Good day Hivers and Book Clubbers,
Back with the 2nd review of the year. This time with a chance encounter; I picked up this book at a local second-hand bookstore for 1 Euro. The full title is 'Unity and Separation; history of the Netherlands 1477-1813' by L.J. Rogier. Originally written in 1952, my copy is a reprint from the year 1980. The book is in Dutch, and there probably aren't any translations in print, so you'll have to search the internet. I was lucky to find one in print without looking for it. The story proper amounts to almost 300 pages, but with quite a high tempo.
1477?
Why start a book on Dutch history from the year 1477 onwards? Because the entity that imploded in that year started to resemble something like the Netherlands for the first time. That entity is Burgundy.
Burgundy was a duchy, not a kingdom. And yet, it was a geopolitical player in the 14th and 15th century on the level of the neighbouring kingdoms like England and France. The Burgundian house had steadily acquired territory over those centuries to a remarkable degree. At its peak, it held lands in the east and north of France, basically all of today's Belgium, and about half of the Netherlands of today.
Most essential from the point of Dutch history, it held almost all the lands that spoke Dutch (or something close to it) at the time. Thus, it could be seen as a from of proto-Dutch unity. Burgundy would not last, however. Its last leader, Charles the Bold, died in battle in that year, without leaving an heir.
The meaning of 'Dutch'
'Unity and Separation' is a great title for Dutch history. Because the Dutch people and the current Netherlands as seen on the map are not necessarily the same thing. Dutch speakers are also found in Flanders, the northern half of Belgium, and also a few remain in the northernmost part of France (French-Flanders).
The Dutch-speaking area used to be bigger a few centuries ago. It was more common in Wallonia, the southern part of what is today's Belgium, and in Artois and Picardie, two northern regions of France. The French language has crept north over the centuries, and history tells us why. A history in which the Dutch lands have more often been separated than together; today they are still separated.
Habsburg rule and the Dutch revolt
After the death of Burgundy, its lands fell through marriage in the hands of the Habsburgs, Europe's most formidable dynasty in history. Their patrimony would reach staggering proportions in the 16th century. They would venture everywhere in wars and exploration. And, unfortunately, it was often up to the Dutch to pay for all this.
Charles V ruled a remarkably large empire. He was Holy Roman Emperor, he would become king of Spain in 1518, he would gain Bohemia (Czechia) and Hungary in 1526, and the discoveries in what would be known as America would soon add Mexico and Peru to his already massive estates.
The Netherlands were part of this massive empire, which meant that the king was often absent. Governors were oppointed, often well-liked enough, but soon a Europe-wide event would destabilize the Habsburg Empire on multiple fronts.
This event was the Protestand Reformation (1517). Luther would unleash his attack on the Catholic Church, and with it shatter the unity of Western Christianity. Its success varied wildly within Habsburg lands: Spain would remain staunchly Catholic, Germany would basically split 50/50 between Lutheran princes and Catholic ones.
Charles V would choose the Catholic side, as would all Habsburgs after him. The Dutch would trend towards Protestantism, but not the Lutheran/German variety. Theirs would become known as Calvinism, which also had many adherents in Switzerland, France and Scotland.
Calvin was of a later generation than Luther, and Calvinism would pick up steam in the 1540 and 1550s. During this time, Charles V would die, and he would split his empire in two. His brother Ferdinand would become Holy Roman Emperor, and his son Philip would become Philip II of Spain. The Dutch lands would become part of the kingdom of Spain.
Philip II was the wrong man at the wrong time for dealing with the Dutch. An uncompromising man who was militantly Catholic, he was looking to stamp out Protestantism wherever he found it. When the Iconoclastic Fury kicked off in 1566 in the Netherlands, he would send one of his most trusted men, the Duke of Alva, to Brussels to start judgement over the 'heretics'.
Alva's Blood Councils are still notorious in Dutch history. Their most high-profile victims were the counts of Egmond and Horne, which turned a large part of the Dutch nobility against him. The de facto leader of the opposition, William of Orange, would be forced to flee to his lands in Germany. The Eighty Years War had officialy begun.
This war (1568-1648) would split the Netherlands down the middle, roughly corresponding with the border between the Netherlands and Belgium today (with some exceptions). The Netherlands would become more Protestant, though always a Catholic minority would remain. The Southern Netherlands (the name Belgium would not show up for centuries) would be re-catholicized, both through missionary-work, and through Protestants migrating north.
Conclusion
I've covered only a small part of the book, the scope of it is massive. And yet Rogier fits a lot of story in a compact way. His off-hand knowledge is immense. Even more remarkable is the fact that he is a self-taught historian ; he had no official degree of any kind in this field. He received an honorary doctorate from a Dutch university in history, and seeing this book, I can understand why.
I hope I've been able to pique your interest in some Dutch history, however little info I'm able to cram in a readable-length review. I'll do more reviewing in the future. Not sure if I'm able to keep up 1 review per week though. Maybe I'll show you some pictures of my library sometime soon, and I can tell a bit about it. Ideas for the future. See you all in the next one,
-Pieter Nijmeijer
(Top image; self-made photo of book cover)
