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Challenges of the Dutch Revolution
In the early 17th century, the Dutch Republic was a daunting European nation
that survived many trials in order to secure its safety, union, and success.
Trademarked by its elite merchant class, fruitful trade, and wealthy businesses, the
Netherlands were a prime target for many other powerful nations; thus creating
conflicts which led to years of unstable alliances and military feud. The Dutch
Republic faced foreign invasion, economic losses, and civil struggle during this
period of warfare-which challenged the general wellness of the Netherlands-causing
adverse views from both alien and internal perspective.
War is always a difficult situation for all countries involved; the Anglo-Dutch
wars were no different for the Netherlands. Invasion from other states challenged
prosperity, security, and unity when the Dutch trade routes were attacked by rival
nations. The valuable sea courses used by the Dutch for trading were major
locations for naval battles. Battles were positioned mainly around Dutch ports and
trade routes, causing damage and disruption in the Netherlands (Doc 1). Justifying
this concept was Marquis de Pomponne, a French ambassador to the Dutch
Republic, who reported to France claiming that trade competition was the true root
of the wars between England and the Netherlands (Doc 11). The French, along with
the rest of Europe, could see that the English East India Company was growing
greater and posed a serious threat in competition to the Dutch East India Company.
Like France, England worked toward supporting rivalry between the Dutch Republic
and other European nations. Another ambassador, Konrad Van Beuningen, a Dutch
diplomat to England, noticed that both France and England intended to clash on
Dutch land and targeted the Republic’s commerce (Doc 8). These goals against
Dutch business and violent assaults towards their trade routes caused widespread
anxiety in the Netherlands, depicting the Dutch Republic as weak and ready for
defeat.
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Because of several years of ceaseless combat, debt and damage in the
Netherlands resulted in injury of the economy and threatened prosperity and
security of the nation. As shown in Document 12, Dutch nation debt increased
dramatically over a period of only 25 years. This shocking rise in balance was
caused by complications from the many wars that took place during the time period,
and the resulting financial losses caused by them. Dutch participation in Baltic Sea
Trade steadily declined during periods of war, thus lowering the amount of raw
material imported in (Doc 20). Holland, being led by the powerful merchant class,
suffered heavily from the damages because of the deficiency of goods being sold and
exported. The Dutch were well aware of their deteriorating economic position; the
directors of the Dutch East India Company noted the decline in their own trade as
well as the fiercely rising competition from English, French, Portuguese, and Asian
traders (Doc 13). Document 3 demonstrates how over the course of three wars, the
Dutch defeats far outweighed their profits. The Amsterdam City Council in Holland
recognized that their enemies were conspiring to take over the precious Dutch
trading routes (Doc 7). It seemed that all other nations in Europe were turned
against the Netherlands; their covetous goal being to divide the Dutch Republic and
reap the proceeds for themselves. In fact, in the Treaty of Dover of 1670, France and
England actually allied themselves to conjointly declare war on the Dutch Republic
together (Doc 6). Europe viewed the Netherlands as a moneymaking hotspot up for
grabs, while the Dutch acknowledged their dwindling fiscal condition. Monetary
difficulties put strain on the unity and stability of the Dutch Republic, because the
Dutch provinces were united essentially only by economical means.
Finally, as a result of the other two challenges, internal cracks in Dutch union
caused conflict towards the welfare of the Netherlands. The Dutch Republic was
made up of 7 separate provinces united over a singular capitalistic method that had
insured economic wellness in the past. During the wars however, the union was
tensed by the hardships of warfare and civil conflict began to develop. The Dutch
Republic had trouble selecting a military commander to lead the troops to war, and
by the end of the 16th century communal wariness among the Dutch provinces was
evident even to the Dutch government’s perspective (Doc 9). Holland in particular
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was the province put under the most pressure. Because of its prosperous bankers,
merchants, and businessmen, Holland had the responsibility of compensating for
most of the warfare (Doc 10). While the rest of the Netherlands readily approved
the wars, the citizens of Amsterdam were the ones who felt the commercial burden
of battle the hardest. Holland’s desperate situation called attention from other
European nations, sparking the interest of many rival countries. Sir George
Downing, an English ambassador in the Dutch Republic, called the Republic
fragmented and divided. He noted how Holland alone disclosed the commercial
weight of war because of the scarcity of the other provinces (Document 4). England
saw this inequality among the provinces as a sign that Dutch harmony was faltering.
As all great monarchs of the time knew: disunity was the key to a country’s defeat.
The civil skirmishes in the Netherlands were a red flag in the viewpoint of the other
European nations that had their eyes on Dutch wealth. While the economic and
political ties that held together the Dutch Republic slowly started to unravel,
Hollanders panicked and the foreign rivals pounced in the moment of interior
confusion.
Overall, the Dutch Republic was a strong, resilient nation capable of
withstanding great pressures. The Netherlands faced violent attacks on trade, heavy
economic losses, and the impending threat of disunity. With each challenge, the
enemies of the Republic grew more confident and greedy, while the Dutch citizens
grew more confused. In a cause-and-effect cycle, war-marred trade routes resulted
in financial injuries, which fueled civil tensions, which in turn contributed to the
endangered security, unity, and prosperity in the Dutch provinces. The later 16th
and early 17th century was a difficult time for the Dutch Republic, but in the end the
lasting power of capital-run government and financially secured business outran the
temporary challenges of warfare.