The United Provinces of the Netherlands Dutch Republic 1 st half of the 17 th century was the golden age of the Netherlands Government consisted of an organized confederation of seven provinces each with representative government ID: 537615
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Slide1
Dutch Golden Age Slide2
The United Provinces of the Netherlands (Dutch Republic)
1
st
half of the 17
th
century was the “golden age” of the Netherlands
Government
consisted of an organized confederation of seven provinces, each with representative government Slide3
The United Provinces of the Netherlands (Dutch Republic)
Each province sent a representative to the States General- federal legislative body
Each province was autonomous (self-governing)
The princes of the House of Orange usually served as
Stadholder
of the provinces Slide4
Religious Toleration
The Dutch Republic was characterized by religious toleration
Calvinism was the dominant religion- Dutch Reformed
Catholics and Jews also enjoyed religious toleration
Religious toleration enabled the Netherlands to foster a cosmopolitan society that promoted tradeSlide5
The Economy
The Netherlands became the greatest mercantile nation in the 17
th
century
Amsterdam
became the banking and commercial center of Europe Slide6
The Economy
Commercial livestock raising and capital-intensive farming became lucrative
Canals made Amsterdam more accessible
Dutch shipbuilding boomed – accounted for about half of Europe’s shipping
Dominated trade in the Baltic and fishing in the North Sea
Other major industries: textiles, furniture, fine woolen goods, sugar, tobacco cutting, pottery, glass, printing, paper making, and weapons manufacturing Dutch East India Company established in 1602 –trade in East Asia
Proved to be stiff competition for the British East India Company Slide7
Life was good in the mid 17
th
century
Dutch reached a level of prosperity unmatched in Europe at the time
Wages rose
Amsterdam’s markets flourishedSlide8
….but vulnerable
Armies of the ambitious French to the south
The Republic had almost no natural resources and subject to weather disasters- flooding
Dikes would sometimes break
This idea that a disaster was looming was seen in the popular novels and histories of disasters in the Republic Slide9
Tulipmania
Tulips introduced to the Dutch from Turkey
Began to be hot item- price gradually got higher and higher
Bubble eventually burst Slide10
Decline of the Dutch Republic
Could not keep up with competition from rivals
Wars against England in defense of Dutch commercial interests drained resources
French tariffs on Dutch goods
In 1672, Louis XIV invaded the Dutch Republic – William of Orange flooded them out
After Glorious Revolution, allied with England and Sweden – fearing France might invade again Textile and shipbuilding failed to keep pace with rivals, above all England Government became more rigid and distant from the people, less tolerant Slide11
Compare and contrast the economic factors responsible for the decline of Spain with the economic factors responsible for the decline of the Dutch Republic by the end of the 17
th
century.