There is still talk of Scheveningen being named from a previous use as a point of shibboleth. During World War II the Germans would identify spies by the way they pronounced certain words. Of course the accent was different between German and Dutch speaking people. Namely the “sch” of a word. They are still debating who the first inhabitants of the area were. Possibly it was Anglo Saxon or maybe it was Scandinavian settlers. No matter who was here first the main order of the day was fishing. Fishing was the food and the business of the area even still today.
Like many port towns along any European coast centuries ago Schevenigen had its battle with the British. In 1653 the battle ships of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces waged all out war upon each other in a fight for the town and area surrounding it in the Battle of Scheveningen. A few months before this battle there was the Battle of the Gabbard where the English fleet blocked the Dutch coast line with about 120 ships. Sea General George Monck captured many merchant ships. With out the income of fish, the Dutch economy began to fall. Quickly people became starving and unemployed. Of course this made the Dutch a bit upset so they had to come up with a plan.
Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp with the Dutch military set out to change the situation. He wanted to lift the blockade from the Dutch coastline. He did some great naval tactical maneuvers that landed him a perfect position to take the British. His position moved a few British ships away from his partner ships so they could slip in and take them out. This battle did demonstrate some amazing victories from both sides. The British remained tactically superior and the Dutch did lift the blockade. In the end, however, the British won and the events that unfolded from here lead to the Treaty of Westminster in 1654. Visitors can stay in one of the hotels Scheveningen provides and check out some of the history it has.
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