I was wondering if anyone could shed some more definite light on the origin of the phrase 'Dutch Courage.'
I have found two, almost certainly apocryphal, origins:
1: From the Thirty Years War in the 17th Century, where British soldiers drank a Dutch Gin for it's warming/calming effects.2
and
2: Deriving "from the disparaging idea that Johnny Foreigner, whether sailing up the Medway or facing down the locals in the East Indies, needed a few drinks before a fight."3
However, the phrase only seems to begin appearing in print from the mid- to late-19th Century - some 200 years after its supposed coinage. Which makes me suspect there is another story behind this.
Unfortunately, as with many popular folk etymologies they swamp any other potential sources, so I look to EL&U for some help.