Military Power and the Dutch Republic: War, Trade and the Balance of Power in Europe, 1648–1813 (Military History of the Netherlands)
Marc Van Alphen, Jan Hoffenaar, Alan Lemmers and Christiaan Van Der Spek
Leiden University Press (July 15, 2021)
Hardcover: 552 pages
ISBN-13: 9789087283650
The miraculous rise and fall of the Dutch military during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Dutch Republic exerted significant global influence through military might, yet at the turn of the nineteenth century, almost overnight, Napoleon wiped the nation from the political map. Military Power and the Dutch Republic offers a tactical and logistical explanation for both the “miracle” of Dutch power as well as its swift demise.
Review
“A comprehensive study that addresses the human aspect of military exploits in the Dutch Republic, where army and navy operated within a social, economic and political context. Not only is it praiseworthy for the outstanding contributions, the well-chosen illustrations, the clear maps and the design as a whole, but also particularly for the innovative perspectives.” ― NRC Handelsblad
Authors
Marc van Alphen is a specialist in maritime history. Jan Hoffenaar is head of research at the Netherlands Institute for Military History and professor in military history at Utrecht University. Alan Lemmers is a specialist in maritime history. Christiaan van der Spek is a scholar of Batavian-French history.