American historian John Lothrop Motley (1814-77) graduated from Harvard in 1831. During 1832 and 1833 he studied in Göttingen before returning to the United States. Already the author of two novels and numerous essays, he began to plan a history of the Netherlands, but, unable to find all the source material he needed in America, he returned to Europe in 1851, this time with his family. His first book on the subject was the widely acclaimed Rise of the Dutch Republic, which covered events up to 1584. Motley published this more ambitious four-volume sequel, covering events in the period 1584-1609, between 1860 and 1867. Volume 2 covers the period 1586-9, describing the intensification of conflict between the allied English and Dutch and Spain, and includes an account of England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.