The Dutch Moment

There has been a recent flurry of books on the Dutch in the Atlantic world during the 17th century. Klooster (Clark Univ.) has written the definitive work on the subject. It is a wonderfully lively, thoroughly researched synthesis of the entire story of the rise and fall of the Dutch in the Atlantic, including the dramatic story of the Dutch in Brazil as well as in New Netherland in North America, the Caribbean, and Africa.... Though the Dutch were not the colonizers other European nations were, they established trade to benefit the United Provinces, including becoming a major participant in the slave trade. There are several very helpful maps, charts, and images and extensive notes. Summing Up: **** Essential. All levels/libraries.

* Choice *

Based on rigorous research in multiple languages.... A powerfully argued, impeccably documented, and important book.

* American Historical Review *

The scholar who chooses to present a narrative of the structuring and peopling of the Dutch Atlantic world in the middle decades of the seventeenth century undertakes a mighty task. Wim Klooster does so with narrative skill and an authority derived from his exhaustive examination of archives and secondary sources.... He can turn his narrative to remarkably diverse ethnic and racial communities, men and women who came to the New World and intended to remain.

* Journal of American History *

The author draws on a dazzling variety of archival and printed sources.... The Dutch Moment is a signal contribution to the field.

* Renaissance Quarterly *

Klooster has magnificently captured the early Dutch steps into the Atlantic.... In the ongoing surge of Dutch Atlantic publications, Wim Klooster has taken center stage.... The Dutch Moment makes many valuable contributions to our understanding of the Atlantic world and the Dutch in it. The greatest contribution by Klooster undoubtedly lies in the boldness of his work paired with the fact that he has no fear of exploring archival sources. He has used them extensively to reassess the Dutch Moment and setting a new standard for contributions to Dutch Atlantic history.

* BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review *

Much more than a conventional study on the Dutch in the Atlantic world, Wim Klooster's book presents a major synthesis that encompasses systematically all the aspects of life, activities, and presence of the Dutch in the North and South Atlantic.... Klooster's aim is certainly ambitious and constitutes a tremendous achievement.

* Journal of Early American History *

Wim Klooster has provided us with a welcome survey.... Relying on both archival sources and the wealth of specialized literature on the Dutch Atlantic that has appeared in the past couple of decades, he relays a narrative of rapid expansion and equally rapid decline. This narrative is supplemented by deeply researched chapters on trade, settlement, military conditions, and encounters with Amerindians and Africans.

* Sixteenth Century Journal *

The Dutch Moment is an excellent work and necessary reading for anyone wanting to understand the Dutch Atlantic and developments in the Atlantic world as a whole during the seventeenth century.

* Journal of British Studies *

To sum up, the book belongs in the library of every scholar of Atlantic or early modern colonial history. With very little introduction, any of the chapters could stand on their own as background in an undergraduate course on early modern Europe or the Atlantic world. Klooster's writing is engaging, and the thematic chapters will illuminate primary sources from the period for students as well as specialists.

* H-N