We chat with author and academic Christine Kooi, whose book Reformation in the Low Countries 1500-1620 was released last year by Cambridge University Press. As its title suggests the book encompasses a vast and tumultuous period which served to greatly shape the modern nations of Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a sweeping and extremely useful narrative and we are lucky enough today to have Christine join us online from her home in the US to help us unpack it.

Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.

Music provided by Storyblocks:

"Minimal Documentary Background Music" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/minimal-documentary-background-music-skxjrbbvvketzhdzl.html

"Jazz Bass And Drums Solo" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/jazz-bass-and-drums-solo-bjj7ev19vkhjpmbps.html

"Documentary Corporate Marimba Background Music" by Media-Music Group https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/documentary-corporate-marimba-background-music-rivttg71dkk2oc0dt.html

“Spooky Circus” by Facundo Alvarez https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/spooky-circus-346988170.html

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We dig up the bulbs of the past, trim the stems of historical myth and hopefully emerge with a lustrous vase of understanding as to where the tulip came from, how it became infectiously vogue in the Dutch Republic and what place it holds in modern calculations of economics.

Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.

Music provided by Storyblocks:

"Minimal Documentary Background Music" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/minimal-documentary-background-music-skxjrbbvvketzhdzl.html

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Long time listeners will be aware that, alongside being passionate about the history of our boggy swamp, we also carry a deep love for the game of cricket. The venn-diagram intersection between those two things can often leave a lot to be desired. However, somehow Julian Smith, our intrepid co-creator, producer and frequent voice of excitement in the background, managed to find a small but wondrous plot of podcasting turf from which to tell an amazing story about cricket being played in the Netherlands during World War One. This opportunity came on one of our all-time favourite podcasts, called The Final Word, which is a cricket-themed podcast that delves deeply into the many fascinating stories that abound through the long history of the game. So in this small piece, you will hear the two Final Word podcast hosts, Adam and Geoff, talking with Julian, who unravels the story for us. You do not need to know anything about or have any interest in cricket to enjoy this story, which we hope you do.

Thanks a lot to Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon for having Julian on the show.

You can find The Final Word here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-final-word-cricket-podcast/id1315888074

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At the end of episode 49, we said that we were going to move away from the political part of the story of the History of the Netherlands for a while to instead focus on some of the other important societal developments that were happening concurrently at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. To be honest, perhaps it is because we have taken quite a long break, or maybe because of the change of direction we want to make now, but we have found it rather difficult to write this episode. The 16th century saw so many radical developments in such a vast variety of subjects that the prospect of somehow covering this all in a satisfactory way in this podcast without being forever consumed by it is, to put it lightly, daunting, bordering on overwhelming. So bear with us over the next few episodes as we, in our typical way, blithely set off in a new direction and attempt to lay foundations to explain how a new zeitgeist of education and learning that had originated in the Italian peninsula in the 14th century, took hold in the Low Countries in the 15th. As usual, it is not possible nor is it our intention to cover every single facet of every single topic which we bring up in this podcast, so please don’t be too disappointed if we fail to bring up your favourite 15th/16th century Renaissance humanist. Cool? Alright. Let’s go.

With thanks to Bill Weedman, Liran Braverman, Dennis van Heeren, Johan Verbeek and Egbert for their Patreon support.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-50-the-granddaddy-of-netherlandish-humanism

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL

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Just as much as Dutch and Flemish culture today have been defined by their ability to seek consensus through compromise, so too have they defined by a willingness to angrily, and often violently, take to the streets in order to be heard. In this episode of The Low Countries Radio we will take a look at some of the major and minor protest movements that have occurred across the Low Countries which have helped shape them into the places they are today.

Featured in this podcast: the Eel Riots of 1886, the Leuven Student Revolt of 1968, the Coronation Riots of 1980 and the White March of 1996.

Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.

Music provided by Storyblocks:

"Minimal Documentary Background Music" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/minimal-documentary-background-music-skxjrbbvvketzhdzl.html

"Documentary Corporate Marimba Background Music" by Media-Music Group https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/documentary-corporate-marimba-background-music-rivttg71dkk2oc0dt.html

"Jazz Bass And Drums Solo" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/jazz-bass-and-drums-solo-bjj7ev19vkhjpmbps.html

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What do black chickens have to do with witchcraft? Why were pigs not allowed to walk the streets freely in the Middle Ages? And should we welcome the return of the wolf or not? You'll hear the answers in this podcast on the history of animals in the Low Countries.

We have long imposed our personal whims on other animals. We use them for labour or sport. We give them symbolic meaning, assigning them divine significance and power. Or we groom them and breed them to eat.

For thousands of years, our relationship with animals has been an integral part of how we and our world have evolved. In the Low Countries, this is a journey from the ancient times of hunter-fisher communities to the early days of animal husbandry, through centuries of urbanisation, warfare, massive floods and land reclamation. All have had a drastic impact on animal life in the region.

In this podcast, we discuss some animals that roamed or still roam in the Low Countries. We will see how the relationship between humans and animals has helped shape local societies and cultures, and how, over the millennia, we have exterminated some animals and invited others into our homes, but also unintentionally had some as very unwelcome guests.

Starring in this podcast: reindeer, cows, chickens, pigs, shipworms, badgers, beavers and wolves.

Music provided by Storyblocks:

"Jazz Bass And Drums Solo" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/jazz-bass-and-drums-solo-bjj7ev19vkhjpmbps.html

"Lofi Jazz Beat (Paris Caf Version)" by The Turquoise Moon https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/lofi-jazz-beat-sdve38movkgogrl4f.html

"Minimal Documentary Background Music" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/minimal-documentary-background-music-skxjrbbvvketzhdzl.html

“Cousing Mischief” by Facundo Alvarez https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/cousing-mischief-rpgn65n8dkfs85l7u.html

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When the Netherlands and Belgium did not exist, people spoke of the Low Countries when referring to the area around the river deltas. Water has always played an essential role in the history of that region.

For centuries, living on these waterlogged lands provided the Dutch and the Flemings with opportunities for trade, urbanisation, agriculture and much more. But it also meant that they lived under the constant threat of devastating and deadly floods.

In this podcast, we discover how the Low Countries, after centuries of battling floods, have gradually learnt to treat water as an ally and a part of the cultural identity of its inhabitants.

Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.

Music provided by Storyblocks:

“Cousing Mischief” by Facundo Alvarez https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/cousing-mischief-rpgn65n8dkfs85l7u.html

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The double marriage between the Habsburg and Spanish dynasties organised in the creation of the Holy League in 1495 was part of a larger plan driven by the Spanish monarchs to create a general European-wide alliance against the French. To further these aims, Ferdinand and Isabella also arranged for their other children to marry into the Portuguese and English royal families as well. Such good family planning, however, was not to yield anywhere near the results that Ferdinand and Isabella sought. In this episode we will track the tumultuous journeys leading up to the weddings which brought Spain and the Low Countries together, the devastating repercussions the Spanish monarchs’ religiosity would have for the Jews of the Iberian peninsula, as well as a series of untimely deaths which would see the Spanish succession repeatedly shuffle down the line. When the music stopped in this dynastic game of musical chairs, Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile’s five month old baby son, Charles, would found himself perched on the stool which held possession of a ridiculous amount of Spanish, Imperial and Burgundian titles, all of which would eventually make him the most powerful person in Europe.

With thanks to Mary Teresa Howell, ericb3234, Bill van Loo, Wazdr and Roni Rivera for their Patreon support.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-49-the-willing-bride

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL

Verse 1

Tonight we celebrate, for some maid of the court

Will bind herself to man, for the second time, the young tart

Tonight we humiliate, have fun, eat well, be drunk, make noise

As the tradition dictates, for the twice wed goose

Chorus

The king rules surrounded by fools

They came to the feast in the guise of a beast

Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains

Let the dames shield you from the flames

It’s the Ball of the Burning Men !

Verse 2

The almighty Church frowns upon these pagan rites

They might be kingmakers but did they really think they could change our ways ?

We will pray to the One God and chant with the priests at dawn

But we’ll still dance past the noon and sing the old tunes

Verse 3

Lights out, foul creatures burst into the room suddenly

Exotic monsters to amuse, really the king’s bunch in disguise

Some lesser count has devised this brilliant surprise

Dancers covered in pitch and feathers, which come alight so easily

And so the guessing game begins, among them hides our king

Under which of these grotesque suits is our crown ?

His brother in the crowd can’t wait to find out

Can’t help himself to break the one rule - No fire inside !

For lack of light he grabs a flame - No. Fire. Inside!! No!

Chorus

The king rules surrounded by fools

They came to the feast in the guise of a beast

Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains

Let the dames shield you from the flames

It’s the Ball of the Burning Men !

The king rules surrounded by fools

They came to the feast in the guise of a beast

Madness reigns as they’re bound in chains

Let the dames shield you from the flames

It’s the Ball of the Burning Men !

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When French king Charles VIII laid claims to the Kingdom of Naples and invaded Italy in September, 1494, an anti-French coalition called the League of Venice was formed, with the aim of kicking France out of the Italian peninsula. “Hang on a second, what does this have to do with the Netherlands?”, I hear you ask. Bear with me here. The League of Venice included a bunch of Italian city-states and regional powers, including the Pope Alexander VI, as well as our friend Emperor Maximilian and the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. To help cement this anti-French alliance between Spain and the Habsburgs, a double marriage was arranged which would see Maximilian’s children marry the children of the Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand.

With thanks to Lucca Breccia, Bryan Winter, Kelsey Murphy, Spencer Deinum and Craig S Tyle for their Patreon support.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-48-holy-league-holy-matrimony

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL

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When Philip the Handsome came of age and took over direct rule of the previously Burgundian, now Habsburg, territories of the Low Countries in September, 1494, his accession marked the first time since the death of Charles the Bold in 1477 that a native and natural born male prince had filled that position. The last twenty odd years of crises had bled his lands and peoples dry physically, mentally and financially. Across the board of those societies people were desperate for a period of prolonged peace. Despite this, there were still a couple of major issues which were lingering and which, if dealt with improperly, could lead to another outbreak of war. These were the situation in Guelders, whereby Maximilian and Charles of Egmont were both walking around saying “I am the Duke of Guelders”, as well as a good old fashioned conspiracy in which Margaret of York and Maximilian both pointed to a random Flemish dude and said “He is the king of England”, resulting in a mutually detrimental trade conflict between England and the Habsburg Low Countries. Philip’s first great test as Duke of Burgundy would be discerning between the interests of his lands and subjects and those of his ever ambitious father.

With thanks to Damien Sherman, Daniel D Tifft, Néstor Vázquez Bernat, Reinier van Mourik and C for their Patreon support.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/historyofthenetherlands/episode-47-philip-croit-conseil

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands

TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/historyofNL

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