ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the centrality of war in the Low Countries since the late fifteenth century. It discusses its response by engaging in military innovation, of which the beginnings are the Walloon arms industry and the use of Walloon mercenaries on the European battlefields. The role of sixteenth-century Flemish overseas trade is addressed. The economic progress of the Low Countries before 1600 is discussed. The centripetal and centrifugal roles of Charles V and Philip II in the Netherlands are addressed. The causes of the Dutch Revolt are investigated, such as taxation, centralisation, the Protestant Reformation, and the government’s failure to suppress it. The heyday of Dutch involvement in martial affairs is depicted through the Eighty Years’ War (1566–1648), the wars with France (1672–1713), and other wars in Europe and elsewhere. The pivotal role of the Orange-Nassau dynasty in fuelling the bellicose Dutch spirit is discussed.
