In The Dutch Wars of Independence, Marjolein 't Hart assesses the
success of the Dutch in establishing their independence through their
eighty years struggle with Spain - one of the most remarkable
achievements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Other
rebellions troubled mighty powers of this epoch, but none resulted in
the establishment of an independent, republican state. This book:
- tells the story of the Eighty Years War and its aftermath, including
the three Anglo-Dutch Wars and the Guerre de Hollande (1570-1680).
- explores the interrelation between war, economy and society,
explaining how the Dutch could turn their wars into commercial
successes.
- illustrates how war could trigger and sustain innovations in the field
of economy and state formation; the new ways of organization of Dutch
military institutions favoured a high degree of commercialized
warfare.
- shows how other state rulers tried to copy the Dutch way of
commercialized warfare, in particular in taking up the protection for
capital accumulation. As such, the book unravels one of the unknown
pillars of European state formation (and of capitalism).
The volume investigates thoroughly the economic profitability of warfare
in the early modern period and shows how smaller, commercialized states
could sustain prolonged war violence common to that period. It moves
beyond traditional explanations of Dutch success in warfare focusing on
geography, religion, diplomacy while presenting an up-to-date overview
and interpretation of the Dutch Revolt, the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the
Guerre de Hollande.
