In 1667 the Dutch Republic was at the height of its military and mercantile might. A century and a half later, little of that glory remained as Napoleon wiped the country off the political map. Military Power and the Dutch Republic explores the often overlooked role of the military in the Republic’s remarkable economic rise in the seventeenth century and its subsequent fall. It examines the ways in which the Dutch army and navy were organised and financed, the strategies and tactics that were used, and the operations of military leaders on land and sea. It also investigates methods of recruitment, where and how the army and navy found their troops, how those troops were housed and fed, and how they behaved in battle. And it looks at the various kinds of interaction between the many thousands of ordinary soldiers and sailors and the civilian society whose taxes supported them.
Marc van Alphen was for many years a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Military History and is an expert on maritime history, chiefly the Early Modern era.
Jan Hoffenaar is head of research at the Netherlands Institute for Military History and professor in military history at Utrecht University.
Alan Lemmers is a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Military History specialised in the history of naval shipbuilding and engineering.
Cristiaan van der Spek is a senior researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Military History and focuses on the Batavian-French era.
Published in co-operation with the Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH)
First published as Krijgsmacht en handelsgeest. Om het machtsevenwicht in Europa (1648-1813), Boom Uitgevers, 2019
Translated by Paul Arblaster and Lee Preedy
A comprehensive study addresses the human aspect of military exploits in the Dutch Republic, where army and navy operated within a social, economic and political context. Not only is it praiseworthy for the outstanding contributions, the well-chosen illustrations, the clear maps and the design as a whole, but most particularly for the innovative perspectives.
NRC Handelsblad on the Dutch edition.
An excellent account of an important episode in military history and in the development of Europe. Takes forward existing work on the war. The use of images is particularly valuable.
Jeremy Black, University of Exeter on The Eighty Years War, the first volume in this six-part series.
