Branden of betalen

R. E. de Bruin, Lodewijk Gerretsen, Willem te Slaa

In the summer of 1672, the panic in Utrecht was complete. Overland, the Republic of the United Netherlands is overrun by a gigantic army, led by the French king Louis XIV. The year went down in the books as Disaster Year 1672. Utrecht could not be defended and was given away. The last line of defence, the old Dutch water line, turns out to be just enough. When you think of disaster year 1672, you think of the heroic defense along this waterline. Yet a large part of the Republic was in the hands of the enemy. On the western edge of Utrecht, the Dutch army waged a desperate struggle for survival, in the rest of the region the French murdered, looted and burned. 'Burn or pay. Amerongen Castle and Slot Zuylen in the Disaster Year' tells about the state of the Utrecht region and the Utrecht nobles in 1672-1673. The focus is in particular on the residents of Slot Zuylen and Amerongen...