In this article we provide a brief reconstruction of the development of wind mill technology in Europe focused on the Netherlands. Windmills can be found in many countries, but an exceptionally wide variety of windmills emerged in the Netherlands. That has to do with the Dutch Golden Age in the late 16th and 17th centuries when the Dutch Republic dominated world trade, created a vast colonial empire and operated the largest fleet of merchantmen of any nation. We discuss in particular the contributions of Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest. His inventions were influential. His work led to the so-called paltrok mill, a very successful saw mill. We also briefly discuss Simon Stevin’s theoretical approach to windmills.
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