The Anabaptist biscuit maker who assisted the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Dutch Navy
When researching Naming the Dead, I was intrigued by
Jan Munter, a member of the Mennonite group of Anabaptists from the Waterland
region, north of Amsterdam. With an interesting mix of characteristics, Munter
did not fit my preconceived ideas about that religious group.
Often called the radical wing of the Reformation,
Anabaptists spread across northern Europe after the failure of the Peasants War
in 1526. Loosely affiliated congregations practiced believers’ baptism and
encouraged ordinary men and women to interpret the bible themselves. After a
bloody massacre at Munster, when Anabaptists briefly took power, they became
strong advocates for separation from state authorities, non-violence and peace.
Wealthier and better educated Protestants often looked down
on Anabaptists, but Jan Munter seems to have become a prosperous and well-respected
member of Amsterdam’s business elite. He won lucrative contracts to supply ships
biscuits to Dutch Navy, not a typical pacifist activity, and provided a home to
English Separatists after they fled into exile in 1607/8.
There is no evidence that Munter knew any of the future Mayflower
Pilgrims and English Baptists before they arrived. He may have been influenced
by the Mennonites own’ suffering. Before the Alteration, when Amsterdam turned
Protestant, Mennonite men were executed in Dam Square, whilst the women and
children were tied in sacks and thrown in the River Ij.
Although the closely related Amish are probably better known, Mennonites still emphasise peace and tolerance today. There is more information here Home - Anabaptist Mennonite Network
Karen Haden’s historical crime novel Naming the Dead, set in early 1600s Amsterdam, is available from Sharpe Books on Kindle Unlimited and to buy at Karen Haden Books