"Old Pug"
When Chinese traders allowed the sale of their Pugs, this breed was taken to faraway Europe, Holland to be precise, with the Dutch East India Company.
From here, it also went on to England and the rest of the world.
Soon after, Pugs became the choice of aristocrats and royalty and symbolized the high status amongst dog breeds.
William I
"The Silent"
William I "The Silent", of the House of Orange (1533-1584), had a Pug named "Pompey ".
In 1572, during a Spanish attempt to gain control over Holland, Spanish troops attacked a camp where William the Silent was sleeping. While assassins approached the tent, Pompey began barking and scratching to warn his master, finally jumping on Prince William's face to wake him.
Due to the Pug's timely help, the Prince was able to avoid being taken prisoner by the invaders.
As a token of his gratitude to his pet, the Prince declared Pompey (and Mopshond in general) as the official dog of the House of Orange.
Even in death, William had his Pug nearby; an effigy of the Monarch with his Pug at his feet is carved over William's tomb in Delft Cathedral.
"William I´s Tomb"
"Pompey"
In 1653, Dutch artist Quiringh Van Brekelenkam painted one of the first paintings done of a black Pug in Europe :"Interior of a Tailor´s Shop" , which prove that black Pugs were in Holland 150 years before Lady Brassey returned to England from her voyage to China with black Pugs.
"Interior of a Tailor´s Shop"
"Black Pug"
The "Mopshond ", from the Dutch word which means "to grumble", which probably describes the snuffling and "talking" which is characteristic of the Pug, became the fashionable breed for generations in Holland.
"Willpower". 1891,
Charles Van Den Eycken
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