This thesis studies the negative characterization of the Dutch in the pamphlet discourse of early modern England. It provides a survey of the character traits, tropes, arguments and general images...Show moreThis thesis studies the negative characterization of the Dutch in the pamphlet discourse of early modern England. It provides a survey of the character traits, tropes, arguments and general images used by pamphleteers to depict the Dutch as an immoral enemy ‘Other’. It also analyses the development of Hollandophobia, mapping changes and continuity within the discourse, focusing on the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the seventeenth century and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.Show less
In the discussion on identity, there is a strong tendency to limit the existence of national sentiments to the modern period. In this thesis, the existence of such thoughts are explored in the...Show moreIn the discussion on identity, there is a strong tendency to limit the existence of national sentiments to the modern period. In this thesis, the existence of such thoughts are explored in the letters of three ruling families from the late fifteenth century: the d’Este, Gonzaga and Sforza. The letters have been scrutinized from several perspectives, eventually indicating both the existence of an idea of Italy and its limited application in the political realm. As for the letters in material sense, they show great similarities in their composition, suggesting a common cultural horizon. This is no great surprise, as these ruling elites were socially strongly intertwined through marriages and friendships. From the ongoing discussion on the state of the war, there speaks a strong awareness of a common Italian interest. The expression of this awareness, however, occurred in such a way that underwrites personal interest and the preservation of the own state. In this sense, the political importance of the idea of Italy was constituted by the accumulated interest of the princes in the peninsula. But, because personal interest eventually always prevailed, it was simultaneously also its limitation in the political realm.Show less
