ABSTRACT
Pamphlet writing provides a powerful barometer for English views of, and concerns about, the United Provinces during the seventeenth century. Production went into overdrive at times of national or international crisis, decrying enemies, misfortunes, or disasters. This chapter presents some of images reappeared in the most unexpected places, and English ideas of what constituted a Dutchman, followed by an examination of Milton’s and Marvell’s personal acquaintances with the Dutch, with reference to their use of stereotypes in their poetry and prose. Milton, prior to meeting Grotius, had no known personal or professional involvement with the United Provinces and its people. Another significant change came with Milton’s appointment as Secretary for Foreign Tongues to Cromwell’s government in 1649. Marvell’s The Character of Holland, was written whilst seeking employment in the Commonwealth, and became a political tool to satirize the Dutch during all three Anglo-Dutch Wars.
