Dutch merchants
The Dutch are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Netherlands. The Dutch people have a common culture, with Dutch being the main language; West Frisian is the language spoken by the Frisians of the northern Netherlands, while Dutch settlers in South Africa and their descendants speak the Afrikaans language. The Dutch people were some of the first ethnic groups to adopt Protestantism during the 16th century, as "Reformed" Christianity was spread to the Spanish Netherlands by German missionaries. There is still a Catholic minority in the Netherlands, and irreligion is also a large belief system in the country. In 2006, the world Dutch population was at around 29,000,000, with 13,226,829 living in the Netherlands, 7,000,000 in South Africa, 5,087,191 in the United States, 1,000,000 in France, and 1,000,000 in Canada.