Het maken en kraken van nationale helden in Nederland: Michiel de Ruyter als zeeheld, koopman, zeeschurk en letterheld

Abstract

The article seeks to encourage reflection about the creation and development of a cult status in Dutch culture: in the Dutch past, but also in the present. It focuses on the case of Michiel de Ruyter (1607–1676). He has long been represented as ‘zeeheld’ (naval hero), but his status as hero is currently under scrutiny in the Netherlands. The article dissects cultural representations of De Ruyter to explain why he turned from a typical exponent of the seventeenth century ‘zeehelden’ into a – criticized – exponent of the Dutch merchant. It also briefly explores the possibility of yet another turn in the way De Ruyter is memorized culturally in the Netherlands. Could the memory of De Ruyter, and more in particular his linguistic and literary skills, serve as a shield against the growing illiteracy in the Netherlands?