Second Hand Britain and the Dutch Revolt 1560–1700

This scholarly study explores the profound political, military, religious and cultural connections between Britain and the Dutch Revolt from the late sixteenth century through to the end of the seventeenth century. Hugh Dunthorne demonstrates that the Dutch struggle for independence was not a distant Continental conflict for England and Scotland, but one that deeply influenced British thinking, society and policy.

Drawing on extensive archival research, the author shows how the Dutch Revolt inspired political debate across the British Isles, shaped early modern Protestant identity, and provided thousands of English and Scottish soldiers with direct military experience in the Low Countries. The book examines diplomatic relations, trade networks, religious refugee communities, the circulation of ideas, and the impact of Dutch republicanism and commercial success on British state and military development.

Richly detailed and analytically rigorous, the study places the Dutch Revolt within a wider European and Atlantic context and highlights its legacy for the British Civil Wars, parliamentary politics and emerging imperial ambitions.

An essential academic study for students and scholars of early modern British and Dutch history, the Eighty Years’ War, and the political and religious currents of seventeenth-century Europe.