#dutch republic

[illustratus]

The Battle of the Boyne by Benjamin West

[probablyasocialecologist]

Not only did the infant Dutch Republic, in the end, defeat those vast Iberian empires through decades of struggle, but it also created a purely capitalist form of imperial power that seeded the slow germination of an alternative world order. In just a few decades, the Dutch developed many of the essentials of modern capitalism—including private corporations, low-cost credit, merchant banks, and clever financial instruments like futures trading. While the Iberian empires were economic hybrids, demanding feudal dues from world trade in the form of that “royal fifth,” Dutch colonies in both the East and West Indies would be owned and operated solely by joint-stock companies.

Alfred W. McCoy, To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change

[royalty-nobility]

Portrait of William II, King of the Netherlands

Artist: Jan Adam Kruseman (Dutch, 1804-1862

Date: 1839

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

William II of the Netherlands

William II (Dutch: Willem Frederik George Lodewijk; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.

William II was the son of William I and Wilhelmine of Prussia. When his father, who up to that time ruled as sovereign prince, proclaimed himself king in 1815, he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the abdication of his father on 7 October 1840, William II became king. During his reign, the Netherlands became a parliamentary democracy with the new constitution of 1848. William II was married to Anna Pavlovna of Russia. They had four sons and one daughter. William II was succeeded by his son William III.

[pmamtraveller]

THE ALCHEMIST | 1663 | by CORNELIS PIETERSZ BEGA

This painting is set inside an alchemist's lab. It depicts everything: all the equipment, vessels, and materials that are associated with alchemy. Without a doubt, this piece reflects how much interest there was in occult science during the Golden Age.

Cornelis Pietersz Bega was a Golden Age painter, best known for his genre works and portraits. Like many of the dutch Masters, he was greatly influenced by the work of Rembrandt, which he reflected in his use of chiaroscuro and great attention to detail.

Bega moves the viewer's eye through the cluttered laboratory rather successfully and points out what the alchemist is doing. Intense use of light and shadow gives much depth and drama to the scene, which naturally heightens the mystery of the ambience.

Starting from the symbolic elements, typical for almost all the alchemical art- a presence of the flasks, apparatus for distillation, and arcane symbols-all this represents the alchemist's thought about his quest of transformation, his pursuit of hidden knowledge.

It is Bega's attention to detail and the realistic capture of textures-from that of the roughness of the stone to the metals of the different instruments-that give such a degree of realism to the painting.

People were already so interested in alchemy in the 17th century and thus, "The Alchemist" manifests the very same thing. This piece is also a satire of the vain quest of the alchemist whose work clearly shows the contrast between scientific inquiry and pseudoscience.

[jovianwishes]

Hetalia and the myth of the Dutch independence war: a mini essay/rant

One thing I often see go by in the Hetalia fandom is the notion that the 80 years war/the Dutch Revolt was an independence war against the Spanish and solely that, sort of American Revolution style. This is not surprising, since for many years, over two hundred, this notion has been pushed and propagandized here in the Netherlands. But, modern historians are now pushing a different view on the 80 years war: the independence of the Dutch Republic was completely accidental and not the intended goal.

Ever since I began studying history in university this has been quite a special interest of mine. So I'd like to shed some more light on this new look at the 80 years war and why it actually makes complete sense. First of all: before the 80 years war there was no interest or idea that the Dutch provinces form 1 nation together. In fact, all the provinces, and especially the cities, were highly independent ever since the beginning of the middle ages. They all had their own identities, coin and even language sometimes. These provinces (which by the way, were their own countries (editors note: with which i actually mean duchies, counties, bishoprics, etc) but for ease I'm calling them provinces) and cities have centuries of history with each other as allies, rivals, and sometimes even conquerer. In generally, none of them really liked the other. The concept of a united Low Lands came *solely* from the top, from those that colonized the provinces (e.g. the Habsburgers, but before that as well with the Burgundy's).

The 80 years war started because the Spanish king began taking away the rights of cities and provinces, began taxing them heavily and started imposing trails against non-catholics. After peaceful negotiation didn't work, riots began breaking out in the south, in what is now Belgium (back then kind of the southern Dutch provinces). These riots formed a reaction that went all the way to the north of the Dutch provinces. Then the Spanish send in troops and the 80 years war was truly kicked off. Before I continue, it is also good to mention that some consider the 80 years war a civil war, which indeed had it's merits. Not all provinces and cities were in agreement with each other (in the contrary...) and religious differences caused a lot of tension within the rebellion.

So as I said, modern historians are in agreement with each other that until the last few years, there was no real interest in forming one country. The (northern and southern) provinces wanted to regain their rights, lower taxes and have religious freedom, that was their goal. The forerunner of the 'have the provinces become one country' party was William of Orange, an important noble who, although he was symbolic the figure head of the fighting Dutch provinces, did not achieve anything of what he wanted before he died. So, in the later stages of war (and, it is good to mention here that the war was not one monolith - it was a long series of conflicts stretching out many years), there came a slow realisation that the only way to win was to unite. And eventually, that is what happened. What follows was a true "Golden Age" for the Dutch Republic but also a time of *extreme* political unrest - the Republic was honestly constantly on the brink of falling apart because again, no province could agree with each other.

Anyways, I want to end this way too long post with saying that you're not wrong for depicting the 80 years war as an independence war. It's a notion that has been pushed for many years, but I would like people to consider a different way of looking at the NL. A way that considers that the provinces were just like the HRE: a collection of countries with long histories that deserve to have their own story told. I personally, in Hetalia, consider all the provinces their own personifications. Ned is for me the personification of the "Low Lands", an imagined community of trading and fighting provinces that would love to stab each other's hearts out and then steal their gold, hahah. Oh, and also, people need to remember that Belgium was an incredibly important factor in the 80 years war. The Belgian provinces, which back then were just the southern Dutch provinces, helped enormously in the fight against the Spanish but eventually they were too weak to hold up. Anyways, thanks for reading!

[stanford-photography]

Portrait of Björk's Ancestor By Jeff Stanford, 2023

Imagine Johannes Vermeer painted a portrait of Björk's ancestor in Delft, Holland, Dutch Republic, in 1665 Buy prints at: https://jeff-stanford.pixels.com/

[rabbitcruiser]

The Dutch Republic surrendered New Amsterdam to England on September 24, 1664.

[barbucomedie]

Officers Cap of the Van Pallandt's Regiment of the Dutch Republic dated to 1715 on display at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle

The Van Pallandt's Regiment were one of 1en Dutch regiments sent to reinforce the British Army against the Jacobites during the 1715 rising.

Dutch, German, French, Spanish and Irish soldiers all served in Scotland on one side or the other during the Jacobite Risings. This regiment, the Van Pallandt's, served at Edinburgh and Dunkeld where their tough treatment of the local people made them unpopular.

Photographs taken by myself 2021