Changes

[[Image:Netherlands 1603.jpg|thumb|Netherlands in 1603|350px|right]]

[[Image:Netherlands 1603.jpg|thumb|Netherlands in 1603|350px|right]]

Dutch historians have made the successful 80-year revolt against Spain the centerpiece of national history--as a revolt against tyranny on behalf of political, religious and economic freedom.<ref> The classic statement is by an American historian, who wrote a well-researched, very well written classic. John Lothrop Motley, ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-84'' (2 vol. 1856)  

Dutch historians have made the successful 80-year revolt against Spain the centerpiece of national history--as a revolt against tyranny on behalf of political, religious and economic freedom.<ref> The classic statement is by an American historian, who wrote a well-researched, very well written classic. John Lothrop Motley, ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-84'' (2 vol. 1856)  

[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4836/4836.txt Gutenberg editions online] and ''History of the United Netherlands, 1584-1609'' (4 vol., 1860–67) [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4885/4885.txt Gutenberg editions online] </ref> The Duke of Alba is depicted as the central villain, with basic causes assigned to religion and to the constitutional crisis, that is, the demand for greater local and regional autonomy. Historians stress the interplay of the economy, finance, the nobility, and the cities, as well as the military logistics, and international complications.<ref> See Marjolein Hart, ''The Making of a Bourgeois State: War, Politics and Finance during the Dutch Revolt.'' (1993)</ref>  An important cause was the fear that Spanish King [[Philip II]] planned to impose an inquisition based on the fearful Spanish model to replace the local Dutch Inquisitions that complied with local customs and sentiments. The fears were sparked in the late 1550s by a new plan for Catholic bishoprics in the Low Countries and his appointment of many new bishops who were former inquisitors.<ref. See [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/supprotneth.html online  maps]</ref>  Historians have downplayed the importance of the threat because it did not in fact exist--Philip had no such plans, but the fears were nevertheless real enough to spark a revolt.  

[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4836/4836.txt Gutenberg editions online] and ''History of the United Netherlands, 1584-1609'' (4 vol., 1860–67) [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4885/4885.txt Gutenberg editions online] </ref> The Duke of Alba is depicted as the central villain, with basic causes assigned to religion and to the constitutional crisis, that is, the demand for greater local and regional autonomy. Historians stress the interplay of the economy, finance, the nobility, and the cities, as well as the military logistics, and international complications.<ref> See Marjolein Hart, ''The Making of a Bourgeois State: War, Politics and Finance during the Dutch Revolt.'' (1993)</ref>  An important cause was the fear that Spanish King [[Philip II]] planned to impose an inquisition based on the fearful Spanish model to replace the local Dutch Inquisitions that complied with local customs and sentiments. The fears were sparked in the late 1550s by a new plan for Catholic bishoprics in the Low Countries and his appointment of many new bishops who were former inquisitors.<ref> See [http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/supprotneth.html online  maps]</ref>  Historians have downplayed the importance of the threat because it did not in fact exist--Philip had no such plans, but the fears were nevertheless real enough to spark a revolt.  

After 1945 research shifted from the drama of national liberation and instead has focused on the enormous variety of political and economic conditions in Dutch towns and provinces and on the weaknesses of attempts at centralization by the Habsburg rulers. Major breakthroughs have come in [[Social history]], especially in demographic history. Economic history has become a central topic, with the exact relationship between economics and political events highly controversial among scholars. The religious aspects of the revolt have been studied in terms of mentalities, exposing the minority position of Calvinism, while the international aspects have been studied more seriously by foreign historians than by the Dutch themselves.

After 1945 research shifted from the drama of national liberation and instead has focused on the enormous variety of political and economic conditions in Dutch towns and provinces and on the weaknesses of attempts at centralization by the Habsburg rulers. Major breakthroughs have come in [[Social history]], especially in demographic history. Economic history has become a central topic, with the exact relationship between economics and political events highly controversial among scholars. The religious aspects of the revolt have been studied in terms of mentalities, exposing the minority position of Calvinism, while the international aspects have been studied more seriously by foreign historians than by the Dutch themselves.