Description
Book SynopsisThe Dutch Diaspora is a comprehensive and personal study of the former colonial empire of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is considered one of the most successful societies and at one point was the world''s largest empirestretching from Japan to the United States. The author, Howard Wiarda, who grew up in western Michigan and is himself of Dutch descent, combines thorough scholarship with first-hand experience of travels to the far-flung former colonies. The study analyzes how colonies reacted to the ideological beliefs implanted by the Dutch settlers and how those colonies evolved in terms of cultural, religious, and political beliefs. For example, the Dutch in the seventeenth century brought Calvinism to South Africa and entrepreneurialism to New Amsterdam and Curaçao and in the nineteenth century supported slave plantation systems in Indonesia and Suriname, but as time passed the evolution of the colonies was telling. The United States outgrew Great Britain in wealth and power, but
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: The Dutch and Their Colonial Fragments Chapter 2 The Netherlands: A Proud History and Culture Chapter 3 The Dutch Community in Western Michigan Chapter 4 Growing up Dutch: Zion on the Prairies Chapter 5 New Amsterdam and the East Coast Dutch Chapter 6 The Modern Netherlands: Community in Crisis Chapter 7 The Americas: The Dutch in Brazil, Suriname, and Curacao Chapter 8 Dying Memories: The Dutch Empire in Asia Chapter 9 Indonesia: The Epitome of Colonialism and Imperialism Chapter 10 South Africa and the Apartheid Regime Chapter 11 Back to the Origins: Geneva and the Protestant Reformation Chapter 12 Struggling to Survive: The Reformed Tradition in Austro-Hungary Chapter 13 Conclusion: The Dutch Diaspora in Its One and Many Parts
