History of the Dutch-Speaking Peoples 1555-1648 (Phoenix Press)

A superb panorama of politics and war that brings together two classic volumes by Geyl: The Revolt of the Netherlands 1555-1609 and The Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century 1609-1648. Here is the story of the Netherlanders' epic struggle against Spain's might and the rise of the Dutch Republic--as well as important and still pressing issues about the relationship between religion and political action, complex questions of national identity, and the problems of a small country struggling to survive in a great-power world. This new paperback edition combines the two volumes The Revolt of the Netherlands 1555-1609 and The Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century 1609-1648 of Pieter Geyl's magnificent History of the Dutch-Speaking Peoples.

In this superb panorama of politics and war, Geyl tells the epic story of the Netherlanders' heroic struggle against the might of Spain and of the rise and establishment of the Dutch Republic. He describes the uneasy truce with Spain that follows, the arrest and execution of Oldenbarnevelt, the resumption of war in 1621, the uncertain alliance with France, and the eventual establishment of Dutch independence in 1648.

Geyl also addresses issues which remain alive and important today: the relation between religious belief and political action, the complex questions of national identity, and the problems besetting a small country struggling to survive in a great-power world.

An unforgettable portrait of Dutch life during the 16th and 17th centuries with its domestic prosperity, its colonial expansion and outstanding cultural achievement exemplified by the works of the young Rembrandt.