The British “gentlemen” ridiculed New Englanders with a song called “Yankee Doodle.” A “doodle” was a simpleton, and as the rebellion spread to New York, a colony of many Hollanders, the name Janke, Dutch for “little Jan,” was used derisively. The rebels wore the name Yankee as a badge of honor, and turned the song around, rewriting the lyrics to praise their bravery. It became a battle hymn to tease the snooty Brits.
