Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory - Tapa blanda

Praise for The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London 'Thoughtful, crisp and finely illustrated, this fascinating, impeccably researched account should help bring Hooke into the light again' Guardian 'Not nearly as well known today as his close friend Wren or his bitter enemy Newton, Hooke did as much as either of them to define the intellectual character of his age' Sunday Times 'A meticulously researched, engrossing book! Hooke defined the age -- fierce, obsessive and, above all, curious' Observer 'If he was proud and prickly, he had a lot to be proud and prickly about' Evening Standard 'Lisa Jardine has explored many areas - trade and finance, art, architecture, science, gardens, music, even dancing - to show how deeply and widely Dutch or Flemish influences had permeated England. Her erudition is remarkable.' Irish Times 'A much needed redefinition of the cultural, scientific and commercial interconnection between these two powerful trading empires, Jardine's book is a readable and judicious history for casual readers and experts alike.' S. B. Post Praise for 'The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London': 'Thoughtful, crisp and finely illustrated, this fascinating, impeccably researched account should help bring Hooke into the light again.' Guardian 'A meticulously researched, engrossing book!Hooke defined the age - fierce, obsessive and, above all, curious.' Observer

A fascinating exploration of the relationship of competition and assimilation between the Netherlands and England during the 17th century, revealing the ways in which Dutch tolerance, resilience and commercial acumen effectively conquered Britain by reshaping its intellectual landscape, long before Dutch monarchs sat on the English throne. Working backwards from the bloodless revolution that set William and Mary of Orange on the English throne in 1688, this bold and ambitious work redefines the history of cultural and commercial interconnection between two of the world's most powerful trading empires at a time of great intellectual and geographical discovery. Weaving together the lives of the great thinkers of the time, Jardine demonstrates how individuals such as Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Christiaan Huygens and Margaret Cavendish, usually depicted as instances of isolated genius, in fact evolved within a context of easy Anglo-Dutch exchange that laid the groundwork for the European Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. This fascinating history of big ideas and remarkable individuals denounces the traditional view that the rise of England as a world power took place at the expense of the Dutch, asserting instead that what is usually interpreted as the decline of the Dutch trading empire was in fact a 'passing on' of the baton to a Britain expanding in power and influence. In so doing, Jardine not only challenges traditional interpretations of the role of the British Empire in Enlightenment Europe, but also raises probing questions about the position in which post-Empire Britain finds itself today.