The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Volume 32: 1582-84

Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.2

Word count: 134K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Volume 32: 1582-84 by John Lothrop MotleyAuthor: Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877,Language: English, Class: DH: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Release Date: Jan 1, 2004

Editor's review

This volume continues from the previous one, covering 1582 to 1584, a period in the Dutch War of Independence when the situation was deadlocked and diplomacy and military action were intertwined. Motley continues his narrative-history style, laying out political negotiations, military operations, and personal choices through dense historical sources; the prose carries the moral judgments and dramatic treatment characteristic of nineteenth-century English-language historiography. As a middle-to-late volume in a long historical work, its reading value lies more in the level of detail and as a stylistic sample than in offering an independent, complete argument. Readers already familiar with the earlier context can see the texture of how events unfolded; those who plunge in without that background are likely to get lost in the flood of people and place names. The public-domain electronic text is easy to search and cross-check, making it suitable for slow reading, note-taking, and use alongside maps and chronologies.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers following this multi-volume series who want to finish the middle and later volumes
Upper-level students studying early modern European diplomacy and military history
Readers researching the style of nineteenth-century English narrative historiography
Researchers who need public-domain English historical sources for searching and textual analysis

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers who have not yet established a basic outline of the Dutch War of Independence
Readers expecting a single volume that stands alone with a complete narrative arc
Readers who need modern scholarly annotations or a Chinese translation
Casual readers who prefer light reading and have no patience for dense historical sources

Reading tips

First map out the overall timeline from 1580 to 1584, then go into the details of this volume.
While reading, note which faction the main figures belong to, to avoid confusing the factional threads.
After finishing each volume, write a short hundred-word summary connecting the events across volumes.
You can first skim the military passages to grasp the diplomatic main line, then fill in the details on a second pass.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does this volume connect with the previous one?

This volume covers 1582 to 1584, picking up directly from around 1582 where Volume 31 ends, with the characters and political threads continuing straight through. Reading in order is recommended, or at least familiarizing yourself with the situation at the end of the previous volume; otherwise you will lack the background for the negotiations and conflicts at the opening of this volume.

Is it suitable for citation in historical research?

It can be used as a nineteenth-century historiographical text and public-domain source material, but it should not be treated as a basis for modern academic research. Motley's narrative carries the stances and moral judgments of his era; when citing it, explain the context in which it was written and compare it with modern scholarship, so as not to mistake the personal judgments of narrative history for factual conclusions.

How difficult is the English?

It is in the style of nineteenth-century English narrative history, with long sentences, dense personal and place names, and many political and military terms; the overall difficulty is above average. Readers with university-level English reading ability, aided by a dictionary and maps, can make progress, but the pace will be slow; reading in sections rather than straight through is recommended.

What preparation is needed to read this multi-volume set?

Three things are recommended: a map of the sixteenth-century Low Countries, a chronology of major events in the War of Independence, and a notebook for recording which faction each figure belongs to. Motley's narrative advances through personal relationships; without these aids, the dense names of people and places will significantly slow comprehension.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877 Author

John Lothrop Motley (1814–1877) was an American historian and diplomat, known for his historical works on Dutch independence and the Dutch Revolt. His major work, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, narrates in detail how the Dutch provinces threw off Spanish rule and established a republican government, combining rigorous scholarship with a strong narrative drive. His History of the United Netherlands continues the account of political and military developments from the death of William the Silent to the end of the sixteenth century. The collection here contains 103 of his works, mostly different volumes and editions of these general histories. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted; his works show a respect for primary sources and a talent for portraying major historical turning points, and they have had a lasting influence on the study of Dutch history in the English-speaking world.