{"id":5372,"date":"2018-01-28T14:26:08","date_gmt":"2018-01-28T14:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5372"},"modified":"2020-05-09T19:44:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T19:44:10","slug":"the-gouden-eeuw-a-golden-time-for-the-dutch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-gouden-eeuw-a-golden-time-for-the-dutch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gouden Eeuw: A Golden Time for the Dutch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 17th century does not spring to mind for many as a very prosperous and important time for the average person in the 21st century. After all, we now have the internet, electricity, good health care and we can travel all over the world in a matter of days. Despite that, the Dutch refer to the 17th century as their\u00a0Gouden Eeuw\u00a0<\/em>(Golden Age). So what happened back then that made it so golden?<\/p>\n

The VOC<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

A ship with a VOC flag on it. The A above the VOC logo means that the ship is from Amsterdam. (Image by McKarri at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

You may have heard of the\u00a0VOC\u00a0<\/em>before. It is short for the\u00a0Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie\u00a0<\/em>(in modern Dutch:\u00a0Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie\u00a0<\/em>(Dutch East India Company). It is considered the first true transnational corporation in the world. It also became the first company that was publicly traded and had\u00a0aandeelhouders\u00a0<\/em>(shareholders). The main area of business was Asia.\u00a0Kaap de Goede Hoop\u00a0<\/em>(Cape of Good Hope) was a frequent stop and refill point, and that left its traces. It explains why\u00a0Afrikaans<\/em>, the language spoken in South Africa, is related to Dutch so much.<\/p>\n

The VOC was thriving, and brought a lot of wealth to the Netherlands with its\u00a0specerijenhandel\u00a0<\/em>(spice trade). In fact, it is known to be the most profitable company ever. Apart from the fact that it was frequently given monopoly rights for spice trade in Asia, rules on fair competition and international trade rules were rudimentary or simply non-existent at the time, so the VOC could basically do what it wanted to.<\/p>\n

And so the world’s oceans were the wild west of the 17th century. The VOC got more and more competition from companies from other countries. The worth of their cargo also became known, of course, and so the VOC employed its own army, with about 10,000 soldiers in 1700 – half of its staff.<\/p>\n

So, the VOC and its international trade was a large reason why the Dutch became a rich nation in the 17th century. But there is more.<\/p>\n

Moedernegotie<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Fluitschepen<\/em> (Flute ships), specifically developed by the Dutch for the Moedernegotie<\/em>.<\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Moedernegotie\u00a0<\/em>(Mother of all trades) was the most important source of income for the Dutch, even before the\u00a0Gouden Eeuw<\/em>. It consisted of the trade with countries around the\u00a0Oostzee\u00a0<\/em>(Baltic Sea) in goods such as\u00a0graan\u00a0<\/em>(grain) and\u00a0hout\u00a0<\/em>(wood) –\u00a0goederen\u00a0<\/em>(goods) that other traders did not invest in. They rather traded in luxury items. Due to this activity, Amsterdam – and the Netherlands in general – quickly grew to become the\u00a0stapelplaats\u00a0<\/em>(staple) of Europe. You can still see the effect of this in Amsterdam today. The many\u00a0pakhuizen\u00a0<\/em>(warehouses) in Amsterdam still used as places of business or housing are remnants of this time.<\/p>\n

The term\u00a0moedernegotie\u00a0<\/em>actually comes from the\u00a0Gouden Eeuw<\/em>, even though that trade had been going on for a lot longer than the 17th century. The reason is that the\u00a0Gouden Eeuw<\/em> spawned a lot of new areas of business for the Dutch Republic. With the term “Mother of all trades”, the Dutch state wanted to emphasize that the trade with the Baltic area was still the most important trade for the nation.<\/p>\n

De Republiek<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Koopmanshuizen<\/em> (Trader’s houses) in Leiden (Image by Erik Zachte at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite the\u00a0Tachtigjarige Oorlog\u00a0<\/em>(Eighty Years’ War), fought (from the Dutch perspective) between the Dutch and the Spanish from 1568-1648, the 17th century was a thriving time. The\u00a0twaalfjarig bestand\u00a0<\/em>(twelve year truce), from 1609-1621, was a negotiated truce between the Spanish and the Dutch, which greatly helped the Dutch develop their economy and political situation further.<\/p>\n

After 1648, the end of both the Dertigjarige Oorlog\u00a0<\/em>(Thirty Years’ War) and the\u00a0Tachtigjarige Oorlog<\/em>, the Dutch decided to move forward in the political form of a\u00a0Republiek\u00a0<\/em>(Republic) with certain economic\u00a0vrijheden\u00a0<\/em>(freedoms) for its citizens and a very open\u00a0beleid\u00a0<\/em>(policy) towards\u00a0buitenlanders\u00a0<\/em>(foreigners) and\u00a0minderheden\u00a0<\/em>(minorities). Instead of actively persecuting them, they would allow\u00a0andersdenkenden\u00a0<\/em>(dissidents) to live in the Netherlands. The Dutch also had a financial market where people could get loans to start a business and develop ideas. This gave the Dutch an important advantage over other countries at the time. Also, due to the small size of the Netherlands, a lot of the\u00a0kennis\u00a0<\/em>(knowledge) and\u00a0goederen\u00a0<\/em>were concentrated in a small area. After all, the important cities of the Netherlands at the time – Amsterdam, Leiden,\u00a0‘s-Gravenhage <\/em>(The Hague)\u00a0and Rotterdam – are very close together. And they grew. A lot.<\/p>\n

The population in these cities between 1570 and 1688 had grown a lot. Amsterdam went from 30,000 to 200,000\u00a0inwoners\u00a0<\/em>(inhabitants), Leiden from 15,000 to 70,000,\u00a0‘s-Gravenhage\u00a0<\/em>(or\u00a0Den Haag<\/em>) from 5,000 to 30,000 and Rotterdam from 7,000 to 50,000. So the Republic attracted a lot of people!<\/p>\n

Kunst en wetenschap<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

De Nachtwacht<\/em> (The Nightwatch), Rembrandt’s world famous meesterwerk<\/em> (masterpiece) from 1642, which is on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I will refrain from making any Game of Thrones jokes here.<\/p><\/div>\n

Another booming sector in the\u00a0Gouden Eeuw\u00a0<\/em>was\u00a0kunst\u00a0<\/em>(art). Artists like\u00a0Vermeer, Jan Steen, Frans Hals\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Rembrandt\u00a0<\/em>were active in that century.\u00a0De Nachtwacht\u00a0<\/em>is one of the most famous Dutch paintings by\u00a0Rembrandt<\/em>. It displays an important part of the Dutch\u00a0Gouden Eeuw\u00a0<\/em>as well. Back in those days,\u00a0schilderen\u00a0<\/em>(painting) was not seen as the artsy craft it is now. It was a regular\u00a0beroep\u00a0<\/em>(job). After all, photographs could not be made, and so the only way to perpetuate yourself was through a\u00a0schilderij\u00a0<\/em>(painting). Nonetheless, commissioning a painter was not that cheap. While\u00a0Rembrandt\u00a0<\/em>never became a rich man, his\u00a0Nachtwacht\u00a0<\/em>is now one of the most important Dutch\u00a0schilderijen<\/em>, period. It is a\u00a0Schutterstuk<\/em>, which depicts militia or city guards, quite common for the time. They were often rich\u00a0handelaren\u00a0<\/em>(traders), who had money to pay for a\u00a0schilderij\u00a0<\/em>(painting) like this.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek<\/p><\/div>\n

Important thinkers and\u00a0people in\u00a0the\u00a0wetenschap\u00a0<\/em>(science) also came to and from the Netherlands. Ren\u00e9 Descartes, for example lived in the Netherlands from 1628 to 1649, during which he published his most important works.<\/p>\n

Other important\u00a0geleerden\u00a0<\/em>(scientists) from the time were\u00a0Hugo de Groot\u00a0<\/em>(Hugo Grotius), who laid the fundament for the Law of the Sea and international trade laws.<\/p>\n

Christiaan Huygens, another important\u00a0denker\u00a0<\/em>(thinker), found the rings of Saturn.<\/p>\n

Galileo found with his\u00a0telescoop\u00a0<\/em>(telescope) in 1610 the first moons of Jupiter. A telescope that was based on a Dutch invention, the\u00a0Hollandse Kijker\u00a0<\/em>(Dutch oculars), which was invented in Middelburg in 1609.<\/p>\n

Another important\u00a0wetenschapper\u00a0<\/em>(scientist) is Antoni van Leeuwenhoek<\/em>, who was a pioneering microbiologist, who discovered\u00a0rode bloedcellen\u00a0<\/em>(red blood cells) in 1674, for example.<\/p>\n

Het Rampjaar<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Louis XIV crosses the Rhine in June, 1672.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Dutch Republic was prosperous, had a lot of diversity, attracted smart minds and was a great deal internationally. So then why did this\u00a0Gouden Eeuw\u00a0<\/em>end?<\/p>\n

Often seen as the end of the\u00a0Gouden Eeuw\u00a0<\/em>was 1672, also known in the Netherlands as the\u00a0Rampjaar\u00a0<\/em>(Year of Disaster). Why was it so\u00a0rampzalig\u00a0<\/em>(disastrous)?<\/p>\n

During that year, and in the years to come, it became clear that\u00a0Frankrijk\u00a0<\/em>(France) and\u00a0Engeland\u00a0<\/em>(England) grew to become two other\u00a0wereldmachten\u00a0<\/em>(world powers) to reckon with. To compete, the Dutch had to participate in an expensive\u00a0wapenwedloop\u00a0<\/em>(arms race), which drained the country’s finances.<\/p>\n

A famous phrase from 1672: “het volk\u00a0redeloos, de regering\u00a0radeloos\u00a0en het land\u00a0reddeloos<\/em>” (the people senseless, the government clueless and the country hopeless). It was the year in which the Dutch were attacked by the French, the English\u00a0and<\/span> the\u00a0bisdommen\u00a0<\/em>(bishoprics) of Munster and Cologne.<\/p>\n

1672 was also the year in which the\u00a0spanningen\u00a0<\/em>(tensions) between the\u00a0staatsgezinden\u00a0<\/em>(state-minded people) and the\u00a0prinsgezinden\u00a0<\/em>(prince-minded people) came to their high point. Some wanted a society based more on a republic, whereas others rather wanted a monarchy. In 1672, prince William II died, and a new conflict over how the government was to be run started. All during a time of war against three armies the Dutch were unfit to withstand. A lot of people panicked, and it led to a crisis and economic shock. A lot of shops closed, and it was quite a hit economically.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the Dutch had a relatively small\u00a0thuismarkt\u00a0<\/em>(domestic market), and depended a lot for its prosperity on\u00a0vrije handel\u00a0<\/em>(free trade). However, the years after 1672 were marked by\u00a0protectionisme\u00a0<\/em>(protectionism), which made international trading more difficult.<\/p>\n

The Dutch were still one of the leading trading powers until about 1720, but after 1672, the tipping point was reached. It also remained one of the richest countries in the world, and a lot of Dutch money was invested in the Industrial Revolution in England, for example.<\/p>\n

Another reason why the Dutch were doing so well in the 17th century is that the other large nations in Europe were fighting among each other, whereas the Dutch thrived in relative peace. The\u00a0Dertigjarige Oorlog\u00a0<\/em>was expensive and devastating for the Prussians (now Germany), the French and the English. The focus was on war, not on development. So the Dutch could get an edge out of this.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, due to the Dutch\u00a0welvaart\u00a0<\/em>(prosperity), the regenten\u00a0<\/em>(regents)\u00a0rested on their laurels, and did not push for further development. They were rich, things were going alright, why would they risk that for change? So they pushed back changes, and this lack of innovation allowed other countries to catch up as well.<\/p>\n

Also, the Dutch pluralistic society had its downside. Negotiations for making decisions took a lot longer than when a small group had all the power to decide the course of a nation. This inhibited further change as well.<\/p>\n

So this was the most prosperous age for the Dutch in a very short summary. Of course this was not all great – the Golden Age also had its victims. The Dutch were callous slave traders and colonists. To this day, there are Caribbean Islands that are part of the Dutch Kingdom.<\/b><\/p>\n

My question to you: Did your country have a very prosperous time like this, and if so, when was that? How do you see the<\/b>\u00a0Go<\/em>uden<\/em><\/strong> Eeuw<\/em>? Personally, I have a rather positive image of it. After all, I was taught about this age at Dutch schools!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The 17th century does not spring to mind for many as a very prosperous and important time for the average person in the 21st century. After all, we now have the internet, electricity, good health care and we can travel all over the world in a matter of days. Despite that, the Dutch refer to…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":5381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,3590],"tags":[506093,506094,178,445040],"class_list":["post-5372","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-language","tag-golden-age","tag-gouden-eeuw","tag-history","tag-voc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5372"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6622,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5372\/revisions\/6622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}