Dutch Golden age

1 . Introduction and Objective

The Netherlands is one of the smallest countries of the world . Even today , it has a population of only 16 million , a number slightly larger than that of the more populous metropolises of this planet . Despite its tiny size and miniscule population , the Dutch have been a major force in global affairs and have influenced the lives of millions of people in far away lands

Most of this global influence occurred in the seventeenth century , when the Dutch people strode the world stage and made enormous contributions

to trade , commerce , art and social life . It was a short period , very specifically from 1584 to 1702 that saw Dutch achievements in art culture , trade , commerce and economics surpass those of the rest of the world . However a terrible blemish , in the form of the slave trade , also existed in the middle of this phenomenal grandeur . The Dutch commenced trading in humans captured from Africa , in the early 1600s and became the most successful slave traders in Europe by 1650 . Their taking up of the slave trade led to the enslavement of thousands of Africans , while giving them enormous profits

The end of the seventeenth century saw a surprisingly sharp decline in all areas of Dutch endeavour and while The Netherlands is even today a rich , responsible and socially progressive state , it has never again scaled the heights it did during those years . The seventeenth century is appropriately known as the Dutch Golden Age . Historians and researchers have investigated and analysed this localised phenomenon in great detail and tried to understand the reasons behind this short period of enormous effulgence

One of the major reasons for the Dutch to achieve this position of global pre eminence was their prowess as sailors and their mastery over the seas . Dutchmen sailed across the globe in their wooden ships controlling huge amounts of trade and establishing colonies in regions as far away as Indonesia

It is the objective of this research assignment to investigate the sea going prowess and mercantile domination of the Dutch sailors and gauge the extent of its contribution towards the magnificent achievements that occurred in areas of commerce , economics , art , culture , education and social liberalism in the Dutch provinces , during the Dutch Golden Age

The researcher has used a magazines , available both in hard copy and online . Liberal use of on line libraries has enabled access to a significant amount of reading material , all of which as been listed in the bibliography . Special mention needs to be made of the book An embarrassment of Riches authored by Simon Schama of Columbia University . The book has attained an almost mythical reputation in The Netherlands and is valuable not just for the information it contains but also for its insights into the psyche of the Dutch people

1 . The Dutch Revolution

Strange as it may appear , the Dutch state , called the United Provinces came into being only half a century before the commencement of the Golden Age . These areas...