- What would you do if you were a David in a small nation, facing down a Goliath, a giant enemy who appeared to be coming to destroy your town and kill everyone you loved?
- Would you try to reason with him, run, hide, or fight?
The Dutch people confronted this dilemma in the last half of the 1500s:
- Many of the Dutch had left the Roman Church. Now they followed the teachings of Jean Calvin. They were desperate to keep their freedoms—religious and political.
- Emperor Charles V, the Dutch ruler, didn’t interfere with their religious diversity
- When Philip II, Charles’s son and a fanatical member of the Roman Church, took over in 1555, he showed the Dutch no tolerance and sent in Spanish troops to consolidate his power.
How did the Dutch respond?
Depending on their ages, occupations, and religions:
- Some tried to negotiate with the Spanish
- Some fled as Spanish armies approached
- Some fought, on land or sea
Dutch Sea beggars were viewed by some as patriots, by others as pirates, and yet by others as a combination of both (similar to Francis Drake in England).
This month I discuss Cecelia’s novel, Sea Beggars. It not only entertains but can help us reflect on how such choices impact the lives of individuals and nations.
Readers, what would you have done? Would you judge the characters as heroes or villains?
Were the Sea Beggars brave freedom fighters or evil pirates? The answer to this question will determine if you view this novel’s characters as heroes or villains.
This novel immediately sets readers in the midst of big trouble, as the vastly under-armed Dutch struggle for independence from the Western world’s dominant military power, Spain, and its ally, the Roman Church.
What’s the magic of this story? Author Cecelia Holland skillfully portrays how ordinary people cope with war’s brutal consequences—in this case, how Spain’s domination dramatically changes the lives of the (fictional) van Cleef family members, each in a unique way. The story follows and builds upon each character’s journey through the tumultuous era.
In particular, the transformation of the youthful characters especially kept me hooked—the daughter, Hanneke, a bright girl who chafes at the restrictions she faces due to her gender, and the son, Jan, who rebels against his father’s approach to life, viewing it as too conservative. I found this novel hard to put down as I became invested in the characters’ fates.
I recommend Sea Beggars to readers who enjoy a well-crafted historical novel with lots of action, accurate to history (except when noted), with period details, and don’t mind some battle scenes, violence, and a bit of sex (all true to the era).