Koenraad Wolter Swart (1916–1992) was a Dutch-American historian, best known for his work on the role of
William of Orange in the
Dutch Revolt
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...
, and for his doctoral dissertation on the relationship between the state and state functionaries in the seventeenth century.
Life
Koenraad (Koen) Swart was born in Rotterdam on 16 October 1916. His father, Pieter C. Swart, was editor in chief of the ''
Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant''; his mother was J. G. Gratama. His father was the son of ''
Lammert Swart'' commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and Chief of the Department of War in the Dutch East Indies. Swart was educated in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
and at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...
, where he took the candidature in Law before transferring to History. He was one of the last doctoral students to study under
Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga (; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
Life
Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two ...
. His studies were interrupted by the Second World War and by his employment, in 1947—49, by the
Dutch Institute for War Documentation
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
, on whose behalf he attended the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
.
After completing the requirements for his doctorate in 1949, Swart was employed at a series of American universities: the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
(1950–1952),
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
(1952-1953), Brenau College (1954–1956), and Agnes Scott College (1956–1966), also doing some teaching at Emory University in Atlanta. During this time he became an American citizen. In 1966 he succeeded
Ernst Kossmann as Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
, holding the chair until his retirement in 1983. He spent most of the rest of his life in Wassenaar, dying there in 1992.
Among his publications, his description of the manner in which people at the time understood the
Dutch miracle as an event so singular as to be like a miracle continues to be widely cited. Swart was elected a correspondent of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam.
In addition to various advisory a ...
in 1967.
Personal life
Swart married Ineke de Leng in 1950 and had four children Sonia (1952), Peter (1954), Stephanie (1957) and Philip (1961).
Publications
Books
*''Sale of Offices in the Seventeenth Century''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1949.
*''The Sense of Decadence in Nineteenth-Century France''. International Archives of the History of Ideas 7. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1964.
*''Willem van Oranje en de Nederlandse opstand 1572-1584'', bezorgd door R.P. Fagel, M.E.H.N. Mout,
H.F.K. van Nierop. The Hague: Sdu, 1994.
:English edition as ''William of Orange and the Revolt of the Netherlands, 1572-84''; with introductory chapters by Alastair Duke and Jonathan I. Israel; edited by R.P. Fagel, M.E.H.N. Mout and H.F.K. van Nierop; translated by J.C. Grayson. St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003.
Articles, lectures and pamphlets
*"'Individualism' in the mid-19th century (1826-1860)", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 23 (1962).
*
The Miracle of the Dutch Republic as Seen in the Seventeenth Century', inaugural lecture delivered at University College London 6 November 1967. London: published for the College by
H. K. Lewis,
969
*"The Black Legend during the Eighty Years' War", in ''Britain and the Netherlands V: Some Political Mythologies'', edited by J. S. Bromley and E. H. Kossmann. The Hague, 1975, pp. 36–57.
*''William the Silent and the Revolt of the Netherlands''. Historical Association General series 94. London: Historical Association, 1978.
:Dutch edition as "Willem van Oranje en de Nederlandse Opstand", in ''Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis'', edited by C.A. Tamse (Alphen aan den Rijn, 1979), pp. 45-80; reprinted in ''Vaderlands Verleden in Veelvoud'', edited by C.B. Wels et al. (2nd edition, The Hague, 1980), vol. 1, pp. 99-132.
*"Wat bewoog Willem van Oranje de strijd tegen de Spaanse overheersing aan te binden?", ''Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden'' 99 (1984), pp. 554–572.
The Foundation of the Dutch Republic, ''History Today'' 34:8 (1984).
References
Further reading
*Mechtild Witlox, "Interview met Professor K. W. Swart", ''Spiegel Historiael'' (februari 1984) 103.
*S. Groenveld,
Koenraad Wolter Swart, ''Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde te Leiden, 1992–1993''. Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, Leiden, 1994, pp. 133–138.
*
Jonathan I. Israel, biographical preface to K.W. Swart, ''William of Orange and the Revolt of the Netherlands, 1572–84''. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swart, Koenraad W
1916 births
1992 deaths
20th-century Dutch historians
Agnes Scott College people
Historians of the Netherlands
Leiden University alumni
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Professors of Dutch History at University College London
Writers from Rotterdam
Dutch expatriates in the United States
Dutch expatriates in the United Kingdom