Review: ‘ Military Power and the Dutch Republic: War, trade, and the balance of power in Europe, 1648–1813 Military History of the Netherlands, vol. 2,’ by M. van Alphen, A. Lemmers, J. Hoffenaar and C. van der Spek. Leiden

Abstract

This important book follows the first volume of the series, The Eighty Years War: From revolt to regular war, 1568–1648 of 2019, reviewed here in 2021. Written at the Netherlands Institute for Military History, it has been expertly translated by Paul Arblaster and Lee Preedy. The editorial board’s decision to shift the focus of the text from operations to a wider ‘War and Society’ approach focuses attention on new questions. How effective were Dutch preparations for war, and war fighting? What part did war and preparation for war play in the development of Dutch society? How did they impact the emergence of a seventeenth-century ‘Golden Age’ and the decline of the eighteenth?…

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Filed under: Napoleonic War | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Administration | Battles & Tactics | Manpower & Life at Sea | Science & Exploration | Strategy & Diplomacy