MDMD(5): And who's de Bosch?

[Michel Ryckx]

> Any thoughts on the town quidnunc, Mrs. de Bosch? Popular Dutch name?
> I
> think it is, but maybe there's something Heironymous in there. Town
> busy-body as harbinger of chaos, sort of thing.

John asked yesterday.

Well:

'Bosch', nowadays Dutch 'Bos', the 'ch' not pronounced, related to
English 'bush', means 'forest'.  There's a town in the Netherlands, 'Den
Bosch', short for ' 's Hertogenbosch', 'the Duke's Wood '.  There's a
University at Stellenbosch, South Africa.  The name 'De Bosch' sounds
Dutch but (at least over here) is rather uncommon; wideley used it is
'Van De Bosch' in all its variations.

A society under siege, like the one at the Cape with only a few
thousands citizens, the siege only ending a few years ago, must have
been having a very strong social control.  I think authority exerced by
the V.O.C. gouvernour, and maybe by church authorities; but me not
certain on that --it does sound a bit logical.

Michel.