Amsterdam as “Locus” of iberian printing in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Abstract

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic had developed a flourishing printing industry with a vast international reach. In this chapter, the author discusses the results of his recently published bibliography of Spanish and Portuguese editions printed in the Northern Netherlands from 1584-1825. Rather than comment on the details of the particular editions listed, the long sought after copies finally traced, or the new findings, he wishes to elaborate on the overall relevance of Iberian printing in the Netherlands, more specifically, on the relation between Jewish and non-Jewish editions. For the Iberian world, the address of Amsterdam alone was sufficient to mark a publication as a challenge to state or religion-hardly surprising given the role of the Dutch presses in the anti-Spanish propaganda known as the Black Legend. Keywords: Amsterdam; Dutch Republic; Iberian printing; Netherlands