History of the Dutch-speaking peoples, 1555-1648 - Pieter Geyl

He also describes the uneasy truce with Spain that follows, the arrest and execution of Oldenbarnevelt, the resumption of war in 1621, the uncertain alliance with France, and the eventual establishment of Dutch independence in 1648.

Geyl also addresses issues which remain alive and important today: the relation between religious belief and political action, the complex questions of national identity, and the problems besetting a small country struggling to survive in a great-power world.

An unforgettable portrait of Dutch life during the 16th and 17th centuries with its domestic prosperity, its colonial expansion and outstanding cultural achievement exemplified by the works of the young Rembrandt.