THE BEGGARS OF THE SEA

Water Geuzen,, also known as the Sea Beggars or the Beggars, was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who in 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen or Sea Beggars. In the Eighty Years' War, the Capture of Brielle by the Geuzen in 1572 was the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer the northern Netherlands and become independent as the Dutch Republic

All hail to the Netherlands,

A nation proud and free!

From pole to pole, where green seas roll,

Her brave sons rule the Sea,

The Orange flags (Sea-Beggars' rags)

Proclaim our liberty.

All hail to You, ye patriots true!

All hail! All hail! cry we.

The Spirit of Liberty sprang into life,

By the dikes of the Zuyder Zee.

Where Hollander battled in bloody strife

'Gainst Spaniard on land and sea.

Sea-Beggars bled, Sea-Beggars died

But they humbled the Spanish pride.

Their great sails spread like a cloud of white

Where the English Channel flows,

And they put proud England's fleet to flight

And the broom to the masthead rose;

And they ruled the Channel and ruled the Main

Vanquishing England and vanquishing Spain.

The Beggars, they struggled to win the sea,

And the Burghers fought for the land,

Who starving, dying, defiant, free,

Their battered ramparts manned;

And a nation rose from the flood and flame.

The prows of Holland vex every sea

And her sons are on every strand,

And they bear overhead the flag of the free

And are welcome in every land,

For a World enslaved by Might has seen

Freedom born in the Lowlands green.

All hail to the Netherlands,

A nation proud and free!

From pole to pole, where green seas roll,

Her brave sons rule the sea.

The Orange flags (Sea-Beggar's rags)

Proclaim our liberty

All hail to You, ye patriots true!

All hail! All hail! cry we.

Robert Lansing (1864-1928), wrote this poem about the “Water Geuzen”.

He served as US Secretary of State from 1915-20 in President Woodrow Wilson's administration.