Evolution of the Dutch Nation Book

EVOLUTION OF THE DUTCH NATION By BERNARD H. M. VLEKKE Professor of History and Secretary General of the Netherland Government Historical Institute in Rome ROY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK FOREWORD In writing this history of the genesis and growth of the Dutch nation, I have assumed that the American reader would prefer to a mere narrative of Dutch history, an interpretation of the events and forces that brought the Dutch nation into being and deter mined its world-embracing activity in past ages and the present time. have taJ cn it for granted that the main facts of Dutch history are Jyiown to the American public. Many worJ s of reference published in this country contain excellent chapters on the Netherlands, and J . BloJ s History of the People of the Netherlands gives all the essential facts. Thus it is that many details familiar to the average reader or to be found in the worl s of John Lothrop Motley the gretit American historian of the Netherlands have been omitted. An interpretation, as presented in this boo necessarily gives a personal vietv of historical events. Strife as we may to be objective, our vision of the past remains largely subjective. For my facts I have borrowed freely from modern Dutch historians, and in many cases 1 have adopted opinions already expressed by fellow countrymen. But, ta1 en as a whole, the interpretation of Dutch history given in this bool is mine and mine alone. This I would emphasize, for many of my colleagues may disagree with some of the opinions pre sented here, all the more so as 1 have often demited from tradition. My connection with the Department of Education of the Royal Netherland Government lends no special authority to my statements which arc nothing but the personal opinions of a Dutch historian who, in time of war as in time of peace, has the right to express himself freely on his countrys past. This personal note will not, I trust, deter the reader but rather arouse his interest in Dutch his tory and create a demand for further knowledge. If this should lead to the publication in English of other historical worlds on the TSIeth erlands f the author will feel amply rewarded for his labors. B. H. M. VLEKKE. Cambridge, Massachusetts. On the Day of the Liberation of Maastricht. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Foreword v Introduction ix I The Genesis of a Country and of a People II First Political Organization of the Netherlands ig III The Origin of the Provinces 3 IV The Origin of the Netherland Nation 51 V Political Unification of the Low Countries 71 VI The Great Crisis of the Sixteenth Century 94 VII All This For Freedoms Sake 124 VIII Dominating the Seven Seas . 161 IX The Netherlands as a Great Power 198 X Ideals of the Eighteenth Century 241 XI , The Second Netherland State 274 XII The Democratic Kingdom 299 Epilogue on the War 342 Notes 359 Bibliography 365 Index 370 INTRODUCTION A HISTORY of the Netherlands must first explain how and why a Netherland nation came into being. It seems strange that in a tiny corner of the great plain of northwest Europe, open to invasion from all sides, there should exist a nation quite distinct from its far more powerful neighbors. It is even more remarkable that this small nation has proved strong enough to maintain itself as a separate political entity and to carry its own civiliza tion to the far comers of the earth. The European territory of the kingdom of the Netherlands covers only 13,700 square miles, an area about equal to that of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The country derives its name from its geographic location Nederland is the lowland as opposed to the overland, the high land of the interior. Originally the term was used in a vague sense. Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelungen epic, is called the helt von Nider land by a German poet of the early XHIth century...Read More