Introduction

Chapter Summary

This is the introductory chapter of the book, which offers a fascinating insight into the continuities and discontinuities in the formation of (national) identities in the Low Countries and its neighbouring countries. The book shows how new identities were created, or developed, how old ones survived, and how novel ones came into being when new states emerged. Moreover, some more general patterns emerge, the significance of which extends beyond the territorial framework of the Netherlands. One of the striking observations in the book is the fact that language appears to be of minor importance as a marker of identity, at least in the case of the Low Countries.

Keywords: low countries; national identities