The political thought of the Dutch revolt, 1555-1590

This book is a comprehensive study of the history of the political thought of the Dutch Revolt (1555-90). It explores the development of the political ideas which motivated and legitimized the Dutch resistance against the government of Philip II in the Low Countries, and which became the ideological foundations of the Dutch Republic as it emerged as one of the main powers in Europe. It shows how notions of liberty, constitutionalism, representation and popular sovereignty were of central importance to the political thought and revolutionary events of the Dutch Revolt, giving rise to a distinct political theory of resistance, to fundamental debates on the 'best state' of the new Dutch commonwealth and to passionate disputes on the relationship between church and state which prompted some of the most eloquent early modern pleas for religious toleration. In conclusion the author situates the political thought of the Revolt within the history of the European tradition, arguing that sixteenth-century Dutch political theory, inspired by the indigenous legacy of its constitutionalism and civic culture, and the intellectual legacy of the late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, should be considered as one of the principal foundations of modern political thought.