Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

England's almost bloodless Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which the Dutch king William of Orange overthrew James II, began as a hostile takeover but rapidly turned into a friendly merger, according to British historian Jardine (The Awful End of Prince William the Silent). She explores the fascinating Anglo-Dutch relationship to answer how and why two sworn foes became friends so seamlessly. Jardine focuses mainly on the subterranean intellectual, cultural and scientific intersections between the two countries and finds that contacts were continuous and mutually advantageous for decades before William's invasion. Cross-border fertilization resulted in two of the greatest painters of the age—Peter Paul Rubens and Anton van Dyck—working for English patrons while esteemed members of the Royal Society (such as Isaac Newton) corresponded with their Netherlandish counterparts (such as Christian Huygens). By looking so closely at elite opinion, however, Jardine too lightly dismisses the virility of petty nationalism lower down the scale and too easily glosses over the very real military tensions between the two powers. Nevertheless, this is a highly original work that will appeal to fans of Simon Schama's groundbreaking The Embarrassment of Riches. Color and b&w illus. (Sept.)
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From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Kathryn Shevelow In November 1688, the largest invasion force Europe had ever seen sailed from the Dutch Republic for England. The fleet of 500 ships entered the English Channel in a line 25 vessels deep, which stretched from Dover to Calais. Onboard were 20,000 soldiers, 20,000 seamen and several thousand horses; as the fleet passed coastal cities, the troops stood in formation, accompanied by trumpets, drums and cannon booms. Commanding this force was the Protestant Dutch prince, William of Orange, whose wife, Mary Stuart, was the daughter of England's Catholic king, James II. In little more than a month, Dutch soldiers occupied London, and James fled to France. William III and Mary II were crowned joint monarchs. Lisa Jardine, a professor at the University of London and prolific author whose recent works include biographies of architect Christopher Wren and scientist Robert Hooke, has now written the revelatory backstory of the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. She begins by observing that this "large-scale naval and military engagement in which the 'enemy' (the legitimate English monarch and his government) more or less declined to participate, and in which victory went surprisingly easily to the aggressor" has from the beginning been represented as a peaceful regime change -- yet Dutch troops occupied parts of the country for two years, and many English people feared a return of civil war. Jardine asks why this version of events became so quickly and widely accepted. Her answer lies in the profound Anglo-Dutch interconnections of the 17th century. The invasion was a turning point for both nations, although ironically it was the invader whose power and influence waned, while the invaded country flourished, partly because William brought with him a large amount of the Dutch Republic's wealth. Hence Jardine's subtitle. But, she notes, the circumstances of England's rise were "considerably more subtle and extended" than the verb "plundered" suggests. England achieved its glory, she argues, largely as a result of friendly Anglo-Dutch ties, even though the nations also fought three wars between 1652 and 1674. At a time when travel by water was often faster than by land, Holland lay in easier reach of London than did many parts of the British isles. "By 1688, England and Holland were already so closely intertwined, culturally, intellectually, dynastically and politically, that the invasion was more like a merger." Eschewing the narrow nationalism she sees as afflicting traditional histories, Jardine recounts this intertwining in politics, science, medicine, painting, architecture, interior decoration, garden design, ceramics, marriage and commerce. She fills her pages with a distinguished cast of characters: The artists Rubens, van Dyck and Pieter Lely received commissions from the English court; Wren, Hooke and Anton van Leeuwenhoek together laid the foundation of modern science. Jardine writes clearly and colloquially for the non-academic reader. Her chapters on gardens and painting are particularly engaging, but her eagerness to prove the extent of Anglo-Dutch intertwinement sometimes leads her to pile up excessive numbers of examples. On the other hand, the book's handsome color illustrations (from a still-life with tulips to an awe-struck depiction of William's invasion fleet) make vivid the relationship she describes. At the end of Going Dutch, Jardine remarks that she feels a deep bond with the Dutch as a result of exploring Anglo-Dutch history. Here in the United States, where the claim of "American exceptionalism" seems to be more stridently asserted the less tenable it becomes, it is salutary to see a British historian reject what she calls "history's customary petty nationalism" and embrace a vision of national identity that is not singular, but shared.
Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition (stated) edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060774088
• ISBN-13: 978-0060774080
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #104,282 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going Dutch, September 15, 2008

By	Jonathan Lopez (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lisa Jardine's elegant and thought-provoking new book, Going Dutch, offers a sweeping chronicle of the intellectual, political, and cultural links forged between England and the Netherlands during the seventeenth century. Deftly tracing the movements of people and ideas in fields ranging from monetary policy to garden design, Jardine evokes a dialogue of civilizations in which attitudes on both sides of the Anglo-Dutch divide developed in tandem.

But Jardine also has a bigger and bolder agenda in Going Dutch: she wants to change the very way that history is written. Instead of the traditional nation-by-nation treatment, Jardine proposes a more global view that embraces border crossings as a fact of life. Drawing on her own roots as the grandchild of Polish immigrants, she sees the past much in the way that most of us experience the present--as a "kaleidoscope of colliding influences."

From this perspective, Jardine's granular examinations of specific moments in Anglo-Dutch relations are case studies in her larger world view. At one moment, for instance, she takes us deep into the life of Alexander Bruce, a founding member of England's Royal Society and co-inventor, with Dutch-born Christiaan Huygens, of a pendulum clock that could accurately report a ship's position at sea. We learn about Bruce's marriage to a Dutch woman, his international lifestyle, and the intricate personal and professional networks that facilitated his collaboration with Huygens. The next moment, we find ourselves immersed in Anglo-Dutch competition in the New World--competition unwittingly fostered by the navigational advances Bruce and Huygens had made possible.

Anyone with a lively interest in seventeenth century European history will find Going Dutch a pleasure to read. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

--Jonathan Lopez, author of The Man Who Made Vermeers

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Examination of a Vibrant Era, September 26, 2008

By	Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Lisa Jardine's "Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory" is a quite extraordinary work. The subtitle is perhaps an attempt to generate a little controversy, but in reality Jardine's picture of 17th Century Anglo-Dutch relations is one of cross-fertilization in many areas (political, financial, scientific, artistic, musical, even hortocultural), to the point where the discussion of either England or the Netherlands independent of the other is somewhat meaningless. Jardine describes the Glorious Revolution of 1688 as a direct (and successful) military invasion by William of Orange, although she also says: "Because by 1688 England and Holland were already so closely intertwined, culturally, intellectually, dynastically and politically, that the invasion was more like a merger. I could wish that the author had devoted a little more space devoted to an outline of events (for example, the course of the various Anglo-Dutch Wars), but the study is fascinating anyway. Looming large in the account is the Huygens family. Although Christian, the scientist, is best remembered today, his elder brother and father, both named Constantijn, had larger roles to play at the time, both being secretaries to the Dutch Stadholders and heavily involved in diplomacy and politics and in the currents of art and music (and even horticulture). Artists such as Rubens, scientists like Robert Hooke, and other persons of note such as Christopher Wren also peolple Jardine's pages.

The book is unusually handsome, with a profusion of colored reproductions of paintings, portraits of personalities discussed in the text as well as displaying the richness of Dutch and Flemish art of the time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars weak, May 24, 2009

By	chicago reader (minneapolis, mn) - See all my reviews

Lisa Jardine's general purpose is to show that England stole from, copied, imitated and was influenced by the Netherlands during the seventeenth century. From state formation to garden-design, England learned from the Dutch. Thus, Jardine suggests, England isn't wholly English, since so much of its culture is imported, originally foreign, or hybrid.

This will surprise people that have very little background in history, but most of us should know that the English, like all societies, learned from or were influenced by many people. Jardine never tells us, nor even asks, whether Dutch influence was more profound on the English than French, Italian, Scottish, Irish, Turkish, American, Spanish, or Indian culture was, though of course all were important in various ways. Nor does she have a very illuminating picture of what the Netherlands actually are - she implies that this rapidly changing and heterogenous society was monolithic. I could go on, but suffice it to say that Jardine's story is a bit simple-minded and naive. Readers with much background in 17th century history won't learn much, and would do better looking over her footnotes and simply reading those books instead. Jardine is a professor of history, but this book, like many of her others, in fact, reveal very little if any original research. This book simply doesn't tell the world anything that wasn't already available elsewhere.

For those interested in the topics explored here, I would recommend instead Jan de Vries' new synthesis of Dutch and European economic growth, The Industrious Revolution. Tulipmania by Anne Goldgar is a very interesting study of flowers and collecting that reveals much about 17th century Dutch culture, and Jonathan Israel has written many of the best English-language studies of the Netherlands. Those books are thought-provoking and original. Jardine's work is not.