A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

The Golden Age of the Dutch Republic^237

Dike breach at Caevarden. Because so much land had been reclaimed from the

sea, many of the Dutch lived in chronic fear of flooding.

brought by weather. A good part of the Dutch Netherlands would have been
under water were it not for the famous dikes. These occasionally broke with
catastrophic consequences long remembered (a flood in 1421 had claimed
over 100,000 lives). A sense that disaster might be looming was reflected by
the popularity in the Republic of novels and histories about disasters. This
may explain the sense of solidarity and patriotic duty that brought people of
various classes together against Spanish rule.

Seventeenth-Century Dutch Culture

Dutch painting in the golden age of the seventeenth century reflected not

only the Republic’s commercial wealth, but also its toleration and openness

to secular styles and subject matter. The Dutch press enjoyed relative free­

dom; books were printed in the Republic that could not have been printed

elsewhere. The first English and French newspapers were published in

1620, not in London and Paris, but in Amsterdam. Dutch publishers dif­

fused knowledge of the Scientific Revolution (see Chapter 8). Dutch writers

and poets discovered their own language, translated Latin authors, and pop­

ularized Dutch accounts of the revolt against Spain.

Dutch painting reflected the prosperity and taste of the middle class. Like

the artists of the Renaissance, Dutch painters depended on the patronage of

people of means, particularly wealthy Amsterdam merchants. Although Delft

and several other towns each claimed their own style, the great port of Ams­

terdam dominated the art market. Some shopkeepers and craftsmen were