Het verhaal van de achttiende eeuw

Two recent documentary series, Het verhaal van Nederland and Het verhaal van Vlaanderen, both modeled after a Danish example, purport to tell the ‘story’ of The Netherlands and Flanders in ten episodes. In both cases, one episode centers on the eighteenth century. This article discusses the political focus of these episodes, the diverging historical self-perceptions they imply, and the controversies surrounding the series.