The Dutch Revolt: Revised Edition

By Geoffrey Parker

Book Overview

Based on Spanish and Dutch documents from archive and private collections from all over Europe, "The Dutch Revolt" takes into account religions and economic, as well as political, factors,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140552332
• ISBN13: 9780140552331
• Release Date: October 1989
• Publisher: Puffin
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.0" x 1.0" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Fine Narrative and Overview

This well written and concise (less than 300 pages) book is a nice introduction to the great revolt of the Netherlands from the rule of the Hapsburg-Spanish Monarchy. Written by a well known expert on early modern Europe, The Dutch Revolt provides the relevant background detail, essential narrative, and analysis needed to understand the major features of the Dutch rebellion. Parker draws extensively on a largely Dutch and Belgian secondary literature unavailable to English speaking readers. A notable feature of this book is that Parker does a very nice job of portraying the war from the point of view of both major protagonists, that of the various Dutch leaders and that of the Spanish Court. Parker shows also the complex international quality of European politics in this period. Events in the Mediterranean, for example, had a large impact on Spanish policies in the Netherlands. Parker deals as well, briefly but insightfully, with the relevant social and religous history of the revolt, and with its aftermath, the emergence of the United Provinces (the northern Netherlands) as a great European and world power.

A clear account of a very complicated transformation

The Dutch revolt is a pivotal event in European history that remains blurry and poorly understood by most people. Mr. Parker does an excellent job of clearly explaining the sequence of events as well as their context. A very readable style and a refreshingly objective perspective carry the story with just the right level of detail for the interested reader. I am very happy to have read this book and recommend it warmly to anybody interested in history.

Europes First Republic

This is the best history ever written about the Dutch Revolt - a series of upheavals from 1568 to 1648 - which led to the independent United Provinces. This was Europes first republic which survived until the French Revolution.