What are some good books about the history of the Netherlands?

by WhoNeedsFacts

I am mostly interested books about their history during and after the formation of the Dutch Republic. I am also very interested in their colonial expansion in the Americas and the East Indies, aswell as books about Dutch trade. I don't speak any dutch, so they would have to be in English.

Thanks!

Polybios

Excuse me for phrasing it this way, but you must pick up Jonathan Israel's The Dutch Republic: It's Rise, Greatness and Fall 1477-1806 (Clarendon Press; New Ed edition - 1998). It covers pretty much everything you need to know. Some think this book goes too much into arcane details, but the Dutch Republic was a complicated mess both politically and socially, so details are important.

Since you specifically mention the Americas and trade, you may be interested in this open access book containing articles on Dutch trade in the Atlantic: Gert Oostindie and Jessica V. Roitman, Dutch Atlantic Connections, 1680-1800: Linking Empires, Bridging Borders (Brill - 2014).

ParchmentNPaper

Russell Shorto's Island at the center of the world is a good read that deals with the Dutch expansion into North America.

Gorrest-Fump

Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches is an interesting take on the Dutch Golden Age, although it includes very little about overseas expansion and focuses more on culture.

(I'd actually be curious to know what experts in Dutch history on this sub think about it.)