Hemp is one of the oldest crops domesticated by man. The
history of hemp in Holland also goes back for thousands of years. The stalk of
the hemp-plant produces one of the strongest natural fibres that were used to
make things like rope, textile and paper. Also the seed of the hemp-plant
contains high-grade food oil that was also used for lamp oil, the production of paint and (green!) soap.
The Dutch Golden Age was also the golden age of Dutch hemp
in Holland. Without hemp there would not have been too much golden age in the
first place. A seafaring nation with ships going around the globe is a nice
thing to be; however, to be able to build such ships, many tons of hemp was
needed. Next to wood, hemp was the main component used to build a ship in those
times. The replica of the famous 17th century Dutch ship 'Batavia' contains
about 21 kilometres of rope. The sails are made of hemp and hemp-fibres were
also used as part of a caulking that made the hull watertight.
Only after Czar Peter the Great learned about shipbuilding
in the Dutch 'zaanstreek' (an area in the north of Amsterdam where a lot of
ships used were build) -- and as it seems also about hemp production -- did Russian hemp start to compete with the Dutch. This was the beginning of a slow
decline for hemp, a decline that continued into the 20th century when modern
machines and artificial fibres finally conquered the market. The farmers,
especially in the middle of Holland and along the big rivers, lost their
winter-time work (peeling the fibres from the stalks) and started to make their
own cheese. The hemp-market in places like Gouda became a cheese-market and Holland became a cheese-country.
The most towns and villages used to have their own ropewalks
for the production of hemp-rope. These long lanes (now often a shopping street
in the middle of town) were right along the city wall or just outside of it.
Some places specialized in the production of hemp-rope, for example the city of
Oudewater (near Gouda) was a real rope makers' town. The famous Dutch Admiral
Michiel de Ruyter worked as a young boy turning the wheel of the ropewalk.
Generally it is thought that linen is only produced from the flax plant but in the past and way into the 20th century, linen was also produced from hemp. The male plants were used for making linen and sails because the fibers are
finer then those of the female plant. Or the coarser fibers of the female were
used for making more heavy canvas (from "cannabis") and rope.
The hemp was grown on small artificial islands right next or
close to the farm. The water level could be regulated with little dams, and to protect the plants against strong winds a line of pruned willow trees was grown around the outer
edge of the plot. These characteristic small islands can still be recognized in
the countryside today in the middle of Holland and along the big rivers.
Hemp-stalks are harvested and then put for a while in water
to start a rotting process, called 'retting'. Bacteria start to break down the
connections between the bark fibers so they come loose from each other. This
also happens when the stalks are left on the field for a while and rain or dew
regularly wets them. After this, the stalks are dried and the fibres are peeled
off the stalks. They can also be broken in a special device called the
'breaker' so the bark fibre comes lose from the inner wood core. Windmills were
sometimes used for this process.
After breaking, the bundles of bark fibre are cleaned
further by first hitting them with a flat piece of wood to clean off the last
pieces of remaining wood core. Then the fibers are combed on various sizes of
The clean bundles of fibres are spun to fine yarn to be
woven into textiles by the weavers. The production of hemp-linen and heavy
canvas is very labour intensive, to make 1 meter of cloth takes at least 25
hours of work. A long time ago, canvas and linen were not cheap products. This was the reason why many painters could not afford the canvas for their paintings.
A good way to deal with this is by making a painting of the weaver and his
family, on an available wooden panel. These paintings were then traded for
canvas. This is the reason why there are many paintings of weavers.