| As for comparisons with other empires, I have three points:
1. Of the largest settler colonies, settlers from the mother country did make up a significant portion of the population, but they were still always a minority. In the United States, there is more ancestry reported from Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and colonial African slaves individually than from England, and those of English ancestry are usually a mix of many different heritage groups. Brazil likewise has a very multicultural population in which the Portuguese element is mixed with African, Native American, and even other European groups.
2. The Netherlands really never had that large of population base in the first place, compared with other European countries like Germany and England. The Dutch did send proportional numbers to their settler colonies that had suitable climates for Dutch agriculture, but these colonies were all taken over by other empires. Descendants of the New Netherlands colony continued to have very prominent roles in the United States - Just look at the Roosevelts and Martin Van Buren. The Afrikaners in South Africa are very notable, too. Most of the Dutch heritage in these countries came
3. The success of the Dutch empire also played a role in limiting the amount of settlers - With all the money trickling back to the Netherlands, the population there became wealthy enough that a lot of people didn't want or need to find fortune elsewhere anymore. The Dutch, being a successful but small nation, kind-of burnt themselves out pretty quickly. |
Countries of the Ottoman Empire
Countries of the Portuguese Empire
Countries of the Spanish Empire
