Abraham Cabeliau

1571–1645

Born: 1571, Netherlands
Country of birth: Netherlands
Died: Apr 1645, Stockholm City

facts: 6
sources: 1
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Facts and their sources

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Birth1571, NetherlandsProbable1 source
DeathApr 1645, Stockholm CityProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source

A life in time

1571
Born · Netherlands
Birth, Netherlands
1600
Child born: Margareta Slots
Birth
Apr 1645
Died · Stockholm City
Death, Stockholm City

What was it like?

The world around Netherlands, 1571: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

During the Dutch Republic, Catholic women known as "kloppen" (spiritual virgins) intentionally wore plain, worn-out clothing, including a simple skirt and an unstarched headcloth, to signal their rejection of material luxury. This sober style served as a form of counter-cultural expression against Reformed social pressures.

Fashion

Catholic Women's Simple Dress

Around 1575–1599

Standard Male Working Dress

For men of the lower classes, the standard everyday outfit typically consisted of a doublet (wambuis) and hose. This simple combination was a common sight for laborers in the period.

Music

Cost of a city watch trumpet

In 1562, a city mayor in Hoorn purchased a trumpet for the town watch for five guilders, and by 1589, the city paid ten guilders for a replacement trumpet used on the church tower. These instruments often featured an attached silk flag emblazoned with the city's emblem.

Around 1575–1599

Skill required for the egg dance

During the egg dance, a popular Easter tradition, dancers had to skillfully move an egg out of and back into a chalk circle using only their feet while keeping the egg intact. Participants were required to dance on one foot with their hands on their sides.

Getting around

Around 1575–1599

Early water travel and ferries

Before the later organized canal system, passengers relied on scheduled ferries or small boats, and traveling between cities like Leiden and Utrecht could be a difficult, all-day journey on silty waters. By 1597, passenger travel was already intense enough between Delft and The Hague that a tent was required on each boat to protect travelers.

Around 1575–1599

Land travel by cart and walking

Travel by land meant walking on simple dirt paths or riding in carts, which were often muddy, rough, and uncomfortable. Traveling from Haarlem to Leiden in 1607, a passenger described sharing a cart with eleven other people while crossing poldered farmland.

Daily life

Around 1575–1599

Weak beer as a daily drink for children

Because industrial pollution often tainted local water sources, children frequently drank weak beer as a daily substitute for water. Painting evidence indicates that orphanage children, who were often provided with this drink, were recognizable by their distinct red-and-black sleeved uniforms.

Around 1575–1599

Widespread primary education in towns and villages

By the late sixteenth century, elementary schools were present in most towns and villages, where children up to age ten learned basic literacy and religion. Schools were often crowded with 100 to 150 pupils taught individually, and some working youths attended Sunday schools for religious and literacy training.

Food

Around 1575–1599

Beer as a safe daily beverage

Ordinary families drank beer instead of water, as it was safer due to the brewing process killing harmful bacteria. This beer was often a low-alcohol drink known as small beer, suitable for all ages.

Around 1575–1599

Common one-pot meals and bread

The daily diet for many households relied on a one-pot meal cooked over a fire, often consisting of beans, grains, root vegetables, and sometimes salted meat or fish. This simple, filling dish was frequently supplemented by bread, which was a central staple of the Dutch diet.

Work

Around 1575–1599

Long and grueling working days

Working days were extremely long, typically lasting from twelve hours in winter to sixteen hours during the summer months.

Around 1575–1599

The physical labor of fulling

Fullers, who worked in the textile industry, spent hours stomping on cloth with their bare feet in a mixture of water, earth, and stale urine to thicken it.

News and letters

Around 1575–1599

Letters traveled via civic carriers and ferries

Ordinary people relied on networks of civic carriers, including barge and ferry services, as well as chance travelers to transport letters and news between towns.

Around 1575–1599

News delivery took about a month

International news, such as a connection between major European hubs, often took about a month to arrive, though speed could vary based on political urgency.

During their lifetime

1571
Mandatory elementary schooling introduced for city children
The Swedish Church Ordinance was established, mandating elementary schooling for all children in cities, regardless of sex.
1579
Union of Utrecht founds Dutch Republic
The Union of Utrecht established a closer union among northern provinces, becoming the foundation of the Dutch Republic.
1585
Mass migration follows fall of Antwerp
Following the fall of Antwerp to the Spanish, many merchants and craftsmen migrated to the north, boosting the Dutch economy.
1593
Lutheranism established as the state religion
The Uppsala Synod affirmed the Evangelical Lutheran faith as the state religion, solidifying Sweden's break from the Catholic Church.
1596
Amsterdam opens new disciplinary workhouse
Amsterdam established the Rasphuis for men as part of new city workhouses to address social issues.
1596
Crop failures caused widespread hardship
General crop failures caused by severe weather led to widespread hardship and peasant unrest in Finland.

Family

Children

Margareta Slots1600–1669Confirmed

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.