Abstract

This article examines the influence of the Dutch Revolt on the American Revolution. Many historians have emphasized the contributions of English and Roman history in guiding American Revolutionaries, but the Dutch Revolt was also an essential part of their ideological repertoire. Because of the similarities between the two events, the Dutch Revolt was a uniquely versatile historical memory, and Americans applied it to all steps of the revolutionary process. From the beginning to the end of the Revolution, American intellectuals saw parallels between their situation and that of the sixteenth-century Low Countries. Many Americans thought overreaching British policy mirrored Spain’s treatment of the Netherlands. When the Imperial Crisis escalated into open war, American Revolutionaries saw the Dutch Revolt as evidence that a collection of loosely united provinces could win a war of independence against a global superpower. This recollection made the Dutch Revolt a particularly distinct memory, because no other historical event could offer such a similar example of a war for national independence. Understanding the influence of the Dutch Revolt on the American Revolution not only adds a new ingredient to our understanding of revolutionary ideology but causes us to rethink how Americans applied the past to their Revolution.

摘要

本文考察了荷兰起义对美国革命的影响。许多历史学家强调英语和罗马历史对指导美国革命者的贡献，但是荷兰起义也是其思想体系的重要组成部分。由于这两个事件之间的相似性，荷兰起义是一种独特的多用途历史记忆，美国人将其应用于革命过程的所有步骤。从革命的开始到结束，美国知识分子看到了自己的处境与16世纪低地国家的处境相似。许多美国人认为，过分的英国政策反映了西班牙对荷兰的待遇。当帝国危机升级为公开战争时，美国革命者视荷兰起义为证据，证明一些松散团结的省份可以赢得与全球超级大国的独立战争。这种回忆使荷兰起义成为一个特别鲜明的记忆，因为没有其他历史事件可以提供类似的民族独立战争实例。了解荷兰起义对美国革命的影响，不仅为我们对革命意识形态的理解增加了新的内容，而且使我们重新考虑了美国人如何将过去应用于革命。