Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Part I Imperial and Postcolonial Settings
- 1 Building Nation-Empires in the Eighteenth-Century Iberian Atlantic
- 2 Nations and Nationalisms in the Late Ottoman Empire
- 3 The Dutch Empire
- 4 The Habsburg Monarchy
- 5 The British Empire
- 6 The French Empire
- 7 Germany as a “Global Nation,” 1840–1930
- 8 The Russian and Soviet Empire
- 9 The Japanese Empire
- 10 American Internationalism
- 11 The Indian Subcontinent: From Raj to Partition
- 12 Middle Eastern and North African Nationalisms
- 13 African Nationalisms
- 14 Bringing Empires Back in: The Imperial Origins of Nations in Indochina
- Conclusion to Part I
- Part II Transnational and Religious Missions and Identities
- Part III Intersections: National(ist) Synergies and Tensions with Other Social, Economic, Political, and Cultural Categories, Identities, and Practices
- Index
- References
3 - The Dutch Empire
from Part I - Imperial and Postcolonial Settings
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2023
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Part I Imperial and Postcolonial Settings
- 1 Building Nation-Empires in the Eighteenth-Century Iberian Atlantic
- 2 Nations and Nationalisms in the Late Ottoman Empire
- 3 The Dutch Empire
- 4 The Habsburg Monarchy
- 5 The British Empire
- 6 The French Empire
- 7 Germany as a “Global Nation,” 1840–1930
- 8 The Russian and Soviet Empire
- 9 The Japanese Empire
- 10 American Internationalism
- 11 The Indian Subcontinent: From Raj to Partition
- 12 Middle Eastern and North African Nationalisms
- 13 African Nationalisms
- 14 Bringing Empires Back in: The Imperial Origins of Nations in Indochina
- Conclusion to Part I
- Part II Transnational and Religious Missions and Identities
- Part III Intersections: National(ist) Synergies and Tensions with Other Social, Economic, Political, and Cultural Categories, Identities, and Practices
- Index
- References
Summary
The Dutch Empire lasted from 1600 to 1975 and beyond; even now there are some Caribbean island dependencies left. The size, shape, and nature of the empire has evolved and altered, but over those centuries the Dutch colonies have been an important, if fluctuating, component of the national consciousness. Economic advantages were very considerable, but arguably the Dutch gained just as much in terms of self-confidence and status for their small nation: in the nineteenth century the empire was seen as absolutely essential in terms of both economics and prestige. Even in the twenty-first century, a centrist prime minister could call for a return to “the mentality of the VOC” (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, United East Indies Company), a remark that was not universally well received.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism , pp. 43 - 63Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
Further Reading
Antunes, Catia, and Gommans, Jos (eds.), Exploring the Dutch Empire: Agents, Networks and Institutions, 1600–2000 (London: Bloomsbury, 2015).Google Scholar
Buettner, Elizabeth, Europe after Empire: Decolonization, Society and Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmer, Piet, and Gommans, Jos, The Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600–1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gouda, Frances, Dutch Culture Overseas: Colonial Practice in the Netherlands Indies, 1900–1942 (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klooster, Wim, The Dutch Moment: War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth-Century Atlantic World (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koekkoek, René, et al., “Visions of Dutch Empire,” forum discussion, BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review, 132/2 (2017), 77–120.Google Scholar
Kuitenbrouwer, Vincent, “Songs of an Imperial Underdog: Imperialism and Popular Culture in the Netherlands, 1870–1960,” in MacKenzie, John M. (ed.), European Empires and the People (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011), 90–123.Google Scholar
Luttikkuis, Bart A., and Moses, A. Dirk (eds.), Colonial Counterinsurgency and Mass Violence: The Dutch Empire in Indonesia (London: Routledge, 2014).Google Scholar
Multatuli, [E. Douwes Dekker], Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of a Dutch Trading Company (London: Penguin, 1987; published in Dutch 1860).Google Scholar
Raben, Remco, “A New Dutch Imperial History? Perambulations in a Prospective Field,” BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review, 128/1 (2013), 5–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar