The Dutch Republic

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The Dutch Republic

The Dutch Republic consisted of 7 provinces. During the golden age of the republic, mostly within the 17th century, these provinces represented a unified force, powerful in trade, war, and economics. Many of the Dutch ideas developed then helped to determine the view of the modern world. The United Provinces, as the republic was also called, also became a model for modern constitutional governments. The Peace of Utrecht in 1713, however, marked the beginning of a steady decline for the Dutch republic. After this, many factors in Europe began to challenge the prosperity, unity, and security of the Dutch Republic.

In the 16th century, the Dutch Republic represented one of the most prosperous and economically stable states in Europe. Early Dutch trade rested in the fishing industry. From their knowledge of the sea and shipbuilding, the Dutch built an industry on shipping. This successful industry allowed the Dutch to be able to buy large quantities of resources and products from surrounding countries. They then sold these huge purchases to individual buyers and ended up with a successful trade. The people of the United Provinces enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in Europe.

However, the decline of the Dutch Republic began when it became very involved in the war of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1713. The war created a great drain on the Dutch funds, and the provinces ended up in debt. In 1713, the national debt of the republic had risen 118 million guilders, from 30,000,000 in 1688 to 148,000,000 in 1713 (refer to document 12). The signing of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 marked the beginning of the decline of the Dutch republic. Another war, beginning in the 1650s between England and the Dutch Republic, was caused by the competition in trade between the Dutch and English East India Companies (refer to document 11). This war led to yet more battles and another war with the English. These two wars represented the threat of the English trade to Dutch prosperity. The growing trade of the English East India Company cut off portions of Dutch trade routes. These wars also added to the debt the Provinces were accumulating. By 1705, the Dutch East India Company was losing money from competition with not only the English, but also the Muslims, Chinese, Portuguese, and French (refer to document 13). In addition to trade problems, the Dutch came to have problems with their taxation systems. While in other countries with taxation disputes the taxes fell on the most impoverished, the taxes seemed to fall on the merchants of the Dutch Republic (refer to document 5). These taxes hindered the trade all the more. The taxes placed on merchant ships meant that fewer ships could be sent out thereby reducing trade. In 1645, the Dutch ships represented around 75% of the total voyages in the Baltic Sea trade (refer to document 2). By 1695, however, this number had been drastically reduced to about 30%. This was probably a result of the heavy taxation on the merchants, the loss in trade to other trade companies, and the national debt. In the years from the beginning of the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic to the 1650's, the United Provinces were a powerful force in European trade. But by the 1650's, the decline had begun and the Dutch Republic had begun to lose trade and profits.
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Many factors effected the internal unity of the Dutch Republic, making it an easy target for other nations. Any factor that threatened the prosperity or security of the republic also affected the unity, because a nation that is economically unstable and in danger of attacks by stronger powers is harder for a ruler to hold together. The frequent wars against the Dutch Republic made national unity difficult. During times of war, the republic became "shattered and divided" (refer to document 4). All of the provinces depended on the most prosperous province of Holland during these times. If one ...

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