Dutch Republic
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden (Dutch) | |||||||||
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1579–1795 | |||||||||
Motto: William III, Prince of Orange (from 1688, was also King William III of England) | |||||||||
• 1747–1751 | William IV, Prince of Orange | ||||||||
• 1751–1795 | William V, Prince of Orange | ||||||||
Grand Pensionary | |||||||||
• 1581–1585 | Paulus Buys | ||||||||
• 1586–1619 | Johan van Oldenbarnevelt | ||||||||
• 1621–1629 | Anthonie Duyck | ||||||||
• 1631–1636 | Adriaan Pauw | ||||||||
• 1636–1651 | Jacob Cats | ||||||||
• 1651–1653 | Adriaan Pauw | ||||||||
• 1653–1672 | Johan de Witt | ||||||||
• 1672–1689 | Gaspar Fagel | ||||||||
• 1689–1720 | Anthonie Heinsius | ||||||||
• 1720–1727 | Isaac van Hoornbeek | ||||||||
• 1727–1736 | Simon van Slingelandt | ||||||||
• 1736–1746 | Anthonie van der Heim | ||||||||
• 1746–1749 | Jacob Gilles | ||||||||
• 1749–1772 | Pieter Steyn | ||||||||
• 1772–1787 | Pieter van Bleiswijk | ||||||||
Legislature | States General | ||||||||
• State Council | Council of State | ||||||||
Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
23 January 1579 | |||||||||
26 July 1581 | |||||||||
12 April 1588 | |||||||||
30 January 1648 | |||||||||
• Rampjaar | 1672 | ||||||||
11 April 1713 | |||||||||
19 January 1795 | |||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• 1795 | 1,880,500[2] | ||||||||
Currency | Guilder, rijksdaalder | ||||||||
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Today part of | Netherlands Belgium |
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, officially the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (
Although the state was small and had only around 1.5 million inhabitants, it controlled a worldwide network of seafaring
The republic was more tolerant of different religions and ideas than contemporary states, allowing freedom of thought to its residents. Artists flourished under this regime, including painters such as Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and many others. So did scientists, such as Hugo Grotius, Christiaan Huygens and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Dutch trade, science, armed forces, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world during much of the 17th century, a period which became known as the Dutch Golden Age.
The republic was a
Economic decline led to a period of political instability known as the Patriottentijd (1780–1787).[3] This unrest was temporarily suppressed by a Prussian invasion in support of the stadtholder. The French Revolution and subsequent War of the First Coalition reignited these tensions. Following military defeat by France, the stadtholder was expelled in the Batavian Revolution of 1795, ending the Dutch Republic, which was succeeded by the Batavian Republic.
History
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Until the 16th century, the Low Countries—corresponding roughly to the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg—consisted of a number of duchies, counties, and prince-bishoprics, almost all of which were under the supremacy of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the County of Flanders, most of which was under the Kingdom of France.
Most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the
In 1579, a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the
During the
The Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names "United Provinces of the Netherlands" and "United Netherlands" were used. In 1815, it was rejoined with the Austrian Netherlands and Liège (the "Southern provinces") to become the Kingdom of the Netherlands, informally known as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, to create a strong buffer state north of France. On 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also in a personal union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became unequivocally known as the "Kingdom of the Netherlands", as it remains today.
Economy
During the
The free trade spirit of the time was augmented by the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries.[11] The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands. The Dutch East-India Company exchange went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a single city, so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles. While the banking system evolved in the Low Countries, it was quickly incorporated by the well-connected English, stimulating English economic output.[12][13][14][15]
The Dutch Republic was a master of banking, often compared to 14th century Florence.
Politics
The republic was a confederation of seven provinces, which had their own governments and were very independent, and a number of so-called Generality Lands. The latter were governed directly by the States General, the federal government. The States General were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives of each of the seven provinces. The provinces of the republic were, in official feudal order:
- Duchy of Guelders
- County of Holland
- County of Zeeland
- Lordship of Utrecht
- Lordship of Overijssel
- Lordship of Frisia
- Lordship of Groningen
There was an eighth province, the County of Drenthe, but this area was so poor that it was exempt from paying federal taxes, and as a consequence, it was denied representation in the States General.
Each province was governed by the Provincial States, their main executive official (though not the official head of state) being a
Zeeland and usually Utrecht had the same stadtholder as Holland. There was a constant power struggle between the Orangists, who supported the stadtholders and specifically the princes of Orange, and the Republicans, who supported the States General and hoped to replace the semi-hereditary nature of the stadtholdership with a true republican structure.
After the
The framers of the United States Constitution were influenced by the Constitution of the Republic of the United Provinces, as Federalist No. 20, by James Madison, shows.[16] The United States did not intend to emulate the United Provinces; Madison describes the Dutch confederacy as exhibiting "Imbecility in the government; discord among the provinces; foreign influence and indignities; a precarious existence in peace, and peculiar calamities from war." However, the 1776 American Declaration of Independence is similar to the 1581 Act of Abjuration, essentially the declaration of independence of the United Provinces,[17] although there is no evidence of direct influence.
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Map of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands with colonies, c1707-1729
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The united provinces, with Drenthe and the Generality Lands
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Grand Pensionary of Hollandfrom 1653 to 1672
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William III, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1672 to 1702
Religion
In the Union of Utrecht of 20 January 1579, Holland and Zeeland were granted the right to accept only one religion (in practice, Calvinism). Every other province had the freedom to regulate the religious question as it wished, although the Union stated every person should be free in the choice of personal religion and that no person should be prosecuted based on religious choice.[18] William of Orange had been a strong supporter of public and personal freedom of religion and hoped to unite Protestants and Catholics in the new union, and, for him, the Union was a defeat.[clarification needed] In practice, Catholic services in all provinces were quickly forbidden, and the Dutch Reformed Church became the "public" or "privileged" church in the republic.[19]
During the republic, any person who wished to hold public office had to conform to the Reformed Church and take an oath to this effect. The extent to which different religions or denominations were persecuted depended much on the time period and regional or city leaders. In the beginning, this was especially focused on Roman Catholics, being the religion of the enemy. In 17th-century
In the first years of the republic, controversy arose within the Reformed Church, mainly around the subject of
Beginning in the 18th century, the situation changed from more or less active persecution of religious services to a state of restricted toleration of other religions, as long as their services took place secretly in private churches.
Decline
Long-term rivalry between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans,
united against this country.Wars to contain the expansionist policies of France in various coalitions after the Glorious Revolution, mostly including England and Scotland—after 1707, Great Britain—burdened the republic with huge debts, although little of the fighting after 1673 took place on its own territory. The necessity to maintain a vast army against France meant that less money could be spent on the navy, weakening the republic's economy. After William III's death in 1702 the Second Stadtholderless Period was inaugurated. Despite having contributed much in the War of the Spanish Succession, the Dutch Republic gained little from the peace talks in Utrecht (1713). However, the Dutch had over a period of forty years successfully defended their positions in the Southern Netherlands and their troops were central in the alliances which had halted French territorial expansion in Europe until 1792.[21] The end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, and Austria becoming allies with France against Prussia, marked the end of the republic as a major military power.[22]
Fierce competition for trade and colonies, especially from France and England, furthered the economic downturn of the country. The three Anglo-Dutch Wars and the rise of mercantilism had a negative effect on Dutch shipping and commerce.[citation needed]
See also
- List of countries that have gained independence from Spain
- Dutch colonial empire
- Dutch East India Company
- Dutch West India Company
References
Footnotes
- ISBN 978-1139450942.
... European Christendom remained divided, and second, because the Spanish monarchy explicitly recognized the sovereignty of the Dutch Republic, despite the fact that the Reformed Church was the official state religion of that polity.
- ^ Demographics of the Netherlands Archived 26 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Jan Lahmeyer. Retrieved on 10 February 2014.
- from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ Pieter Geyl, History of the Dutch-Speaking Peoples, 1555–1648. Phoenix Press, 2001, p. 55.
- ^ Ertl 2008, p. 217.
- ^ Littell, McDougal. "21". World History Pattern of Interaction. pp. 594b.
- ^ Cook, Chris; Broadhead, Philip (2006). "Population, Urbanisation and Health". The Routledge Companion to Early Modern Europe, 1453–1763. Abingdon and New York. p. 186.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 1-85984-015-9.
- .
- ISBN 1-85984-015-9.
- ISBN 1-85984-015-9.
- ISBN 978-1-317-13522-7.
- ISBN 978-0-19-516520-3. Archivedfrom the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-81-8069-149-2.
Bengal ... was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.
- ^ Om Prakash, "Empire, Mughal Archived 18 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine", History of World Trade Since 1450, edited by John J. McCusker, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, World History in Context. Retrieved 3 August 2017
- ^ James Madison (11 December 1787). Fœderalist No. 20. Morrisiana, NY. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ^ Barbara Wolff (29 June 1998). "Was Declaration of Independence inspired by Dutch?". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
- ^ "Unie van Utrecht – Wikisource". nl.wikisource.org. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-873072-1.
- ISBN 90-806754-2-3.
- ^ Van Nimwegen 2020, p. 354.
- ^ O. van Nimwegen, De Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden als grote mogendheid. Buitenlandse politiek en oorlogvoering in de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw en in het bijzonder tijdens de Oostenrijkse Successieoorlog (1740–1748) (in Dutch)
Bibliography
- Adams, J. (2005). The Familial State: Ruling Families and Merchant Capitalism in Early Modern Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3308-8.
- Boxe, C. R. (1990). The Dutch Seaborne Empire, 1600–1800. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-013618-5.
- Ertl, A. W. (2008). Toward an Understanding of Europe: A Political Economic Précis of Continental Integration. Universal Publishers. ISBN 978-1599429830.
- Hoftijzer, Paul G., The Dutch Republic, Centre of the European Book Trade in the 17th Century Archived 12 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, EGO – European History Online Archived 8 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Mainz: Institute of European History Archived 19 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 2015, retrieved: 8 March 2020 (pdf Archived 27 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine).
- Israel, J. I. (1995). The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477–1806. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-873072-1.
- Kuznicki, J. T. (2008). "Dutch Republic". The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks: Sage. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-1412965804.
- Reynolds, C. G. (1998). Navies in History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
- ISBN 978-0394510750.
- Van der Burg, M. (2010). "Transforming the Dutch Republic into the Kingdom of Holland". European Review of History. 17 (2): 151–170. S2CID 217530502.
- Van Nimwegen, Olaf (2020). De Veertigjarige Oorlog 1672–1712: de strijd van de Nederlanders tegen de Zonnekoning [The 40 Years' War 1672–1712: the Dutch struggle against the Sun King] (in Dutch). Prometheus. ISBN 978-90-446-3871-4.
External links
- Media related to Republic of the Seven United Netherlands at Wikimedia Commons