Op Spaanse leest geschoeid: het verleden van de Republiek in zeventiende-eeuwse Nederlandse romans

Literature is an excellent vehicle for the celebration of the collective past. Although the seventeenth-century novel is a genre not as well explored as poetry or the theatre, it was also used to recreate national narratives. In the context of the founding myths of the Dutch Republic, the actions of the Spaniards during the first phase of the revolt offered a very useful template. A telling example is provided by G. de Bay's The Spanish Amsterdammer (1671), which was presented as a pseudo-translation from Spanish. Following Spanish picaresque models, De Bay stresses the historical continuity between the beginnings of the Revolt and figures like the Duke of Alba on the one hand, and the offspring of the powerful Dutch Republic on the other.