Annales et historiæ de rebus Belgicis - Grotius, Hugo 1583-1645 (Amsterdam Blaeu, 1657)
Hugo/Huig de Groot (1583-1645) was a Dutch humanist
The 'Annals of the War in the Low Countries' is one of Hugo Grotius' lesser-known works. Grotius expresses a wayward view of the early revolt, which he presents not as a united battle for the true faith and the ancient liberties of the land but as a protracted and painful struggle, not only with the great power of Spain, but also with discord, selfishness and religious fanaticism among the Dutch. To convey this complex and controversial vision of the foundational years of the Dutch Republic, Grotius chose the worldview and the prose style of the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus as his model. His commissioners, however – the States of Holland – did not publish the work when it was finished in 1612; it appeared in print posthumously in 1657.
Keywords: 16th Century (1501-1600); 17th Century (1601-1700); War; History; Netherlands