ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to take the historical discussion about the relationship between religion and war in the Dutch Republic between 1672 and 1713 a few steps further. It will also explore with the help of a few examples how far these public statements reflect the thoughts and beliefs of leading figures, in other words how far they reflect everyday attitudes. It was through these documents that they presented an outline of their policies and made themselves accountable. In his work entitled Krieg und Frieden im Zeitalter Ludwigs XIV, the German historian Heinz Duchhardt argues that it was an undisputed rule that a war in the early-modern period had to commence with a formal manifesto in which the war was declared. The chapter examines a few of the war manifestos dating from the period 1672 to 1713. It focuses on the declarations of war issued by the States General in 1689 and 1702 and a number of other related documents.
