FYSE 124 student presentation

1. The Netherlands:
A Study on the Dutch People and
Different Forms of Dutch Nationalism
Manassah Grace Brooks

2. Basic History: Dutch Origins
- Originally inhabited by German and Celtic
tribes.
- Safety from invaders due to geographical
features.
- 1st century BC: Roman Empire
- Middle Ages: German tribes, The Franks.
- Spread Christianity, boom in wealth.
- Renaissance period: Spanish control
- Eighty Years’ War for Independence

3. Eighty Year’s War
- Independence from Spain -> Dutch
republic
- How did Spain come to power?
- What were the issues?
- Established religious intolerance and
new taxations.
- 12 Years Truce
- Finalized in 1648

4. Dutch Republic Post War
- Productive class
- Land owning gentry, merchants, etc..
- VERY influential in government.
- Advocated for constitutionalism.
- Divided into seven provinces.
- Specifically ruled by a regent.
- Generally was ruled by a Stadtholder
- Together formed the States General
This is where nationalism within provinces
began to form, and how it differed from the
entire state...but how?

5. Competing interests within the provinces
Competing Interests
Holland
- Huge trading port.
- Often advocated for
peace.
- Prioritized economic
growth.
Zeeland
- Pro imperialism.
- Often seized ships in
response to warfare.
- Less opposed to war,
quick to respond to
enemies.
Common Middle Ground
- Violence against Spain
was always justified.
- Gat + Greenfeld
- Also prioritized economic
gain.
- War helps the
economy prosper.

6. Golden Age
Economic and Societal boom lead to the Dutch Golden Age:
- National pride
- Citizens were very diverse
- Civic Nationalism
- Art, printing, innovation, etc.
Late 16th Century Expansion:
- Early Maritime Networks
- Spice trade
- New world connections
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer, 1665, Google Photos

7. The Dutch East India Company (VOC): Economic
Nationalism
- Dutch Trade companies took territory and forged trade routes...by force.
- Establishing colonies
- Religious colonialism
- Slowly using force as means to form an empire.
“The VOC would essentially operate as a state within a state.” (When Companies Ruled the World, 28)
- Atlantic Slave Trade
- Began to outperform other European empires
Nationalism through trade began to fuel economic prosperity and motivate
merchants who benefited from the VOC.

8. - Post 1600, Dutch citizens considered it
natural to own shares in trading
vessels.
- Only further fueled economic
nationalism.
- The Dutch public began to invest in
future shares and predict the influx of
prices.
- Violence became necessary for
economic gain.
- “We cannot carry on trade without war,
nor war without trade.” (How Trade Shaped the
World, 228)
- War was not mutually exclusive to
dutch colonies, but to rivals as well.
- Ethnic cleansing of many colonies.

9. 18-19th Century: Greater Dutch Movement
The netherlands at this time was still a collection of provinces.
- Greater “Netherlandsim.”
- Ethnic/cultural nationalism
- Still separate states
WWI and WWII highlighted conflicts between dutch and french
speakers within Belgium.
- Many dutch speaking and Flemish people wanted to merge
with the Netherlands.
- Only 35 percent of Flanders wants to merge while 60-70% of
Dutch people want to “unite” the two states.

10. What are current Dutch Values?
Within the 20’th Century public opinion
about what it means to be dutch has
drastically.
- Post imperialistic golden age, the Netherlands was
known for their tolerance and liberalism.
- Rise of the Party for Freedom in 2006
- Geert Wilders, often referred to as “The Dutch
Donald Trump”
- Right wing conservative/ultra nationalist
- Advocates to close mosques/ban Quran/taxing
hijabs.
- Anti immigration.
Geert Wilders - Member of House of Representatives

11. Dutch Nationalism Today
The liberal “safe haven” of Dutch culture is
disappearing.
- Liberals/Individualists have been pushed out or
silenced.
It has always a Dutch standard to appear
culturally and ethnically progressive,
however there has always been underlying
emotions the contrast that front.
- 8:48-10:23
- “That’s our biggest problem, we’ve been too
tolerant…” (BBC Video)

12. In summary...
Dutch society has three main
forms of Nationalism
1. Civic Nationalism - What they
show on the outside and what
we know of when we think of
the Netherlands.
2. Economic Nationalism - Huge
presence of unifying over
economic prosperity
throughout Dutch history.
3. Culture/Ethnic Nationalism -
What they hide under the
surface and what they have
shown recently politically.

13. Work Cited
Honings, Rick, A.B.G.M. van Kalmthout, and Gijsbert Rutten, eds. Language, Literature and the Construction of a Dutch National
Identity. AMSTERDAM University PRES, 2017.
Walt, Benner, Encarnación, Neumeyer, Thijs Kleinpaste, Anand, and Walt et al. 2018. "The New Dutch Disease Is White
Nationalism". Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/20/the-new-dutch-disease-is-white-nationalism/.
"Short History Of Netherlands | Amsterdam.Info". 2021. Amsterdam.Info. https://www.amsterdam.info/netherlands/history/.
Lem, Anton Van Der. Revolt in the Netherlands: The Eighty Years War, 1568-1648. Reaktion Books, Limited, 2019.
Schiller, Friedrich, Morrison A J W., Nathan Haskell Dole, Edward B. Eastwick, and Friedrich Schiller. The History of the Thirty
Years' War in Germany: The History of the Revolt of the Netherlands. Boston: D. Estes, 1901.
"The Rise Of The Dutch Republic". 2021. Google Books.
Stephen R. Bown. Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, 1600-1900. New York. St. Martin’s Press. 2009.
View. 2012. "The Rise Of Dutch Neo-Nationalism: Three Explanations For The Recent Upsurge In Nationalist Mobilization". The
Yale Review Of International Studies.
William J. Bernstein, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Grove Press. 2008.
Hunt, Lynn. Making of the West. Peoples and Cultures. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2019
Popkin, Richard. The History of Scepticism: From Savonarola to Bayle. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Smith, Bonnie G. Modern Empires Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Rommelse, Gijs. "The role of mercantilism in Anglo-Dutch political relations, 1650–74." Economic History Review 63#3 (2010) pp.
591–611
2021. BBC, Youtube.Com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjFyq9LJyOA.
"The Origins Of Dutch Tolerance (And Why Geert Wilders Is A Threat To It)". 2018. Dutchreview.
https://dutchreview.com/culture/history/geert-wilders-threat-to-tolerance/.
Images:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Netherlands
2. https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War
4. https://www.britannica.com/event/Peace-of-Westphalia
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_General_of_the_Netherlands
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring
7. https://www.conservatoriumhotel.com/blog/architectural-gems-of-a
msterdam
8. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/public-opinion-and-second-a
nglo-dutch-war-1664-1667
9. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/the-netherlands/articles/a-brief-his
tory-of-the-dutch-east-india-company/
10. https://wiki2.org/en/Greater_Netherlands
11. https://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/14/14921614/geert-wilders-isla
mophobia-islam-netherlands-populism-europe
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_England
13. https://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/14/14921614/geert-wilders-isla
mophobia-islam-netherlands-populism-europe