History of the Low Countries

Dutch Crossing
...a welcome addition to the historical literature on Belgium and the Netherlands, for...there is no good one-volume history of the Low Countries available...The chapters are written by some of the foremost specialists in their fields, and provide excellent summaries of our present views of the periods in question.

James D. Tracy, University of Minnesota
...eminently readable and...solidly based in contemporary scholarship.

Boston University
The editors...should be congratulated for maintaining a very high degree of stylistic consistency...I very much welcome an English-language translation of this important book.

Book Description
The history of the smaller European countries is rather neglected in the teaching of European history at university level. We are therefore pleased to announce the publication of the first comprehensive history of the Low Countries - in English - from Roman Times to the present. Remaining politically and culturally fragmented, with its inhabitants speaking Dutch, French, Frisian and German, the Low Countries offer a fascinating picture of European history en miniature. For historical reasons, parts of northern France and western Germany also have to be included in the Low Countries, a term that must remain both broad and fluid, a convenient label for a region which has seldom, if ever, composed a unified whole. In earlier ages it was even more difficult to give the region set parameters, again reflecting Europe as a whole, when tribes and kingdoms stretched across expanses not limited to the present states of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Nevertheless, its parts did demonstrate many common traits and similar developments that differentiated them from surrounding countries and lent them a distinct character. Internationally, the region often served both as a mediator for and a buffer to the surrounding great powers, France, Britain, and Germany; an important role still played today as Belgium and the Netherlands have become increasingly involved in the broader process of European integration, in which they often share the same interest and follow parallel policies. This highly illustrated volume serves as an ideal introduction to the rich history of the Low Countries for students and the generally interested reader alike.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Dutch

About the Author
J.C.H. Blom is Director of the Dutch State Institute for War Documentation, Amsterdam. E. Lamberts is Professor of Modern History at Leuven University, Belgium.


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As the history of the smaller European countries has been rather neglected in the teaching of European history at the university level, this volume represents the first comprehensive history of the Low Countries in English Remaining politically and culturally fragmented - with its inhabitants speaking Dutch, French, Frisian, and German - the Low Countries offer a fascinating picture of European history en miniature. This well-illustrated volume serves as an introduction to the rich history of the Low Countries for students and the generally interested reader alike.


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