Netherlands

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, writes Elka Schrijver, Bergen in North Brabant was the scene of important sieges.

Elka Schrijver describes the art and making of a northern Renaissance man.

C.R. Boxer describes how porcelain, silks and, above all, tea formed the basis of a lucrative trade between the Chinese and Dutch in the eighteenth century.

After centuries of Habsburg rule, writes Elka Schrijver, the Grand Duchy came under the Orange-Nassau dynasty in 1815 and, in reduced size, is still independent.

Elka Schrijver documents the productions and popularity of these 18th-century engravings and prints.

C.R. Boxer describe show, three centuries ago, the great Dutch commander was mortally wounded in battle off the coast of Sicily.

Conrad Dixon describes how, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, Pelsaert of Antwerp was the first European to spend some time on shore.

Eynon Smart describes how, when the third Dutch War began in 1672, Charles II and his Ministers were faced with financial needs; a reprieve for the Exchequer was their answer, but it disturbed the country’s banking system.

Stephen Usherwood describes how, in 1544, reports of a marvellous new flower, the tulip, first reached Western Europe, where it soon aroused a ‘fever of excited speculation’.

Stephen Usherwood shows how Rembrandt’s genius gives a vivid impression of 17th-century Holland.