Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands, 1780-1813

by Simon Schama

A reissue of Simon Schama’s landmark study of the Netherlands from 1780–1813, this is a tale of a once-powerful nation’s desparate struggle to survive the treacheries and brutality of European war and politics.
Between 1780 and 1813 the Dutch Republic – a country once rich enough to be called the cash till of Europe and powerful enough to make war with England – was stripped of its colonies, invaded by its enemies, driven to the edge of bankruptcy, and, finally, reduced to becoming an appendage of the French empire – an appendage not even the French seemed to value overmuch. Out of these events Simon Schama has constructed a gripping chronicle of revolution and privateering, constitutions and coups, in a tiny nation desperately struggling to stay afloat in a sea of geopolitics.
Like his classics ‘The Embarrassment of Riches’ and ‘Citizens’, ‘Patriots and Liberators’ combines a mastery of historical sources with an unabashed delight in narrative. The result confirms Schama as a historian in the finest tradition – one whose study of the past reveals volumes about the present. This is one of our most revered historians’ greatest works, and this new Perennial edition will reintroduce his genius to a new generation of readers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, 19th Century, 18th Century, France, French Revolution

745 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Sir Simon Michael Schama is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.

Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000—2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013).

Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Reviews

[Czarny Pies]

This extraordinary book which won the Wolfson Prize in 1977 is still by far the best thing that Simon Schama has ever written and he has written some very good books since.

The rest of Europe tends to be forgotten when one considers the French revolution. The reasons are fairly obvious. The first is that the participants in the events in Paris included many highly articulate people who left behind memoires, diaries and other documentation that have allowed historians to write wonderful histories with great literary qualities. The second reason for the focus on Paris, is that Paris produced Napoleon who managed to total disrupt all of Europe from Lisbon to Moscow.

However, the Revolutionary movement was a pan European phenomenon of conflict between many local aristocracies and their bourgeois counterparts who wanted a greater share of power and privileged positions in the civil service. It is for this reason that the French fire spread so widely. Simon Schama shows us how the process worked by presenting his exhaustively researched history of the Netherlands during the period.

By zeroing in on the Netherlands Schama on obtains a better perspective on the drama that played out on a continental scale. The old oligarchy of aristocrats who possessed a complex set of privileges in the Netherlands that made them wealthy and powerful had successfully managed to resist the efforts of the Patriot faction to concede a larger share of the perquisites to the bourgeois. Thus, the goals of the French invaders coincided with the interests of an important section of the Dutch population. Moreover, Napoleon's brother Louis who was made King had a very progressive program for the country and a strong desire to make the Netherlands more prosperous.

The big problem was that Napoleon's irrational love of armed combat forced taxes so high in all the countries he controlled including the Netherlands, that the benefits of progressive politics were more than offset by the brutal payments to the Imperial Treasury. Not surprisingly when Napoleon fell, everyone tried to push the clock backwards as far as possible.

Patriots and Liberators by its long and detailed study of the Revolutionary and then the Napoleonic experience in the Netherlands greatly enhances our understanding of the events that took place throughout the continent. Simon Schama has very rightfully been considered one of the leading historians of our time since it was published.

[Lauren Albert]

The extent of Schama’s research is amazing. He goes into seemingly microscopic detail which occasionally lost me. The most interesting part of the book for me came when he drew a very vivid picture of the deal with the devil they signed in asking for French help. The extortion only worsened with Napoleon’s rise despite the very good intentions of his brother Louis, put on the throne. Louis quickly came to love and respect the Dutch but that only angered Napoleon who thought he was simply disloyal to the French Empire.

[Michiel Meulendijk]

After more than four decades, Simon Schama's book is still the main reference on the Patriot Revolution and the Batavian Republic that is available to the general public. In the Netherlands, the 'French Period' has never received much attention, being wedged between the old Republic's 'Golden Age' and the 19th century monarchy.

In this book, Schama gives the revolutionary period the attention it deserves. Leaving no stone unturned, he gives detailed accounts of the early Patriot revolt, the French invasion, the Batavian Republic, and the Napoleonic domination. He specifically explores the transformation of the old Republic into a modern nation state. The modern Netherlands owes a lot to these turbulent years: the deterioration of provincial power and the rise of a unified state, the first experiences of the Dutch with democracy, and the foundation of a monarchy.

The book is intended as both a chronology and a reference. As such, the level of detail may be overwhelming to anyone looking for an accessible introduction into the subject. It remains, however, a highly readable study of an often overlooked period.

[Alasdair Peterson]

Very interesting but tends to get bogged down at points.

[Alex Poston]

“War…was the determining condition of the Batavian Republic: of its destruction as of its genesis. The political tensions which had eventually led to the Dutch revolution had not been artificially and externally generated. They were the logical outcomes of a century of governmental atrophy. But their denouement came about in circumstances so inauspicious that the career of the new Republic was deflected further and further from the reforming purposes to which its instigators had originally committed themselves… [by 1805 the BR] had been reduced to the function of auxiliary implement to an imperialist war machine.” (pg. 410)

“Dus, de Dijk Is Door”

Centralized state apparatus, drive for truly representative democracy, and nationalization of corporate welfare among notable contributions of Batavian Republic to successive Dutch governments. Principles sprung from native politics before cannibalized by the French

Revisit postscript for moving final paragraph.

[Carlos Filipe Bernardino]

This book was a gift from my daughter Ana, but for various reasons, it was only now possible to read it.
This is an excellent history book by Prof Simon Schama, covering a period in the History of the Netherlands, France and Europe that is not very well known and studied comparatively. The work is in-depth, with exhaustive research and extremely well documented.
The author is extremely human, his love for the people of the Netherlands is clear, but his analysis of personalities and events is honest.

[Alexander Van Leadam]

The story of how the Netherlands became a kingdom is told in ample detail that chronicles local developments and the tragic collision with France and Napoleon. The result is a comprehensive framework for understanding the position of the country in European politics since, as well as some of the key changes in Dutch culture in the 18th and 19th century.

[Amanda]

Really interesting and almost all new information to me, but very slow going.

[Herman De Wulf]

Een dagboek van de Patriottische Revolutie in de Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Provinciën. Of toch ongeveer want de auteur beschrijft zowat elk politiek manoeuvre. Dit geeft ons een volledig beeld maar soms kan teveel informatie ook teveel zijn. Ook in de tweede helft van het lijvige boek mis ik de link met de patriotten en wordt het boek steeds meer een (gewone) geschiedschrijving van het nieuwe Koninkrijk onder Louis Napoleon. Maar wie ben ik om dit meesterwerk te recenseren? Een studie of analyse van een periode in de geschiedenis zoals ik er nog maar zelden heb gelezen. Met als enig minpunt, naar mijn bescheiden mening, nl. het soms gekunsteld gebruik van de Nederlandse taal, maar dat ligt dan aan de vertaler en de redacteur van de uitgeverij en niet aan de auteur.

[Justin]

Finally. This one was a struggle. However, on occassion Schama's excellent prose rises above the somewhat tedious minutiae in Dutch municipal history of the Napoleonic era. Stick with "Citizens".

[Julia]

Great background reading for David Mitchell's "1000 autumns of Jacob de Zoet"