History of the United Netherlands, 1588-89

History of the United Netherlands, 1588-89 examines a decisive moment in the Dutch struggle for independence: the aftermath of the Spanish Armada, the consolidation of the young republic, and the tense diplomacy linking Elizabethan England, Philip II's Spain, and the fractious Netherlands. Motley writes in the grand nineteenth-century historical manner, combining archival density with dramatic narration, moral urgency, and a distinctly liberal-Protestant sympathy for civic resistance against absolutism. John Lothrop Motley, the American historian and diplomat, brought to this subject both patrician education and firsthand acquaintance with European political culture. Trained at Harvard and in Germany, and later serving in diplomatic posts, he was drawn to the Dutch Revolt as a drama of national self-definition, religious liberty, and constitutional struggle. His access to continental archives and correspondence enabled him to animate figures such as Maurice of Nassau, Oldenbarnevelt, Parma, and Elizabeth with unusual narrative force. This volume is recommended to readers interested in early modern statecraft, the history of republican institutions, and the literary art of historical writing. Though marked by the assumptions of its age, it remains a vigorous and learned account of Europe at a turning point.

Pagina's: 24, Paperback, Sharp Ink