Dutch Republic

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Image:Seven United Netherlands Janssonius 1658.jpg 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.

1 History
2 Politics
3 See also
4 References

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History

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 free trade spirit of the time — which some would argue was the Protestant spirit of the time — received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern — much better functioning — 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 1816 it was rejoined with Belgium (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.

From 1590-1670, the Dutch also enjoyed having the strongest navy in the world. This allowed for their varied conquests, including breaking the Portuguese sphere of influence on the Indian Ocean and on the Orient.

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Politics

Template:Sect-stub 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. The States-General (Staten-Generaal in Dutch) 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.

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