Armenian-Dutch

Armenian-Dutch

Total population
3,000 up to 9,000
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Armenian, Dutch As well as Persian, Russian, Turkish, and/or Arabic as second or third languages
Religion
Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Evangelical and Protestant
Related ethnic groups
Armenian, Hamshenis, Cherkesogai groups

Armenian-Dutch (Dutch: Armeense Nederlanders) are citizens of the Netherlands of Armenian ancestry. The exact number of Armenians in the country is unknown, since the Dutch Immigration Office only offers data on country of origin. It is unofficially estimated that about 6,000 to 9,000 Armenians live in the Netherlands.

History

Armenian and Dutch interactions have is believed to have been started in the 13th and 14th century, when Dutch merchants arrived in Cilicia and Armenian trading houses opened in the Low Countries. Armenians brought in carpets, dyes, cotton, and spices from around the world and from Armenia itself.

Apart from the contemporary Armenian community spread out over the Netherlands, there was an independent Armenian community concentrated in Amsterdam during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Many Armenian merchants in Amsterdam went to Southeast Asia in the 19th century to trade, and to set up factories and plantations, establishing a community of Armenians in Java.

The Napoleonic wars put an end to the Armenian life in the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam was almost depopulated after its occupation by the French. A Dutch writer has said in De Amsterdammer, a magazine of the date of August 14, 1887 that "The story of the Armenian community is a golden page in the history of the city of Amsterdam." In 1713 the city of Amsterdam permitted the Armenians to erect a church of their own. After serving its purpose for about a century and a half, this edifice was closed because of the dwindling of its congregation. In 1874, by order of the Catholicos of Echmiadzin, the building was sold for 10,000 florins, which was transmitted to him. It is probable that the Armenian community assimilated into the wider Dutch nation during the 19th century.

Armenians arrived from Indonesia (the former Dutch Indies in the 1950s), Turkey (1970s), Lebanon (1970s), Iran (1980s), Iraq (early 1990s), Russia and Armenia (1990s).

Community

The largest group of Armenians arrived from Turkey (Diyarbakir and Şırnak) in the 1970s as guest workers in chain migration, finding employment in textile plants in Almelo and Hengelo. Currently most Armenians live in the major urban centres in the western part of the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Dordrecht, The Hague, Leiden and Rotterdam. Armenian church services are held in Amsterdam, Maastricht and Almelo.

Notable people

• Gago Aroetjunjan – kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter
• Sahak Parparyan, kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter
• Aram Aykazian, owner of leather brand "Arma"
• Biaina Geragousian – chess player, winner of the national Dutch junior title.
• Biurakn Hakhverdian – water polo player, olympic gold medalist and former captain of the Dutch national junior water polo team
• Ara Halici – plays the emcee in the Dutch version of Cabaret
• Karapet Karapetyan, kickboxer
• Gegard Mousasi, mixed martial artist
• Aras Özbiliz, football player, currently playing for FC Spartak Moscow
• Dikran Sarian, public prosecutor
• George Zorab, parapsychologist

See also

• List of Armenians

External links

• Armenians in the Netherlands
• Armeense Nederlanders (Dutch Armenians)