Abstract: Seventeenth-century Dutch libertinism flourished among classicists, Spinozists, and travel writers. Leiden classicists raised uncomfortable questions about the reliability of Scripture as a historical source but also challenged Christian attitudes towards sexuality. Some of Spinoza’s early admirers started ridiculing Calvinist theology mercilessly. Among early modern Dutch travel writers, traces of libertinism are also evident, although they were much more circumspect in spreading their doubts about European, Christian superiority.
