Dutch Republic (historical state)

The Dutch Republic was a historical state of Europe that covered roughly the same area as the present-day Netherlands. Established in the late sixteenth century, the Dutch Republic rose out of a revolt against Spanish rule. This revolt marked the beginning of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), also known as the Dutch War of Independence. The Dutch Republic emerged from this revolt as a federation of seven autonomous provinces in the Low Countries, united under the 1579 Union of Utrecht.

During the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic rose to become one of Europe's preeminent powers, building a vast and profitable overseas empire that made its chief port, Amsterdam, one of the world's most important cities. However, the republic faced constant external threats, with France entertaining notions of conquering it after the Dutch finally brokered lasting peace with Spain in 1648. The toll of these conflicts, along with internal political and economic instability, brought about a period of decline that culminated in the republic's collapse in 1795.

Background

In the early years of the sixteenth century, the Low Countries were ruled by the Habsburgs, a powerful royal dynasty that commanded an extensive empire in Europe. As a geographic region, the Low Countries consisted of a group of low-lying lands in Western Europe, encompassing territory in what is now Belgium and the Netherlands. At the time, the Low Countries were a loosely allied cluster of seventeen provinces that were formally united by Charles V, a Habsburg ruler who acceded to the throne of the Spanish Empire in 1516. This brought the Low Countries under the direct control of Spain.

During the first half of the sixteenth century, the Low Countries existed in a state of relative peace, adopting the principles of religious tolerance as the Calvinist branch of Protestantism made increasing inroads in the region. However, underlying religious tension reached a breaking point when Charles V transferred control of the Low Countries to his son, Philip II, in 1555. Born in Ghent, a Flemish city that is part of present-day Belgium, Charles V had been sensitive to the distinct cultural character of the Low Countries, but his Spanish-born son did not share these sentiments. Philip II instituted a policy of Catholic authoritarianism in the Low Countries, sweeping many Protestants up in the Spanish Inquisition, a religious tribunal intended to maintain Roman Catholic hegemony in Europe. Religious persecution led to a mass exodus of Protestants from the Low Countries, with an estimated one hundred thousand people being forced to flee to safety in England and the religiously tolerant kingdoms of what is now Germany.

This situation, along with the high taxes extracted from the Low Countries by Philip II, contributed to growing unrest with Spanish rule. After an unsuccessful attempt to secure civil rights and religious freedom for residents of the Low Countries, the Dutch nobleman William of Orange declared war on Spain in 1568. William of Orange was a highly influential figure and commanded great respect in the Low Countries, and it was under his leadership that the Dutch launched the revolt that would soon grow into the Eighty Years' War. During the lengthy war, the seven northern provinces of the Low Countries united to fight for independence from Spain; these seven provinces would go on to become the Dutch Republic.

Overview

The formal framework of the Dutch Republic emerged with the 1579 Union of Utrecht. This agreement created a division among the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, with the largely Catholic southern provinces abstaining from the union and the seven northern provinces seceding from Spanish rule to join it. These seven provinces—Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Groningen, Gelderland, and Overijssel—formed a confederation that allowed each of them to maintain their functional independence under a united military and integrated foreign policy. They declared their independence as a united republic in 1588 and achieved stable nationhood as the Dutch Republic after negotiating a tenuous truce with Spain in 1609. Had William of Orange not been assassinated in 1584, historians believe it a foregone conclusion that he would have been the Dutch Republic's first ruler.

The Low Countries had long been one of Europe's more prosperous regions, but the Dutch Republic emerged as a major colonial and economic force during the seventeenth century. This period, which is informally known as the Dutch Golden Age, saw the Dutch Republic fend off the Spanish Empire's continued attempts to regain complete control of the Low Countries, leading to a 1648 peace agreement that ended the Eighty Years' War. Meanwhile, a strong navy and an elite class of seafaring merchants helped the Dutch Republic build a vast global empire that saw the small nation compete with Great Britain and France for colonial supremacy. The Dutch Republic also became an important center of European arts, culture, and learning, with Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer emerging as two of its most celebrated artistic talents.

Thanks to the great wealth generated by its colonies, the Dutch Republic also became a major force in European politics in the second half of the seventeenth century. However, with this position came virtually continuous conflict, including a series of three Anglo-Dutch wars as well as a French attempt to invade and overtake the republic. In the early eighteenth century, the British and the Dutch put their previous rivalry aside to prevent the political and military union of France and Spain, and while their alliance succeeded in achieving this objective, it effectively left the Dutch Republic bankrupt. This marked the end of the Dutch Golden Age, and signaled the beginning of a period of internal strife that would lead to the republic's dissolution by century's end.

The Dutch Republic's economic struggles empowered a political movement known as the Patriots, a breakaway segment of citizens opposed to the perceived decadence and corruption of William V of Orange, who had assumed leadership of the republic in 1766. Committing themselves to the cause of securing expanded individual rights for civilians, the Patriots opposed the so-called Orangists, a group of loyalists who remained dedicated to William V. In 1787, the infighting devolved into violence, and the Patriots were initially ousted. However, seven years later, the French Revolutionary Army invaded the Dutch Republic, allowing tens of thousands of exiled Patriots to storm back into their homeland and seize power. The Patriots dissolved the Dutch Republic, replacing it with the short-lived Batavian Republic, which was annexed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810.

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