The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Complete (1555-66)
The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Complete (1555-66)
This is the grand 19th-century narrative history that made the Dutch Revolt legendary in the Anglophone world. John Lothrop Motley, an American diplomat and novelist-turned-historian, wrote this massive work with the verve of a dramatist and the conviction of a man who believed the Dutch struggle for liberty was one of history's defining causes. The book follows the years 1555-1666, when a scattered collection of provinces, often at each other's throats, somehow united to break free from the Spanish Empire's iron grip. At its heart is William of Orange, the reluctant revolutionary who becomes the Father of his Country, and the religious and political firestorm that made resistance a sacred duty. Motley's prose crackles with drama: diplomatic intrigue, religious persecution, the terrible sack of Antwerp, the miracle of Dutch survival against impossible odds. This is history written as epic poetry, with heroes and villains, tragedy and triumph. It remains essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how a small, wealthy, fractious nation forged itself into a republic that would reshape global commerce, science, and tolerance.
