Dutch Republic

Discuss ways that the 17^th-century Dutch Republic differed from its neighbors, telling how these differences attributed to the country’s success.

The Dutch Republic experienced advances in many categories such as science and art during the 17^th century. The Republic went through a “Golden Age” and experienced one of the most successful and prosperous times in their history. The Dutch Republic’s neighbors, also influenced by the Renaissance, were also experiences advances but they came along with hardships for fellow countries. France was another successful country in Europe, but unlike the Dutch, had an absolute monarchy, powerful nobles, and no religious tolerance. The Dutch Republic, unlike France, needed a decentralized government, a strong merchant class, and religious tolerance to its advantage to become successful during the 17^th century.

Most European countries did not have religious tolerance at the time. The Dutch Republic differed in this matter and tolerate multiple religions but gave Calvinists the most rights. The Republic strengthened as its merchant class was made stronger. Huguenots in France had to flee when the Edict of Nantes was revoked and traveled to the Dutch Republic. Because of the religious tolerance, they were allowed in, and the merchant class grew, which strengthened the economy. A strong economy help sustain the Dutch while a majority of its neighbors neighbors, who did not have religious tolerance, watched their economies decline.

Another way the Dutch differed from its neighbors was its decentralized form of government. Most European countries had an absolute monarchy at the time. This means all the power was in the hands of the King or Queen. The nobles in these types of governments also had a large amount of power over the common people. In the Dutch Republic, their form of government allowed the people to elect rulers of their different provinces. This makes the lower classes happier and more faithful to the elected rulers, instead of absolute monarchs who appoint themselves. In Machiavelli’s book The Prince, he states that they key to success of a prince, or any form of government for that matter, is the people being happy enough to follow and not cause problems.

Due to the decentralized form of government, the merchants and middle class citizens were a bigger part of the country, unlike its neighbors. In other European countries, the nobles and monarchs had all the power, while in the Republic the strong merchant’s class upheld a more balance economy than in other countries. The diversity and acceptance of multiple religions led to more skilled workers in the Republic than any other neighboring country. This is proven by the success that the Republic had in the 17^th century.

If the Dutch would have tried to be like other European countries, they would not have experience the amount of success they did. The Dutch Republic had its own unique style of government and religious views along with a different class make-up that allowed for its successes. These three things are the main contributing factors to the success of the Republic itself. They coincided with each other to help the Republic. The economy grew as more people came because they wanted religious freedom. The decentralized government kept the people happy and feeling that they had more power than they really did. Lastly the middle working class was built on the previous two things, overall boosting the economy and success of the Dutch Republic in the 17^th century.