Resumen de The horrible tail-man and the Anglo-Dutch wars
De Nederlandsche Nyptang (The Dutch Pincers), a pamphlet that appeared in Holland in 1652, purported to explain the origins of the time-honored nickname for an Englishman—“staartman” (“tail-man”). The earliest unambiguous references to the English having tails appear in a work compiled in Flanders around 1150. The Nederlandsche Nyptang explains that the English are tailed because they are descended from the devil. In 1652, war had broken out between the Dutch and the English, and the insult about being tailed was now not merely a xenophobic tease but was viewed as worthy of employment in war “propaganda.” Direct and indirect references to the notion appeared in several broadsheets and prints. The writer goes on to examine how this idea was used in various prints made during the time of the Anglo-Dutch wars.
