The 2010 Cundill Prize Lecture

In GOING DUTCH Lisa Jardine traced with a broad brush the way in which English and Dutch cultures were altered in the course of the seventeenth century, preparing the ground for a seamless takeover of the English crown by William III in 1688-9. In her Cundill lecture she will look at events surrounding the 1688 invasion through a stronger lens, and show how the careers of the brothers Christiaan Huygens (the distinguished scientist) and Constantijn Huygens (secretary to William III) were altered by it in important ways. She will argue that we ought to consider the post-invasion rise of Sir Isaac Newton in a different light if we link it to his dealings with the Huygens brothers.