Today is a bit of a special day. Today, 300 years ago on 11 April 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed between several of the belligerents of the War of the Spanish Succession and saw an end to the conflict that started in 1701. See the Wiki for some more information.
Though one of the few quality newspapers in the Netherlands, NRC Handelsblad, devotes an article on the Treaty of Utrecht, they miss at least one very crucial point: how did they manage to remove any mention in the article of the Dutch Republic as one of the main, not to say most important, opponents of France? Is this simply lack of the journalist's understanding of history, or that deep ingrained believe in the peaceful past of the Dutch?
It is a bit like writing about the Yalta Conference, and omitting the United States as one of the participants ....
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3 comments:
I would rather say Britain' at Yalta. The Dutch Republic was in decline at te end of the war. Britain overtook it, as the US did with Britiain in the Second World War.
Britain is, ironically, a better comparison indeed. Will, future historians omit the US from any peace negotiations between both Koreas, China and the US?
But this doesn't take away my feeling that the newspaper made a gross omission. Somehow, there still is that myth that the Dutch Republic was a peaceful nation in the 17th century, seeking only new markers for trading.
Hi Wienand,
Weve been trying to contact T.Mills about getting Regiment.org back online. YOu dont have an up to date email address for him do you, as weve tried all we could fine?
Thanks.
Dominic Hayhoe
hayhoed@forcesreunited.org.uk
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