The Dutch Moment

War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth-Century Atlantic World

By: Wim Klooster

Narrated by: Fred Filbrich

In The Dutch Moment, Wim Klooster shows how the Dutch built and eventually lost an Atlantic empire that stretched from the homeland in the United Provinces to the Hudson River and from Brazil and the Caribbean to the African Gold Coast. The fleets and armies that fought for the Dutch in the decades-long war against Spain included numerous foreigners, largely drawn from countries in northwestern Europe. Likewise, many settlers of Dutch colonies were born in other parts of Europe or the New World. The Dutch would not have been able to achieve military victories without the native alliances they carefully cultivated. Indeed, the Dutch Atlantic was quintessentially interimperial, multinational, and multiracial. At the same time, it was an empire entirely designed to benefit the United Provinces.

The pivotal colony in the Dutch Atlantic was Brazil, half of which was conquered by the Dutch West India Company. Its brief lifespan notwithstanding, Dutch Brazil (1630 - 1654) had a lasting impact on the Atlantic world. The scope of Dutch warfare in Brazil is hard to overestimate - this was the largest interimperial conflict of the 17th-century Atlantic. Brazil launched the Dutch into the transatlantic slave trade, a business they soon dominated.

After the loss of Brazil and, 10 years later, New Netherland, the Dutch scaled back their political ambitions in the Atlantic world.

The book is published by Cornell University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"Certain to become a classic in early modern Atlantic world and imperial history." (Benjamin Schmidt, author of Inventing Exoticism)

©2016 Cornell University (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks

Making and breaking of an empire

I had to look up on the world all of the referenced places mentioned in this book. Fascinating.

It ain’t much, if you ain’t Dutch

This historical book gives an important account of the Dutch West India Company, its rise and fall. The book seems to be based on written accounts and research, which makes it a nice historical document of the Dutch Atlantic past. There is no story, it is an account of what happens in the +/- 50 years between 1620 and 1670, it’s sometimes difficult to follow, because the author jumps back and forth in time. The narration is rather monotonous and fast, mispronouncing the Dutch (which is not a surprise for a non-native speaker). However, there is very few Dutch words in the text, making it not too much of an issue. This book is a must read for someone interested in the history of The Netherlands, with its violence, anti-Catholicism, focus on trading and making money no matter the cost and human suffering. All in all it ain’t a pretty history with in the end not much that resulted for them, except a brutal history of violence and slave trade. A well-written book that opened my eyes even more about the history of my father- and motherland. It tells a different (actual) story of the so-called Dutch Golden Age which we were taught in school.

But why?

This author did very little to describe why the Dutch would invest and risk in western hemisphere trade. Tell me the numbers, read me the minutes of the WIC meetings. Do something to explain why.

How was adequately covered. When was covered, but why was not covered at all.

Why did the WIC go bankrupt?
Why did the Dutch moment end?
Why did it start?
Simply stating that one successful voyage there and back again made a shitload of money and had the potential to create generational wealth would have been better than what was stated. In fact we are left to wonder, given how much time was dedicated to the failures why they did it in the first place.

Interesting book, had to finish

This is an interesting book, very knowledgeable.
The narration is monotone, but ok, however finish was a challenge.