The project focuses on history and culture of the Dutch Golden Age. The Golden Age is conceived as a 'long' seventeenth century, i.e. the period in which the Dutch Republic played a prominent role in Europe and the world culturally, politically and economically (ca.1588-1702); but it also includes the making of the Golden Age during the second half of the sixteenth century (the Revolt of the Netherlands, the Renaissance in literature and the arts). It also embraces a large part of the eighteenth century, when the Dutch lost their leading edge in many areas, but remained significant elsewhere (e.g. book production, natural sciences). Dutch culture and history will be studied in an international context and in an interdisciplinary setting. The project forms the core of the research programme of the Amsterdam Centre for the Study of the Golden Age.
