90 people per square mile in Low Countries
The Low Countries had a population density of around 90 people per square mile, astonishing visitors with how densely packed its cities were.
Snapshot · The Rest Is History
680. The Netherlands: The Revolt that Made The Modern World (Part 4)
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Jun 17, 2026
Where this was said
The Character of the Low Countries People
At 19:37 · chapter starts 18:00
With an affectionate eye for period detail, Tom describes how English visitors to the Low Countries were consistently astonished by what they found. Adults consumed 3 pints of beer per day — proper alcoholic beer, not weak table beer. [1] — Tom Holland "Adults drank 3 pints of beer daily: English visitors to the Low Countries were stunned that adults consumed 3 pints of beer per day, consid…" 18:50 Women were famous for their cleanliness; men for being extraordinarily tall, many over 6 feet. The population was packed at about 90 people per square mile, giving the region a density comparable in scale to England despite its much smaller surface area. These weren't arbitrary details: they speak to a deeply urbanised, commercially dynamic society that was already developing the distinctive cultural character — mercantile, bourgeois, clean, and capable — that would define the Dutch Golden Age.
Adults drank 3 pints of beer daily
English visitors to the Low Countries were stunned that adults consumed 3 pints of beer per day, considered an enormous quantity even by contemporary standards.
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