The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century: The Golden Age

Description

The Dutch are 'the envy of some, the fear of others, and the wonder of all their neighbours'. So wrote the English ambassador to the Dutch Republic, Sir William Temple, in 1673 and Maarten Prak here offers a lively and innovative history of this Dutch 'miracle' in the seventeenth century. He charts the political, social, economic and cultural history of the Golden Age through chapters that range from the introduction of the tulip to the experience of immigrants and Jews in Dutch society, the paintings of Vermeer and Rembrandt, and the ideas of Spinoza. He sets the Dutch experience within a European context and examines the extent to which the Golden Age was a product of its own past or the harbinger of the more modern, industrialised and enlightened society of the future. A fascinating and accessible study, this book will prove invaluable reading to anyone interested in Dutch history.

Maarten Prak is Professor of Social and Economic History at Utrecht University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Early Modern Capitalism (2000). Diane Webb is a translator specialising in the fields of history and art.

In this first-rate narrative history of the Dutch Republic, Park (Utrecht Univ.) does a brilliant job of blending political, social economic, and cultural history into a clear and interesting synthesis. Essential. All collections in early modern Europe, early modern capitalism, or the history of national formation. -Choice "Maarten Prak gives a remarkable overview of this indubitably fascinating period. His book can serve both as an introduction for the less informed reader and a complementary study for the highly specialized scholar." -H-HRE, Violet Soen, Department of Early Modern History, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven