Description

This book explores the entanglements among Spain, Portugal, and the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century from a global perspective. It offers a compelling analysis of how Ibero-Dutch relations shifted from violence and conflict--during the Iberian Union (1580-1640) and the Dutch quest for independence (1579-1648)--into collaboration and coexistence in the century's second half. The encounters between the Iberians and the Dutch in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean regions highlight their centrality in geopolitical shifts around the globe. Challenging the paradigm of decline, the contributions gathered here demonstrate that instead, each polity embraced strategic trade-offs and reshaped imperial pursuits that ultimately allowed them to thrive as empires during the entire seventeenth century.