History
The Dutch in Norway (1550 – 1750)
By Margit Løyland
Dutch ships are “searching every nook and cranny” for timber and food, the customs officer in Flekkefjord wrote to the authorities in Copenhagen in the mid-17th century. He was one of a great many officials who observed Dutch vessels along the Norwegian coast in the early modern period. There was hardly a fjord, estuary or harbour that was not visited by Dutch people from Holland, Friesland, Zeeland or one of the other four provinces of the young, expanding Dutch Republic.
Norwegian emigration to the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries
By Hans Nicolai Nissen
From the late 16th century onwards, the Netherlands rose to prominence as the leading trading nation in the world. Together with several other factors, this led to an influx of foreigners from all over Europe, and many of these immigrants were Norwegians. The reason for the strong growth in the Dutch economy was shipping and trade. For centuries, the Dutch had traded with the Baltic countries, buying timber and grain. They had a great need for timber for the construction of ships and buildings.
Emigration of Norwegian women to Amsterdam 1600-1750
By Kariin Sundsback
Tens of thousands of Norwegian men and women moved to the Netherlands in search of a better life, mostly from the southern and southwestern coasts of Norway. Considering the fact that the total population of Norway at the time was only about 500 000, and that most emigrants were from a relatively small area, the emigration of thousands of Norwegians was very noticeable in the Norwegian coastal communities. Although many people also moved from other parts of northern Europe to Amsterdam during this period, the emigration of Norwegians was unique, especially the emigration of Norwegian women, from both a European and Dutch perspective.
The Marselis trading company:
Copper and millstones in Vågå and Sel in the 17th century
By Ivar Teigum
The Dutch trading company Marselis had financial interests in the Norwegian mountain villages of Vågå and Sel in the period from 1653 to 1685. For six years in the 1650s, Selius Marselis owned the Gudbrandsdal copper works in Sel as security for a loan to the Danish king. The Tolstad estate in Vågå with valuable millstone quarries was similarly granted as security to his brother Gabriel Marselis, Jr. in 1661. The family owned this property until the year 1685.