyond the partners’ control.
Independence
The self-reliance of widows managing family affairs hints at feminist virtues. Women persevering despite adversity through inner strength.
Longing
A Dutch widow pining for her husband paints a very romantic but melancholy image. The notion of longing for an absent lover.
Temptation
The idea of an isolated widow remaining “virtuous” while her man was away carried erotic overtones. Did she remain chaste? Were her nights lonely and cold?
Conclusion
In today’s age where spouses are rarely separated for years by occupation, the term “Dutch widow” seems like a relic. Yet it continues to evoke images of loneliness, temptation, fidelity, female strength, and romantic longing that still resonate in literature and popular culture.
While rarely seen as a literal situation today, the Dutch widow remains a cultural symbol of woman persevering through hardship with quiet strength and virtue.
