Van der Linde gang

The Van der Linde gang, also known as Dutch's Boys, are the main protagonists of the 2018 action-adventure game Red Dead Redemption II.
==History==
The Van der Linde gang was formed sometime around the mid-1870s when a con man named Hosea Matthews attempted to rob fellow con man and outlaw Dutch van der Linde at a campfire in Chicago, however Hosea failed at doing so, then he and Dutch laughed it off and started a partnership and ace the future together.
A few years later Dutch and Hosea found a kid named Arthur Morgan who was an orphan, Dutch and Hosea took him and mentored him. Arthur started to see Dutch and Hosea as father figures. eventually they pick up another young orphan named John Marston, Dutch and Hosea then started robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, becoming Robin Hood like figures to those around them.
Dutch at one point was friends with Colm O'Driscoll, and formed a partnership that went on for a while but ended when Dutch killed Colm's brother and in retaliation Colm killed Annabelle, the woman Dutch loved. This in term made them dissolve the partnership and forever become bitter enemies.
They later pulled off their first bank heist in 1887, where they stole five thousand dollars and redistributed it to the poor and the homeless. However, the gang's generous streak ended soon when they eventually let the gang get into money lending with Leopold Strauss who took desperate people and pushed them into deals that made his life better at the expense of others.
For just over a decade, following the Lee and Hoyt robbery in 1887, and the gang's arrival in Montana during 1898, they committed around 36 different bank robberies in various locations across the Frontier. During this time period, they recruited almost a dozen and a half new members; usually those who were disillusioned or forced to flee from the encroaching borders of modern society or were considered outcast by the rest of society. It is unclear exactly what years, or in what order, the majority of these members joined.
== Red Dead Redemption 2 ==
In 1899 the outlaw era in American was slowly coming to its end, and Dutch slowly started going insane through out the story, constantly having to remind the gang that they could outrun the federal agents and live freely. Eventually after a failed bank robbery known historically as the Blackwater Massacre, Dutch and key members of the camp are temporarily stranded in Guarma and Hosea gets killed by goverment agents. This leads Dutch to grow even more insane and paranoid to the point of tearing the gang apart through the deception of Micah Bell. Eventually, the gang gets split up in two sides and Micah Bell kills Arthur Morgan as the gang ends up being officially disbanded. Eight years after the main events of the story, Micah and Dutch are still partners as they are now in the possession of the money from the Blackwater Massacre. Seeking vengeance for Arthurs and all the deaths Micah has caused in his life John Marston with the help of Sadie Adler and Charles Smith travel to kill Micah. When confronted with the opportunity to kill John, Dutch betrays Micah and shoots him allowing for John to get the final blow on Micah. Dutch then quietly walks away from John allowing him to keep the money from Blackwater.
== Trivia ==
* Out of the 29 members of the Van der Linde Gang:
** 3 die (Jenny, the Callander brothers) before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2, 7 die during Arthur's portion of the story (Sean, Kieran, Hosea, Lenny, Molly, Susan, Arthur) and 4 more died (Strauss, Cleet, Joe and Micah) die during the epilogue, putting the total Red Dead Redemption 2 death count at 14. 13 are confirmed to be alive by the end of the epilogue (John, Abigail, Jack, Uncle, Sadie, Charles, Javier, Bill, Dutch, Swanson, Pearson, Mary-Beth, Tilly), with the fates of two members left unclear (Karen and Trelawny).
** In Red Dead Redemption, 6 more members die (Javier, Bill, Dutch, Uncle, John and Abigail), leaving only 9 members (Jack, Sadie, Charles, Swanson, Pearson, Mary-Beth, Tilly, Karen and Trelawny) possibly still alive.
** The only confirmed living former member by Red Dead Redemption's epilogue is Jack Marston.The earliest in-game reference to the formation of the gang is mentioned in a newspaper dating back to 1877 where Dutch did a job with Hosea, meaning the gang was at least 22 years old at the time of it being disbanded.
== External Links ==
* Van der Linde gang on Villain Wiki
* Van der Linde gang on Red Dead Wiki
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