In the present volume I have endeavoured to give, in
so far as possible, a consecutive history of the development of the
trade relations between Scotland and the Netherlands from their earliest
beginnings until the year 1676. The many and varied relations between
these two countries in former times, interesting in no small degree to
the general student of history, are still more so to one who was born
and brought up in Holland and received part of his education at the
University of Edinburgh. My acquaintance with both countries, my
knowledge of their languages, and my sympathy with their respective
national characters combined to inspire me with a wish to study these
relations.
The intercourse between the two countries, however,
proved on investigation to have been so intermittent, and of so varied a
nature, that it was impossible to give a consecutive account of all the
forms in which it was carried on at different times. Moreover, several
of them had already been dealt with. The history of the Scottish
churches in the Netherlands has been recorded by the Rev. William
Stevens, whilst the book of Mr. J. Ferguson deals with the Scottish
troops in that country. As the trade relations between Scotland and the
Netherlands were the earliest and most continuous form of this
intercourse, I fixed on them as a suitable subject. I was well aware
that there already existed a book on the Scottish trade with the
Low-Countries, written in the second half of the
eighteenth century by the Rev. James Yair, minister at Veere. It was, in
fact, the reading of this book and the realisation of its
incompleteness, that induced me to take up this
line of research.
The printed Records of the Convention of the Royal
Burghs of Scotland contain a great deal of the most useful information
on the Scottish side, and from them I have quoted extensively. The
writings of Messrs. J. W. Perrels, J. L. van Dalen and N. Japikse in the
publications of the "Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen " furnished
me with valuable material on the Dutch side. Besides these, I consulted
the Acts of Parliament, the Register of the Privy Council, and a great
number of historical works both in English and in Dutch. I searched the
Archives of the different towns with which the Scots had dealings. Those
of Veere, the Campvere of the old days, yielded most material, seeing
that the Scottish Staple was almost continuously settled there for
centuries. The absence of a catalogue or of any
systematic arrangement of the documents proved a great obstacle to the
work at Veere. From among the many
hundreds of documents which I read through, or copied, in the
Archives of Edinburgh, London, Lille, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp,
Middelburg, Veere, Dordrecht, Rotterdam, and The Hague, I have
made a careful selection and collected in an
appendix those which seemed to me to be of more particular interest. A
great number of these documents have never been published before. In
order to make the documentary evidence as complete
as possible, I have included along with these many
that have already appeared in print. But it is very much
to be regretted that so many valuable
records have been lost. Of ten manuscript books, covering a period from
1570 to 1688, and comprising Court books and collections of Acts,
Statutes, and Ordinances, mentioned in 1691 as being in the
Conservator's custody, not a single one is now known
to exist. Only a few scraps and extracts from Court books have
been preserved. In working out these trade relations I have treated them
from a purely historical and political point of view, making
many digressions which may prove of historical
interest to the reader, I have endeavoured to show how
the history of the two countries and their relations to one
another, and to other countries, influenced the course of trade and
often occasioned important changes in the Staple. It will also be seen
how in the course of time the Royal Burghs of
Scotland had to cede their once absolute control of the Staple
arrangements to the growing power and influence of the ruling monarch,
and how, to the detriment of trade, the Conservator of the Scottish
privileges in the Low Countries, who at first
acted solely at the promoter of trade and as the governor of the
Scottish colony, gradually came to be the King's Agent.
Some periods and episodes I have treated more extensively than
others owing to their greater historical interest. It was not my
intention to write an economic study, but I trust that
among the many documents contained in the
appendix the student of economics may find
material which will be of use to him.
Although the Staple remained in existence until the
year 1795, I thought it advisable to stop at its reinstallation at Veere
in 1676. The history of the Staple from that date onwards is one of
gradual decay. With the changing of policies and
the breaking down of old institutions it became an
anachronism and no longer answered the purposes for which it had been
originally instituted.
Since the completion of my work, several months ago,
there has appeared another book on the same subject — "The Scottish
Staple at Veere" by J. Davidson and A. Gray. This admirable history
possesses a dual character. The first part aimed at being an economic
history of Scotland, which the late Professor Davidson unfortunately did
not live to complete. It would have formed a most useful and interesting
volume by itself. In the second part, dealing with the Scottish Staple,
not only at Yeere, as the title indicates, but also elsewhere, Mr. Gray
has carried the labours of his predecessor to a worthy completion.
Owing to the fact that Mr. Gray has written mainly
from published sources, and that his treatment of the material, under
different headings and largely from the economic point of view, differs
so widely from the documentary, chronological, and historical method
adopted by myself, the two books may perhaps be found to serve as useful
complements to one another.
In conclusion I should like to acknowledge my
indebtedness to the Keepers of the different Archives,
who helped me in my work by granting me ready access to the
papers in their custody, and to the Carnegie Trust for the Universities
of Scotland.
M. P. ROOSEBOOM.
Edinburgh, August, 1909.
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