Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first book to examine the history of the country in a way that connects global processes to local developments. Taking account of social, political and economic dynamics over the last thousand years, the book addresses key questions that get to the heart of the Netherlands' role in the world, both historically and in more recent times: Why did the West' become such a significant actor in the world, and what part did the Netherlands play? What were the driving forces in state-formation, and in what respects and why did the Netherlands take a different path to most of Europe? How did globalisation impact economic structures and socio-cultural life, and how did the Netherlands react to these new challenges? How did this very Christian and bourgeois nation develop into a flagship for liberal tolerance?The book carefully balances a wider investigation of these issues with close inspections of how ordinary people experienced the changes they prompt
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Maps and Figures Foreword Introduction
Part I - Before the Great Divergence (c. 1000 - c. 1800) 1. Introduction 2. Growth and the Run-Up to the Great Divergence 3. The Struggle for Power: Socio-Political Developments 4. Community and the Individual: Socio-Cultural Developments 5. Conclusions
Part II - After the Great Divergence (c. 1800 - present day) 6. Introduction 7. Expansion, Stagnation and Globalisation: Economic Developments 8. State Formation, Democratisation and Social Care: Socio-Political Developments 9. New Opportunities, New Values and Norms: Socio-Cultural Developments 10. Conclusions Recommended Reading Index
