History of Dutch-Speaking Peoples, 1555-1648

583 Pages·2001·15.077 MB·English

by  Pieter Geyl

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HISTORY OF THE
DUTCH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
1555-1648
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ISBN I 842212285
This Phoenix Press edition combines the two volume The
Revolt of the Netherlands r555-ran6d0 T9he Netherlands in the
Seventeenth Century r609-rin6to4 o8ne .
The Revolt of the Netherlands r555-ris6 t0he9 fi rst volume
in Pieter Geyl 's magnificent -but sadly incomplete -History
of the Dutch-Speaking Peoples. In this superb panorama of
politics and war, Geyl tells the epic story of the Netherlanders'
heroic struggle against the might of Spain, and of the rise and
establishment of the Dutch Republic. As such, it remains the
definitive account of one of the central episodes in early
modern European history. But it also addresses issues which
remain alive and important today: the relation between
religious belief and political action, the complex questions of
national identity, and the problems besetting a small country
struggling to survive in a great-power world. Above all, it is
suffused by the author's abiding belief in the vitality of
European civilisation.
The Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century, r609-ris6 t4he8
second volume in Pieter Geyl's History of the Dutch-Speaking
Peoples. In this masterly account of how the Netherlanders
finally won their freedom, he describes the uneasy truce with
Spain, the arrest and execution of Oldenbarnevelt, the resump­
tion of war in 1621, the uncertain alliance with France, and the
eventual establishment of Dutch independence in 1648. At the
same time, Geyl also provides an unforgettable portrait of
Dutch life during the first half of the seventeenth century -
an era of unprecendented domestic prosperity, of extensive
colonial expansion in the East Indies and North America, and
of outstanding cultural achievement, most brilliantly exempli­
fied in the works of the young Rembrandt.
PHILIP II OF SPAIN
1555-98
CONTENTS
THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS
1555-1609
PREFACE 16
INTRODUCTION
I EARLY NETHERLANDS HISTORY 23
The Nation and the Dynasty 23
II UNDER CHARLES V 35
A Continued State-Building 35
B Civilization 41
c The Disruption of Catholic Unity 50
D National Sentiment 60
THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE
AND THE SPLIT
I THE PRELUDE, I 555-1572
A The High Nobility
B The First Outburst
c The Tyranny of Alva
II HOLLAND AND ZEALAND IN REVOLT (1572-1576) I 19
III "THE ENTIRE FATHERLAND" IN REVOLT 145
A Under the Pacification of Ghent oo
B Religious Strife and Separate Unions 161
IV THE SPLIT 181
A Parma's Conquests, 1580-1589 181
8 CONTENTS
B The Establishment of a North Netherlands
State 203
C The Conquests of Maurice 217
D Stalemate 233
E Conclusion of the Twelve Years' Truce,
1606-1609 250
V REVOLUTIONS IN NETHERLANDS CIVILIZATION 260
A Before the Split 263
B After the Split 274
THE NETHERLANDS IN THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 1609-1648
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 297
PREF ACE TO FIRST EDITION 299
INTRODUCTION 301
I THE GULF IN RELIGIOUS AND INTELLECTUAL
LIFE WIDENS 306
A The South under Albert and Isabella 3o7
B The Religious Disputes in the North 326
C Uncalvinistic Tendencies in Religious and
Intellectual Life 351
D The Synod of Dort and the Consolidation of
Calvinistic Supremacy 358
II THE WAR (1621-1648) 372
A The Menacing Power of the Habsburgs 372
B Frederick Henry Captures 's Hertogenbosch 375
C Unsuccessful Efforts at Reunion 382
D The French Alliance of 1635 396
E North and South Face to Face 399
CONTENTS 9
F The War Drags On, 1635-1644 406
G Discord between Holland and Frederick
Henry 417
H Breakdown of the French Alliance 429
J The Peace of Munster 442
III THE NORTH SPREADS OUT 446
A Trade 448
:e The East India Company 455
i. Coen: Batavia and the Banda Islands 455
ii. Van Diemen: The Moluccas, Malacca and
Ceylon 471
C The West India Company 477
i. The Conquest of North Brazil 477
ii. Colonisation in New Netherland 485
IV CULTURAL LIFE 497
A Religion and Science 497
B Art 508
C Literature 516
V SOCIAL CONDITIONS 534
VI EPILOGUE 542
The Sentiment of Unity and its Limitations 542
Note on the word 'Belgium' 548
APPENDICES
I Sources of the Quotations
555
II Notes on Sources & Secondary Works 563
INDEX 569
LIST OF MAPS
VOL I
I. The Netherlands in 1555 14
II. The New Dioceses, 1561 73
III. Holland and Zealand in 1572 121
IV. The Conquests of Parma, 1578-89 180
v. The Conquests of Maurice, 1590-1606 221
VOL II
I. The Netherlands in 1609 44°
II. The Netherlands in 1648 441
III. The Colonisation in New Netherland 551
IV. The Dutch East India Company 552-553
v. The Conquests of North Brazil 554