Stitchers: Alie Kammeraat, Anneke van der Vossen, Ina de Nood, Rick Looij & Ingrid Berg
The actual staple contract was awarded to Veere in 1541, nearly a century after the marriage of Mary and Wolfert, and it stipulated that a well be provided for Scottish traders. The resultant cistern was, in 1551, covered by the octagonal stone structure which forms the centrepiece of this panel, and which still stands today.
By 1550 it is estimated that around 400 of Veere’s 3,500 inhabitants were Scots. This mercantile community was granted special privileges, as recorded here: exemption from paying taxes on wine and beer, the right to keep their own church and law, and the appointment of a doctor and innkeeper specifically for the town’s Scottish House (see Panel 4). Hence the doctor, clergyman, judge, and tankard-raising landlord crowning the cistern.
The sides of this panel show the two-way trade from Veere. Wool, salmon, butter, leather, coal and hides are all arriving in Veere from Scotland, whilst linen and pan tiles make the return journey. As well as being used for roofing, pan tiles acted as excellent ballast for returning Scottish trade ships. Houses in the East Neuk of Fife can still be found to remind us of these connections, with their pan tiled roofs and Dutch-style stepped gables, just like the one in the bottom right of the panel.
Meanwhile, buildings in Veere bore the marks of Scotland: the Scots trader Joos Oliviers built two houses in 1539, the Little Lamb (het Lammetje) and the Ostrich (De Struys), whilst others bear names such as Aberdaam, Domfris, Kasteel van Edinburg, and Wolsack. There was even a dedicated quayside for Scottish trading vessels, the Schotse Kaai.
NL02 Sochairean Sònraichte
Chaidh am prìomh chunnradh a bhuileachadh gu foirmeil air Veere ann an 1541. Chaidh tobair a thogail a dh’aon ghnothaich le luchd-malairt Albannach a th ann fhathast gus an latha andiugh. Ro 1550, bha timcheall air 400 a-mach à 3,500 de luchd-còmhnaidh Veere à Alba, agus thugadh dhaibh sochairean sònraichte: saoradh bho chìs air fìon agus leann, an eaglais agus an lagh fhèin, lighiche agus òstair a dh’aon ghnothaich airson Taigh Albannach a’ bhaile. Mar sin bha an lighiche, an clèireach, am britheamh agus uachdaran an taigh-òsta aig an inbhe as àirde. Tha am pannal cuideachd a’ taisbeanadh na malairt dà-shligheach aig Veere: clòimh, bradan ìm, leathar, gual agus seichean à Alba, le anart agus taidhlichean pana air an t-slighe air ais.