Dutch Republic
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Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius |
:''"United Netherlands" redirects here. For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands," see
United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (
Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden/Provinciën; also
Dutch Republic or
United Provinces in short) was a
European
republic between 1581 and 1795, which is now known as the
Netherlands.
Before
1581, the area of the
Low Countries consisted of a number of
duchies,
counties, and independent
bishoprics, not all of them part of the
Holy Roman Empire. Today that area is divided between the Netherlands,
Belgium,
Luxembourg and parts of
France and
Germany. The Low Countries in the 16th century roughly corresponded to the Seventeen Provinces covered by the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. See
Seventeen Provinces, for history and links to the earlier history of each of the provinces. For the southern provinces that did not secede from Spain in 1581, see the
Spanish Netherlands.
Through marriage, war or sale, these states all ended up in the hands of the
Habsburg emperor
Charles V and his son, king
Philip II of Spain. In
1568, the Netherlands, led by
William of Orange, revolted against Philip II because of his efforts to modernize and
centralize the
devolved medieval government structures of the provinces, high taxes, and
persecution of
Protestants by the
Catholic church. This was the start of the
Eighty Years' War.
In
1579, a number of the northern Netherlands signed the
Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defense against the Spanish army. This was followed in
1581 by the
Oath of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II.
The United Provinces first tried to choose their own lord, and they asked the
Duke of Anjou (sovereign from
1581-
1583) to rule them. Later, after the assassination of William of Orange (
July 10,
1584),
Henry III of France and
Elizabeth I of England both declined the offer of sovereignty. However, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a
protectorate of England (
Treaty of Nonsuch,
1585), and sent the
Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was not a success, and in
1588 the provinces became a
Republic.
From an economic perspective, the Republic of the United Provinces completely out-performed all expectations; it was a surprise to many that a nation, not based on the church or on a single royal leader, could be so successful. This time period is known in Holland as the
Golden Age. The Dutch dominated
world trade in the 17th century, conquering a vast
colonial empire and operating the largest fleet of
merchantmen of all western nations. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanised region of Europe. The free trade spirit of the time â€" which some would argue was the
Protestant spirit of the time â€" received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern â€" much better functioning â€"
stock market in the Low Countries. The introduction to the Netherlands of this financial institution can be attributed to the Walloons, the French speaking Belgians. They established a stock market first in
Rotterdam and later in
Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, the modernization of the financial institution took place, and the oldest stock market based on principles still in place in our world today is found here. While the banking system evolved in the Low Countries, it was quickly incorporated to the well-connected English, stimulating the English economic output.
The Republic of the United Provinces was officially recognized in the
Peace of Westphalia (
1648), and lasted until
French revolutionary forces invaded in
1795 and set up a new
republic, called the
Batavian Republic, which would be replaced by the French-controlled
Kingdom of Holland.
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" are used. In
1815 it was rejoined with
Austrian Netherlands,
Luxemburg and
Luik (before that the 'Southern provinces') to become the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in order to create a strong
buffer state north of
France. After Belgium became independent, the state finally became known as the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, as it remains today.
Between 1590-1712, the Dutch also enjoyed having one of the strongest navies in the world. This allowed for their varied conquests, including breaking the Portuguese sphere of influence on the Indian Ocean and on the Orient.
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. These were governed directly by the
States-General (Staten-Generaal in Dutch). The States-General was seated in
The Hague, and consisted of representatives of each of the seven provinces.
The provinces of the republic were
Holland,
Zeeland,
Utrecht,
Gelre,
Overijssel,
Friesland and
Groningen. Each province was governed by the Provincial States and by a
stadtholder (Stadhouder in Dutch). In theory, the stadtholders were elected and subordinate to the States-General. However, the princes of
Orange-Nassau, beginning with
William the Silent, were chosen as stadtholders of most of the provinces, and Zeeland and usually also Utrecht were always ruled by the Holland Stadtholder. There was a constant power struggle between the Orangists, who supported the stadtholders, and the Regent's supporters.
After the
Peace of Westphalia several border territories were assigned to the United Provinces. They were federally governed
Generality Lands (
Generaliteitslanden). They were
Staats-Brabant (present
North Brabant),
Staats-Vlaanderen (present
Zeeuws-Vlaanderen),
Staats-Limburg (around
Maastricht) and
Staats-Oppergelre (around
Venlo, after
1715).
The States-General of the United Provinces were in control of the
Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the
Dutch West India Company (WIC), although some shipping expeditions were initiated by some of the Provinces, mostly Holland and/or Zeeland.
*
History of the Netherlands*
Union of Utrecht*
Eighty Years' War*
Dutch Golden Age*
List of Grand Pensionaries*
Francis van AarssensReynolds, Clark G. Navies in History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998.
