Acceso usuarios
John H. Grever
This article, which forms part two of a study of the city councils of Holland (see ante xiii, 17–27), intends to examine the extent of municipal participation in the making of foreign policy decisions. The council of Amsterdam has been selected to reconstruct the content of the municipal debates centered around the relations with France during the 1660s. These debates revealed Amsterdam's concern to protect the city's economic interests. Such concerns were not always supported by the other councils, because they defended different economic interests. There were also conflicts about the status of the prince of Orange. In this case the council debates in Hoorn were selected to show the links between domestic and foreign policy issues. The council members became directly involved in foreign policy making as deputies in the provincial and federal assemblies. Except for the pensionaries, there was a large turn‐over in the membership of the States of Holland due to frequent elections or appointments of different deputies. Yet, many council members maintained informal contacts outside the assemblies through networks of friends and relatives.
