On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article is about the nation native and ethnic group known as the Dutch and their descendants worldwide. For the language, see Dutch language. Map of the Dutch apple pie recipe Diaspora in the World.

15 million who declare Dutch ancestry worldwide, including expatriates. Dutch Protestants are mainly Reformed, with notable Lutheran minorities. Netherlands, being descendants of Dutch colonizers who established the Dutch Cape Colony. Germanic ethnic group and nation native to the Netherlands. The traditional arts and culture of the Dutch encompasses various forms of traditional music, dances, architectural styles and clothing, some of which are globally recognizable. Germanic paganism and spoke a dialect still closely resembling Common Germanic. The conversion of the Frankish king Clovis to Christianity would have great significance in helping shape the identity of the future Dutch people.

However, the population make-up of the Frankish Empire, or even early Frankish kingdoms such as Neustria and Austrasia, was not dominated by Franks. The medieval cities of the Low Countries, which experienced major growth during the 11th and 12th centuries, were instrumental in breaking down the already relatively loose local form of feudalism. As they became increasingly powerful, they used their economical strength to influence the politics of their nobility. While the cities were of great political importance, they also formed catalysts for medieval Dutch culture. Dutch delta and coastal regions resulted in an exceptionally high degree of communal organization. It is also around this time, that ethnonyms such as Diets and Nederlands emerge. In the second half of the 14th century, the dukes of Burgundy gained a foothold in the Low Countries through the marriage in 1369 of Philip the Bold of Burgundy to the heiress of the Count of Flanders.

The Act of Abjuration, signed on 26 July 1581, was the formal declaration of independence of the Dutch Low Countries. However, the centralist policies of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries, at first violently opposed by the cities of the Low Countries, had a profound impact and changed this. During Charles the Bold’s many wars, which were a major economic burden for the Burgundian Netherlands, tensions slowly increased. The subsequently issued Great Privilege met many of these demands, which included that Dutch, not French, should be the administrative language in the Dutch-speaking provinces and that the States-General had the right to hold meetings without the monarch’s permission or presence. Following Mary’s marriage to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, the Netherlands were now part of the Habsburg lands.