Dutch Van Der linde

Dutch was born in 1855[1] to a woman of English descent named Greta and a father of Dutch ancestry somewhere near Philadelphia. His father fought for the Union in the American Civil War and died in a battle that occurred in Pennsylvania; because of his father's death, Van der Linde developed a sworn grudge against Southerners. At the age of 15, he left his home as he was a disobedient child and rarely got along with his mother, who died in 1881 and was buried in Blackwater, although Dutch only found out several years later from an uncle of his.

Van der Linde valued freedom and liberties above all else and dreamed of living an independent existence. To attain these desires, Dutch began to resort to a life of crime. In the mid-1870s,[2] Dutch met a con artist named Hosea Matthews at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con and rob him only to realize that Dutch likewise had done the same and stolen from him. Impressed by the other's skills, the pair laughed and decided to partner up and face the future together, founding the famous Van der Linde gang.

Dutch and Hosea later found themselves in the town of Kettering, Ohio, where the two posed as international merchants, conning twelve locals into buying $300 worth of shares into a fictional Portuguese shipping company. Unfortunately they were eventually discovered and arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 9th, 1877 the pair managed to escape from their cell by unknown means, tying up and robbing the sheriff in the process.

Later that year, Dutch and Hosea encountered a 14 year-old street orphan named Arthur Morgan. The pair decided to take the boy under their wing. Teaching him how to read, write, hunt, fight, shoot and ride, Arthur became their first protege and alongside Hosea and Dutch, the trio would go on to comprise the old guard of the Van der Linde gang. Around this time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. He later ended his relationship with Susan as he met and deeply fell in love with a woman named Annabelle.

Some time later Van der Linde met the infamous outlaw named Colm O'Driscoll and the leader of his own gang The O'Driscoll Boys. The two maintained a loose and uneasy partnership as Dutch disliked how Colm treated his own men as disposable, Colm likewise mocked Van der Linde for his philosophy in making a 'better world'. Although the exact reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce and killed Colm's brother. In retaliation Colm murdered Annabelle which left Dutch greatly angered and heartbroken over her death. This event caused Dutch and Colm to become arch-enemies and sparked a years-long blood feud between the two rival gangs.

In 1885, Dutch stumbled across a group of Illinois homesteaders who attempted to lynch a 12 year-old boy named John Marston, who had been caught stealing from them. Dutch intervened in saving the boy's life and inducted him into the gang. Dutch taught John how to read, write, fight, shoot and ride just like he had previously done with Arthur. Over time Dutch and Hosea came to regard Arthur and John as their favorite 'sons'.

In 1887, Dutch led the gang's first major bank robbery alongside Hosea and young Arthur. At 2 o'clock, the trio burst into the banking house of Lee and Hoyt and held up the staff and customers. As a result of the robbery the gang made off with $5000 in gold. After the robbery they lingered in town; going to hovels, shanties, and orphanages handing out money; envisioning themselves as 'Robin Hood' figures in the process. It was around this period where Dutch became a wanted man and earned a price on his head.

In 1893, Dutch encountered a drunk veteran named Bill Williamson who attempted to rob him. However Dutch simply laughed at him and his disorderly conduct which infuriated Bill at first but Dutch encouraged him and inducted him into the gang. Although Bill lacked conventional intelligence Dutch came to value his loyalty.

In 1895, Dutch was stealing some chickens where he came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella who attempted to do the same. Alone and starving, Dutch fed him, wrapped him in warm clothing and soon inducted him into the gang. Javier came to value and idolize Dutch's philosophy and became one of his most loyal members.

One night, Dutch and Hosea went to a bar in North Elizabeth where they encountered a young Irishman named Sean MacGuire who became fixated on his fancy pocket watch. Overconfident he followed the pair out down an alleyway and attempted to rob them. Dutch and Hosea simply laughed at him as Sean discovered that they had spotted him earlier and unloaded the bullets out of his gun. Instead of killing him, they took Sean into the gang.

At this time, Dutch was an altruistic and idealistic rogue, believing the gang could make a difference in the world. He fashioned himself into something of a Robin Hood-like figure, taking money from the rich and wealthy who had plenty of it, and giving it to the poor and destitute who needed it. He saw himself as a symbol of the Wild West in its romanticized form, and a humanitarian champion of the people, opposing government control and corporate exploitation while supporting individual liberty and punishing general human cruelty and selfishness. His romantic image and charisma inspired his gang to believe in his anarchistic vision of a "savage utopia", and it was in the name of Dutch and his cause that they committed many violent crimes such as murder and robbery. By 1899, Dutch was reluctantly starting to realize that the way of life he held so dear was quickly becoming an increasingly unrealistic proposition and that the days of the Wild West were coming to an end, no matter how much he might try to prevent it.

In 1898, Dutch looked to sell a cache of stolen gold, aggravating the locals in the process. The deal went south and nearly resulted in him being killed in a bar fight in Crenshaw Hills. Fortunately Dutch was saved by a career outlaw named Micah Bell who was then accepted into the gang. While Dutch took a particular liking towards Micah, Hosea and Arthur found him to be argumentative, reckless and hot-headed.Following the Van der Linde gang's demise in 1899, Dutch had not been seen nor heard from for several years. Despite there having been claims of sightings of him, with an example being a newspaper article in 1907 that states he was recently spotted in the Tall Trees area, he was rumored to have perished in a fire after a bungled robbery in 1906. In 1911, Javier Escuella claimed that Van der Linde was in Colombia during a conversation with John Marston, though this later turned out to be false as Dutch came out of hiding and formed a new gang comprised of disaffected young natives, which operated in West Elizabeth. Dutch uses the natives hatred for the government and modernization to persuade them into attacking and harassing settlers outside of Blackwater. Notably, the Blackwater Ledger makes mention of an incident where Dutch and his gang killed two men on a homestead north of Blackwater.

Events of Red Dead Redemption

In 1911, Bureau of Investigation agent Edgar Ross kidnaps John's family to coerce him into hunting down several surviving members of the Van der Linde gang, including Dutch van der Linde. After Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella are dealt with in Mexico, John arrives in Blackwater, where Ross informs him that Dutch has been spotted in the region and that he is his final target. Together with a Native American named Nastas and Professor Harold MacDougal, John begins to search for Dutch. Nastas tells Marston and MacDougal of Dutch's fortress in the mountains called Cochinay.

Personality

Dutch himself is shown to be a merciless killer who justifies killing innocent people or lawmen as a way of combating the corruption of the federal government. Despite his brutal ways, Dutch is educated and, unlike many outlaws, genuinely believes he is committing these crimes for idealistic reasons rather than greed. His anti-government and pro-individualist idealism, combined with his natural charisma, attracted a following of people who had been downtrodden by the society they lived in. Several members of the gang were orphans, minorities, town drunks, former prostitutes and other lowlifes; people who had felt they had no purpose until they joined the gang and Dutch gave them one. This created a strong sense of unity within the gang and a great sense loyalty to Dutch.

Despite at times being rather brutal in his methods, Dutch would often joke around with his fellow gang members and had a kind, playful disposition. He would often make motivational speeches to encourage the gang to come together in times of hardship while preaching that "loyalty" and "faith" were among the highest and most honorable tenets. Before Hosea's demise, he often consulted him and Arthur on important decisions, putting it to a discussion and vote between the three of them when deciding on the direction of the gang, demonstrating how much their opinions meant to him.

At the peak of his power, Dutch displayed genuine compassion for his fellow gang members and treated them as family members in a way that made them feel appreciated. He complimented them on their resilience and ability and thanked them for their loyalty and their work. He saw to it that they were supplied, fed, and sheltered. His generosity endeared him to new members, many of whom had known little but harshness, pain, and struggle. His capacity to believe in others and help them believe in themselves was in turn reciprocated. Dutch employed a highly flexible command system within the gang. Although he demanded that members give loyalty and do their share for the gang as a whole, he also encouraged them to be themselves as well as to make use of their free time to optimize their own talents and skill sets. At his best, Dutch commanded a balanced brand of leadership that not only required followers to have structure and discipline but also allowed them to express freedom and individuality. He had utmost faith in his gang to overcome almost any situation regardless of the odds and regarded his most capable lieutenants, such as Arthur Morgan and John Marston, as his collective ace in the hole.

Throughout his life, Van der Linde demonstrated incredible courage, although by 1899, his fearlessness often overlapped into recklessness. Whether facing rival gang leaders, powerful men, or law enforcement, Dutch had no qualms with confronting any such opponent head-on, and in the face of imminent danger and gunfire, he often stood at the front of his gang. He displayed this courage most brazenly during the confrontation at Braithwaite Manor, where he approached the Manor full of gunmen directly despite being in the line of fire and sought little cover during the ensuing firefight; and when confronting Leviticus Cornwall and his gunmen, whom he stood a mere gangplank's distance away from, having a simple conversation with before shooting and killing him on the spot.

Although not confirmed, some have theorized that the concussion and head injury Dutch sustained on the Trolley after the failed bank robbery in Saint Denis might've affected his personality. This is also insinuated by the constant questioning of if Dutch is truly okay after the injury by Arthur.

The Pinkertons' relentless pursuit along with the constantly increasing pressure from civilization that the Van der Linde gang faced during its final months began to take a toll on Dutch and affect him. He became more driven by ego, money, and vengeance, beginning to outright despise anyone who questioned him. The trolley crash and possible head injury further exacerbated this issue, causing Dutch to gradually become even more ruthless and reckless. As his behavior grew more aggressive, violent and erratic, so did his plans. Dutch callously killed powerful figures like Angelo Bronte and Leviticus Cornwall solely out of vengeance with little regard for the outcome, which went against his previous ideology that "revenge was a fool's game" as well as launch a full-on assault against Cornwall's oil refinery and attempt to rob a train carrying army payroll. These revenge murders and highly aggressive and destructive attacks ultimately increased the attention of law enforcement and led to more dangerous consequences for the gang as a whole.

After the disastrous bank heist in Saint Denis, Dutch begun to tighten his grip on the gang and took his valuing of loyalty to an utmost extreme, labeling anyone who questioned him as a 'doubter' and lessened the freedoms the other members of his gang once had. This made it easier for him to make flat and absolute decisions that decide the course of the gang without taking any input or criticism from those he led, making his leadership increasingly despotic. Unlike before, Dutch began to value Arthur's and John's opinions less and less; as the two often criticized his decision making. Instead Dutch consulted solely with Micah, someone who never questioned his decision making and instead actively encouraged him and loyally stood by him, no matter what. Whenever a member of the gang questioned Dutch's actions, he would immediately see such an action as traitorous and the person doing so as a threat.

Dutch commonly referred to John Marston and Arthur Morgan as his brothers or sons, with Dutch himself and Hosea becoming fatherly figures to both of them, implementing a family-like relationship with the gang members that had stuck by him over several years. However as Dutch became more erratic and paranoid, Arthur and John started to question his leadership and decisions, resulting in Dutch becoming increasingly resentful as well as suspicious of their motives. His paranoia and disdain for the "doubters" is shown when Dutch leaves both John and Arthur to die in two respective situations, as well as leaving John to be arrested by Pinkertons during the bank robbery in Saint Denis.

With Arthur, it is clearly shown that Dutch deliberately left him to die while robbing Cornwall Kerosene & Tar. When Arthur was pinned down and about to be killed by a soldier, Dutch merely glanced at the situation and walked away. Minutes later Arthur confronts him on the subject, Dutch quickly denies this and brushes off Arthur's comment, whilst telling him not to be a "fool". In John's case, Van der Linde was secretly enraged that Marston wished to leave the gang with his family. This was proof of disloyalty in Dutch's eyes and his action of abandoning John, lying to Arthur about the circumstances of this and then denying it when confronted by John, add to the examples of his tendency to lose interest in anyone who did not follow him blindly. Years later upon realizing that Marston never betrayed him after all, Dutch admitted to John that he made a mistake, but immediately and callously brushed off the betrayal by saying "I never claimed to be a saint".

Dutch's moral and philosophical hypocrisies can be observed as early as 1899. Despite being vehemently opposed to cultural, technological, and industrial progress, Dutch benefits the most from modern inventions out of any other gang member. His clothing is often far more elegant than anything else the rest of the gang wears (apart from Molly). He plays tracks on a phonograph within his tent and is frequently found reading at camp (the only gang member that reads more than he does is Mary-Beth). Actually, the fact that Dutch has such a well-developed philosophy to believe in and preach to his gang demonstrates a surprising level of intellect, philosophy and culture on his part; all of them prime examples of the very civilization he opposes.

By 1911 Dutch's underlying hypocrisy has become even more apparent; both his horse along with his revolvers have disappeared. Instead they have been replaced by an automobile and a Semi-Automatic Pistol and a well-stocked bookshelf and typewriter can be found in his lair. This hypocrisy is noticed and pointed out by Uncle. Who once remarked that Dutch is not fighting for the right to pursue "a better life" as separate individuals with their own personal freedoms, but rather for what Dutch monolithically believes "a better life" is.

A testament towards how much Dutch values loyalty can be seen in his relationship with Micah Bell. During the final days of the Van der Linde gang, Micah became Dutch's most trusted consultant; unlike Arthur, Micah never openly questioned any of Dutch's actions, no matter what they were. This resulted in Dutch trusting in Micah so much, that when it was revealed that the latter was the Pinkerton spy, Dutch couldn't bring himself to believe it, even after Micah had shot and killed Susan Grimshaw in front of him. Not even Arthur repeating the truth with his dying breath would dislodge Dutch's disbelief, although it did slightly nudge it as Dutch seemingly abandoned Micah and ignored him after the latter tried to convince him to leave with him after beginning to realize it somewhat. It was only years later that Dutch would finally come to terms with Micah's betrayal and exact vengeance by shooting him.

By 1911, the once-idealistic rogue had fully deteriorated into a delusional maniac and violent killer who was secretly aware that all of the horrible crimes he committed had changed nothing about the government or society. In his final moments Dutch expressed remorse for his actions, likening himself to a monster and telling John that he couldn't stop fighting for his ideas despite the futility of it, lamenting that he was unable to fight the nature of a changing world and simultaneously, he couldn't fight the nature of himself to stop. Before committing suicide, Dutch told John "Our time is passed". This signified, at long last, his final acceptance that the the Old Wild West and the way of life it once stood for had come to an end and his will to live along with it.