'Zodat mijn verbanning tegelijk jouw straf is.' Bloei, verval en migratie van wetenschap in de Republiek en de Spaanse Nederlanden

Abstract

The Rise, Decline and Migration of Science in the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands
Science in the Southern and Spanish Netherlands flourished in the sixteenth century, whereas the hey-day of science in the Northern Netherlands (or the Dutch Republic) took place from the mid-seventeenth century onwards. The massive migration from South to North, especially after the fall of Antwerp in 1585, is seen as the link between those two periods of prosperity. Scientific progress in the North was only possible at the cost of scientific decline in the South. At least this is the traditional hypothesis, which can be summed up as ‘continuity-in-a-more-suitable-environment’. This view is to be found in the historiography from the nineteenth century onwards up until the present day. Although the traditional view is highly probable, in this article we have tried to unravel and modify it. For the most part, we have targeted our adjustments to coincide with the so-called periods of rise and decline. Firstly, the decline in the Spanish Netherlands did not start immediately after the fall of Antwerp and secondly, there is not much continuity to be found between the times of prosperity in the two areas.