The Royalist Republic : literature, politics and religion in the Anglo-Dutch public sphere, 1639-1660

Helmers, H.J. (2011)

Doctoral Thesis

Following the execution of Charles I (1649), the Dutch Republic witnessed an unprecedented output of publications in support of the Stuart monarchy in Britain. Throughout the 1650s, the Stuart cause retained a central position in Dutch political debate. Dutch opinion makers from various ideological backgrounds conspired to create a heterogeneous corpus of texts lamenting the martyred king and extolling his son. Publications questioning this enthusiasm for the English monarchy were extremely rare. Judged by printed publications, the Dutch Republic was a royalist republic in the 1650s. Dutch royalism had various problematic political and religious implications. Why was the royalist cause treated with so much sympathy in a Protestant Republic that was very much akin to the English Republic? Were the Dutch still under the spell of a monarchic culture? Was royalism the result of propaganda campaigns? Answering these and related questions, this study transforms our understanding of early modern British and Dutch political culture by arguing that British and Dutch political discourses were very much intertwined.

• Royalism
• Public Sphere
• Propaganda
• Political Culture
• Great Britain
• English Civil War
• Dutch Republic
• Charles II, king of England (1630-1685)
• Charles I, king of England (1600-1649)
• 17th Century

• All authors: Helmers, H.J.
• Supervisor: Korsten, F.W.A.
• Co-supervisor: Hoenselaars, A.J.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Leiden University Institute for Cultural Disciplines (LUICD), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
• Date: 2011-06-30
• Court: LEI Universiteit Leiden