'Ouvrez l'histoire'. Revolutionaire geschiedenispolitiek in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden (1792-1799)

‘Ouvrez l’histoire’. Revolutionary Historical Politics in the Southern Netherlands (1792-1799) Based on speeches given by revolutionary administrators in Antwerp and Brussels during the French period, this article investigates the uses of the past in official revolutionary discourse. The revolutionary conception of liberty – based on a break with the past and a return to mankind’s original state of natural freedom – was diametrically opposed to the historically grounded Brabantine understanding of liberty. Yet in practice, elements of the native historical culture were subtly integrated into t... Mehr ...