Discord and Consensus in the Low Countries, 1700-2000
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Discord and Consensus in the Low Countries, 1700-2000
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781910634325 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | U C L Press, Limited |
| Publication date: | 05/02/2016 |
| Series: | Global Dutch , #1 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 234 |
| File size: | 12 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Jane Fenoulhet is Professor of Dutch Studies at UCL. She works in Dutch Literature and Translation Studies as well as Language and Culture Pedagogy
Gerdi Quist currently researches language-and-culture teaching and the development of language learning materials from a social semiotic perspective. As well as publishing theoretical articles on the issue, she has also produced self-study materials for Dutch as a Foreign Language.
Ulrich Tiedau is Senior Lecturer in the UCL Department of Dutch and an Associate Director of the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities. He is also serving as editor in chief of Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies.
Jane Fenoulhet is Emerita Professor of Dutch Studies at UCL where she taught and researched across the fields of Dutch literature, translation studies and gender studies. She draws on philosophy to unite these interdisciplinary strands and is currently working on the subjectivity of translators. Her books include Making the Personal Political: Dutch Women Writers 1919-1970 (2007) which has a chapter on Carry van Bruggen, and Nomadic Literature: Cees Nooteboom and his Writing (2013).
Ulrich Tiedau is Associate Professor of Dutch at UCL and an Associate Director of the UCL Centre for Digital Humanities. In addition, he serves as editor-in-chief of Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies.
Read an Excerpt
Discord and Consensus in the Low Countries, 1700â"2000
By Jane Fenoulhet, Gerdi Quist, Ulrich Tiedau
UCL Press
Copyright © 2016 ContributorsAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-910634-32-5
CHAPTER 1
Pre-modern Dutch identity and the peace celebrations of 1748
Lotte Jensen
The history of the Dutch Republic is characterised by ongoing conflicts between the Orangists, who supported the stadtholder, and the anti-Orangists – or Staatsgezinden – who opposed the hereditary succession of the stadtholder and, consequently, sought to gain more democratic rights. Several times these conflicts became severe, which led to regime changes. This chapter focuses on the conflict between the Orangists and the Staatsgezinden in 1748. The then recent installation of William IV as the general hereditary stadtholder of the United Provinces had marked the end of the stadtholderless period. William IV was celebrated by many, but despised by others, and his opponents expressed their discontent in satirical writings. It is argued that the nation's history was a key theme in the heated debates: to support their political views, both groups essentially created their own version of the nation's glorious past.
Introduction
In general, we can distinguish two different views on the history of the Dutch Republic in the early modern period. The first group of historians lays emphasis on consensus and claims that consensus was the driving force behind the Republic's rise in the seventeenth century. They use key words such as concord, harmony, tolerance and even 'polder model' to characterise the liberal climate of the Dutch Republic and argue that these characteristics can explain its economic and artistic greatness in the seventeenth century. Examples of this view include Bevochten Eendracht by Willem Frijhoff and Marijke Spies (1999) and Nederland en het poldermodel (2013) by Maarten Prak and Jan Luiten van de Zanden.
The second group of historians, on the other hand, points towards discord. Marjolein 't Hart, for instance, has argued that international warfare stimulated economic growth in the Republic: 'the organization of their military institutions favoured a high degree of commercialized warfare, stimulated their trade and furthered new capitalist networks. In other words, the Dutch knew how to make money out of organized violence, with continuing profits in the longer term.' Here war and conflict are presented as the key factors behind the Republic's Golden Age. Discord also features prominently in the work of historians who consider the history of the Dutch Republic as an ongoing struggle between different political and religious factions and who therefore tend to criticise the representation of the nation as harmonious and tolerant. This view is mainly propagated by historians who have focused on years of political outburst and regime change, for example Ari van Deursen's Bavianen en Slijkgeuzen and Luc Panhuysen's Het rampjaar 1672, and by nearly all historians who concentrate their research on the eighteenth century, a century known for its many revolts.
Consensus or discord: which one of these seemingly incompatible views is the correct one? This question is impossible to answer because it's all in the eye of the beholder. The Republic's successful struggle for independence automatically leads to the conclusion that some of its success must have been the result of excellent leadership, cooperation and a tolerant climate while, at the same time, religious, moral and political conflicts are just as much part of that same history. In a recent study on religious toleration in the Republic, the literary historian Els Stronks asserts that different denominations and their ideologies coexisted rather peacefully in the Republic while, at the same, the bounds of toleration were constantly under pressure. This ambiguity stems from the wish to situate the specific characteristics of the Dutch Republic within a European context: the fact that such a small nation could become one of the world's leading powers in such short time calls for an explanation. Depending on the historian's interests, he or she will focus on either continuity or moments of rupture to characterise the nation's unique history.
In the research project 'Proud to Be Dutch: The Role of War and Peace in the Shaping of an Early Modern Dutch Identity (1648–1815)' consensus and discord play equally important roles. In this project, we aim to investigate developments and changes in the rise of Dutch national thought in the early modern period by focusing on cultural and literary reflections on war and peace. On the one hand, we examine the characteristics and qualifications that gave the Dutch Republic a clear profile and identity in relation to other nations. One of the sub-projects, for example, investigates the role of peace celebrations and the shaping of national thought. This research shows that writers went to great lengths to symbolise the unity of the Dutch Republic on the occasion of important peace celebrations. In their writings the outline of a Dutch 'imagined community' based upon shared traditions and values becomes visible – to use Benedict Anderson's well-known concept. Here concord, harmony and unity are the key words.
On the other hand, the shaping of this common identity was an ongoing process of negotiating differences and excluding competing identities within the Dutch Republic. Political and religious struggles were constantly smouldering beneath the surface: the representation of a Dutch identity, although mainly homogeneous, was permanently under debate and contested. The political differences between Orangists, who supported the stadtholder, and the anti-Orangists – or Staatsgezinden – who opposed hereditary succession of the stadtholder and, consequently, sought to gain more democratic rights, are visible throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as are the tensions between different denominations.
This chapter will address the permanent tension between consensus and discord by taking the year 1748 as a case study. In this year the peace treaty of Aachen was signed, ending the War of the Austrian Succession. During this war the Dutch Republic had suffered severe attacks by the French in the southern parts of the country. The Peace of Aachen was therefore welcomed by many Dutch authors, who glorified the role of the Dutch Republic and the nation's heroes in the present and the past. Internally, however, political tensions were present everywhere. In 1747 a new stadtholder had been appointed, William IV. His appointment as the general hereditary stadtholder of the United Provinces marked the end of a stadtholderless period, which had lasted forty-five years. William IV was celebrated by many and seen as the great saviour in times of despair but despised by others, and his opponents expressed their discontent in satirical writings. This chapter will look at occasional poetry that represents both political sides. The nation's history was a key theme in the heated debates: to support their political views, each group essentially created its own version of the nation's glorious past. First the dominant discourse of the Orangists will be discussed, before turning to the dissident voices.
Orangist celebrations
The peace treaty of Aachen ended the War of the Austrian Succession, which had swept through Europe for eight years. The war broke out in 1740 after the death of Charles VI, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He had tried to secure the rights of his daughter, Maria Theresa, to the Habsburg throne through the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, but her position was challenged immediately after his death by several princes, including the Spanish king Philip VI, the Prussian king Frederick II and the prince-elector of Bavaria, Charles VII. Initially, the Dutch Republic maintained a neutral course, but things changed when France invaded the Austrian Netherlands in 1744 and rapidly escalated in 1747 when the French besieged several cities in Zeelandic Flanders, including Hulst, Sas van Gent, Axel and Bergen op Zoom.
In response to this threat, William IV was appointed by the States-General as the Captain General and Stadtholder of all districts in the Republic. To celebrate this event illuminations and fireworks were organised throughout the Dutch Republic (Figure 1.1). The fighting continued, and in April 1748 the French besieged Maastricht. When peace was finally established – the preliminaries were signed on 30 April and officially acknowledged on 18 October 1748 – France had to abandon these cities again.
The Peace of Aachen was warmly welcomed by the Dutch, who had experienced severe losses in the south. The adherents of William IV extensively praised his achievements as commander-in-chief of the army as if it had been the stadtholder himself who had personally liberated the besieged cities. According to his adherents, there were two more reasons to celebrate 1748 as a special year. Firstly, exactly a hundred years earlier the Treaty of Münster had been signed, which meant that the Dutch Republic was celebrating its first centenary as an independent state. Secondly, in March a new prince had been born, the future William V. This made the position of the new stadtholder, who now also had a male successor, stronger than ever. All these factors made 1748 a year of 'miracles' in Orangist eyes.
In the many celebratory writings that were published to commemorate the centenary of the Peace of Münster and the achievement of the Peace of Aachen, the Orangist perspective dominated. At least thirty-five occasional writings were published, including sermons, plays, poems and treatises, and three large anthologies: Olyf-krans der vrede (1748, reprint of 1648; Olive Wreath of Peace), Dichtkunstig gedenkteeken (1748; Poetical Memorial) and De tempel der vrede, geopend door de mogendheden van Europa (1749; The Temple of Peace, Opened by the Powers of Europe). Each of these volumes consisted of approximately forty poems, written by authors from different provinces. These anthologies were presented as a luxurious series, and the second volume was offered personally to William IV in The Hague.
All these occasional writings were written from an Orangist perspective. The peace celebrations were filled with praise for the new stadtholder. Many authors stressed that it was the people's wish (vox populi) that William IV had been appointed in that position; William IV, for his part, was said to be a true, loving father of his people. One of the poets even called him 'the very best Father of the Fatherland'. This kind of imagery was not new but can also be found in earlier representations of the stadtholders, as Jill Stern has shown in her study on Orangism in the Dutch Republic between 1650 and 1672.
In the many poems, plays and anthologies written on the occasion of the Peace of Aachen, the markers of a Dutch (Orangist) identity clearly become visible. This identity was held together by the repetition of national symbols, myths and recurring themes. The poets went to great lengths to celebrate the national past and emphasise the strength and endurance of the Dutch inhabitants across many decades. At the same time, they were oriented towards the future. With the appointment of a new stadtholder a new era had dawned, and, so they argued, a new Golden Age was about to come into existence. In this way, they effectively masked the fact that in reality the Dutch Republic had become a minor power in the field of international relations.
The nation's history was one of the key themes: many poems contained a historical outline of Dutch history with the aim of legitimising the position of the stadtholder. Three recurring themes can be distinguished: (1) revolt and liberation, (2) the idea of having been chosen by God or divine providence, and (3) the return of a Golden Age. To start with revolt and liberation: it was argued that William's recent election was the logical outcome of nearly two hundred years of struggle for freedom and liberty, which had started with the Revolt against the Spaniards and now ended with the defeat of the French. Special landmarks in this history included the Union of Utrecht of 1579, which brought together the seven northern provinces into one political union, and the many victories during the Eighty Years' War against the Spaniards, such as the triumphs in De Briel (1572) and Leiden (1574) at the beginning of the war and the victories in 's-Hertogenbosch (1629) and Hulst (1645) at the end of that conflict. The authors constructed an entirely Orangist view of the nation's history, claiming that all previous victories had been the result of superior leadership by the stadtholders. See, for example, how the poetess Sara Maria van Zon writes about the glorious past:
Wilhelmus of Nassau relives on every tongue
Who is not conscious of Maurits' bravery
And Frederik Hendrik's glory, for better or worse?
No, heroes! No, everyone talks of your brave war acts:
From your laurel wreaths grow olive leaves
The second William saw, when it was God's wish
The States declared free, by the treaty of Münster.
The nation's history is summarised in only seven lines, mentioning four different stadtholders in succession. This teleological way of representing the past suggested that the stadtholders (and God's benevolence) were entirely responsible for the Republic's successful struggle for independence.
The sea heroes of the Anglo-Dutch wars were also extensively celebrated as well as the heroic come-back of the stadtholder in 1672, but deep silence shrouded the second stadtholderless period between 1702 and 1747. In the eyes of Orangists, the nation's history was obviously worth remembering only when a stadtholder was in charge of things. They continued their narration with the year 1747, in which William IV was appointed, and praised his excellent leadership in the battles against the French. He was represented as a true hero who had brought new peace and wealth to the country. In the words of the poetess Suzanna Maria Oortman: 'Prince Friso went to the battlefields in order to fight for us, he returned, and brought us peace.'
The bravery of the Dutch was contrasted with the evil nature of the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War and the French during the many Dutch–French Wars in the period 1672–1713 and the contemporary conflicts. Poets compared the noble nature of the stadtholders with the cruelty of King Philip II of Spain, the Duke of Alva, and his successor Luis de Requesens. They repeatedly mentioned the killing by Alva of '18,000 souls', the horrifying sack of Naarden in 1572 and the 'dreadful screaming of widows and orphans', which could be heard everywhere during the Spanish attacks. This litany of crooks and misery seamlessly continued in laments about the wicked nature of the French monarchs Louis XIV and XV and the French general Ulrich von Löwenthal, who had been commander-in-chief during the sieges of Bergen op Zoom and Maastricht. A parallel was drawn between the destruction by the French in 1672 of Bodegraven and Zwammerdam and their relentless attacks on the Dutch Republic in 1747. In this way, a rigid black-and- white scheme was constructed, which could lead only to the conclusion that the present victory was the reward for long and continuous fighting against evil.
The second theme, the idea of being the chosen people and beneficiaries of divine providence, was also prevalent. The argument was that God had not only restored peace in Europe but that the Dutch people were the chosen people. This idea was also often propagated by ministers from the Reformed Church, as Cornelis Huisman has shown in his study on national consciousness in Reformed circles in the eighteenth century. Parallels with the people of Israel, who were rescued by Moses, were drawn by many poets. They depicted the new stadtholder as the new Moses, who led his people through difficult situations:
O God, who so clearly has saved us from
The hands of the enemies
When You restored Orange
To the benefit of the Netherlands
And chose him as general Pastor
O Lord, please continue to protect our prince.
A sense of superiority was expressed by suggesting that the Republic had a privileged position and that God had chosen to protect this people by sending an excellent 'saviour', William IV.
In their representation of the nation's history nearly every highlight was the result of the powerful intervention of a stadtholder, who was supported by God. In this way, it was suggested that an inextricable bond existed between the Republic, God and the stadtholderly family. According to the poet Jacobus van der Streng:
As long as the Orange Tree is in the Netherlands
Our Free Territory honours the God of its Fathers
Then our State has nothing to fear
Because no Tyrant will ever dominate God's estate.
This 'triple alliance' between God, Orange and the Dutch Republic, which had overcome so many threats in the past and would be able to resist any crisis in the future, would remain one of the most powerful poetical symbols of Dutch identity throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Discord and Consensus in the Low Countries, 1700â"2000 by Jane Fenoulhet, Gerdi Quist, Ulrich Tiedau. Copyright © 2016 Contributors. Excerpted by permission of UCL Press.
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Table of Contents
Introduction: discord and consensus in the Low Countries, 1700–2000
Ulrich Tiedau
1. Pre-modern Dutch identity and the peace celebrations of 1748
Lotte Jensen
2. Gnawing worms and rolling thunder: the unstable harmony of Dutch eighteenth-century literature
Inger Leemans and Gert-Jan Johannes
3. A twice-told tale of a (dis)united kingdom: Thomas Colley Grattan’s History of the Netherlands (1830, 1833)
Raphaël Ingelbien and Elisabeth Waelkens
4. A conflict in words and images, or a conflict between word and image? An intermedial analysis of graphic novel adaptations of Hendrik Conscience’s The Lion of Flanders (1838)
Christine Hermann
5. Language controversies in the Gazette van Detroit (1916–1918)
Tanja Collet
6. ‘Beyond A Bridge Too Far’: the aftermath of the Battle of Arnhem (1944) and its impact on civilian life
Reinier Salverda
7. ‘A sort of wishful dream’: challenging colonial time and ‘Indische’ identities in Hella S. Haasse’s Oeroeg, Sleuteloog and contemporary newspaper reviews
Stefanie van Gemert
8. Reinstating a consensus of blame: the film adaptation of Tessa de Loo’s De tweeling (1993) and Dutch memories of wartime
Jenny Watson
9. Harmony and discord in planning: a comparative history of post-war welfare policies in a Dutch–German border region
Marijn Molema
10. Dutch in the EU discourse chain: mimic or maverick?
Suzie Holdsworth