680. The Netherlands: The Revolt that Made The Modern World (Part 4)

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The Dutch Republic, William III, and the Creep Toward Monarchy

At 1:05:45 · chapter starts 1:04:30

One of the episode's sharpest insights is the shadow the Dutch Republic cast over the American Founding Fathers. Tom, noting that he and Dominic are preparing a series on the Founding Fathers, explains that Thomas Jefferson was haunted by the fear that the American presidency might mutate into a hereditary monarchy — precisely because he knew what had happened in the Dutch Republic. Every Stadtholder without exception was drawn from William's dynasty, and the most famous of them, William III, ended up ruling England, Scotland, and Ireland. By the mid-18th century the Dutch had simply given up the pretence: the Stadtholder became a king. This was the nightmare scenario for Jefferson: the republic's highest office ossifying into an inherited crown.