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New Netherland, New York Genealogy
Obsolete Occupations of the Netherlands
© Cor Snabel
Beachcomber (strandjutter)
Combing the beach started out of pure poverty. Unemployment
and low wages made people roam the beaches to find anything
useful and driftwood was used for the stove or for building
houses. Since the Middle Ages it was the law that the goods,
which washed ashore were handed over to the local authority,
the landowner or the Mayor. In 1529 Charles V enacted a law
in which a person, who kept his findings to himself, was to
be considered a thief. But these laws were useless; nobody
could check the entire coastline and traditions about
beachcombing were very hard to change.
If an abandoned ship washed ashore the authorities had to
react very fast, because the beachcombers always wandered
around the beaches especially during stormy weather, even at
night. Plundering of those ships happened all the time; a
ship’s cargo was a very rich catch for the poor inhabitants
of the coastal areas. People even started to make big fires
on the beach in order to mislead the ships. In 1767 the
VOC-ship “Vrouwe Elisabeth Dorothea” stranded on the coast
of Holland and an eyewitness stated, that a rapacious mob
was involved in plundering the rich ship. As a result of
that incident a wreck-master was appointed in 1769 in every
village along the coast and he and his helpers had to watch
the entire coastline, especially during storms and even at
night. Nowadays the local Mayor is the wreck-master and
policemen are his helpers, because beachcombing still
exists.
>Choose from the following ancient occupations
Baker |
Beachcomber |
Beguine |
Candlemaker |
Dumpman |
Executioner |
Fanmaker |
Fireman |
Gravedigger |
Innkeeper |
Laundrywoman |
Nightwatch |
Peddlar |
Porter |
Seat Caretaker |
Ship Shanghai |
Soapmaker |
Streetpaver |
Tolltaker |
Pharmacist
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