William III of England

What people wore

Practical daily dress for women

Ordinary women typically wore a practical two-piece dress featuring a bodice, often stiffened with reeds or felt, over an undergarment. Their skirts were often not floor-length to remain functional during daily work, and clothing colors remained sober with black, white, red, brown, and gray tones.

Daily life

Keeping food fresh using ventilated cupboards

To keep food fresh without refrigeration, families used a spinde, a cupboard with ventilation grilles that allowed air to circulate. Alternatively, families stored food in cellars or relied on daily consumption, as items like bread were essential staples.

Work

The length of a working day

While a normal working day was typically twelve hours from dawn to dusk, some Amsterdam shipwrights successfully negotiated a shorter twelve-hour day compared to a previous fourteen-hour standard. Some reformers, like Pieter Plockhoy, advocated for a six-hour workday to allow time for spiritual and personal development.

Music

Popular egg dance at festivals

In the 17th century, the egg dance was a popular folk tradition where dancers skillfully moved eggs out of a chalk circle using only their feet to the sound of a fiddle and bagpipe.

At the table

Bread as the Dietary Cornerstone

Bread was the essential element of the diet, sometimes eaten as sop—a mixture of bread and vegetables—or as sweet treats like poffertjes and oliekoecken. Poor families often relied on dense, dark rye bread as their primary source of calories.

Getting around

Efficient Canal Travel by Trekschuit

The trekschuit (horse-drawn barge) was the most common way to travel between towns, with a trip from Delft to Rotterdam taking one hour and forty-five minutes. Passengers could choose between the cheaper hold or the more comfortable cabin, with services running on strict, reliable schedules.

What it cost

Weekly wages for workers and craftsmen

An outdoor laborer in the 17th century typically earned 6.50 guilders per week, while a master carpenter earned 9 guilders per week.