goulden eeuw

In attempts to be more inclusive, “polyphonic” about its storied past, Amsterdam’s museum system is dropping the non-contemporary term Golden Age from its exhibits going forward, instead using the label of seventeenth century.
While some are cautioning against judging the past by modern standards or historic revisionism, Rijksmusum director Taco Dibbits (previously) believes it is neither but rather tempering the celebration of the era when the Netherlands was at the forefront of trade, art and the sciences with the acknowledgement that not everyone was the beneficiaries and others paid the heavy toll of accomplishment—wars, exploitation and trafficking.