War and garrison towns in the Dutch Republic: the cases of Gorinchem and Doesburg (c. 1570–c. 1660)

Abstract

This article examines three important aspects of how the Dutch Republic organized warfare during the Dutch Revolt. The regulations for the billeting of soldiers, the building of fortifications and the collection of direct taxes are analysed in two garrison towns, namely, Gorinchem and Doesburg. The billeting of soldiers and the collection of taxes usually caused troubles in neighbouring countries. In comparison to more centralized neighbouring countries, the Dutch polity's decentralized nature, in which cities held positions of strong power, entailed better arrangements for billeting and higher tax compliance. Yet this decentralized nature did not hamper the emergence of central administrative bodies for co-ordinating and organizing the building of fortifications. The Dutch account of organizing warfare challenges existing views about the role of cities in state building within a context of protracted warfare.