Abstract
Tolerance has long been characterized as an inherent Dutch virtue, which frequently has to be defended from foreign influences. However, 'Dutch' forms of religious tolerance probably have transnational roots, developed through the experiences of Reformation-era exiles. Our research will examine the experiences and impacts of religious refugees who fled to the German Rhineland in the mid-sixteenth century during the struggles that resulted in the creation of the Dutch Republic. Approximately 60,000 Protestants escaped persecution in the Habsburg Netherlands by fleeing to England and Germany, including to at least twelve asylums in the Rhineland. In most historical accounts, the experiences of exile encouraged many to embrace uncompromising forms of Calvinism that later challenged traditions of moderation and toleration in the Netherlands. However, the fact that many exiles who had lived in the Rhineland emerged as advocates for forms of moderation, religious concord, or toleration has largely been ignored. Our research aims to understand the diversity of exiles' experiences, the ways that exiles shaped the early Republic, and the transnational contributions they made to Dutch forms of tolerance. The result will be a more complex and less nationally determined understanding of the religious landscape of the Dutch Republic and the origins of Dutch tolerance. This research thus offers critical historical perspectives for the twenty-first century at a time in which the nature and limits of Dutch tolerance are once again in the national and international spotlight.