Published: 2023-12-26

Anglo-Dutch Wars

The three wars ended in the defeat of the Netherlands, and command of the Atlantic passed to England.

Causes of the Netherlands' Fall

Thanks to its effective mobilization of war funds and military reform, based on fishing, shipping, and commerce, the Netherlands defeated the then-mighty Spanish Empire and won its independence. For about half a century after the war, the Netherlands became the warehouse of Europe, selling luxury goods from Asia and other parts of the world in European markets and reaping enormous profits. But the Dutch golden age did not last long. In the European world, which was fundamentally based on feudalism, agricultural output declined due to climate change and demand for luxury goods dropped sharply, so Dutch commerce, which relied on the purchasing power of feudal aristocrats, also declined. (…) In the Netherlands, capitalism was visible to some extent in securing economic surplus from commerce as well as agriculture, but the process of pioneering new commercial networks revealed a limitation: it depended mainly on violence. Moreover, the source of the Netherlands' greatest profits was the European ruling class living in the feudal world, and the fact that their purchasing power could not expand indefinitely was also a problem.

Topics: War,United Kingdom,Netherlands,17th century,18th century
Link:: Link
Category: Wiki/History

Published: 2023-12-26

Anglo-Dutch Wars

The three wars ended in the defeat of the Netherlands, and command of the Atlantic passed to England.

Causes of the Netherlands' Fall

Thanks to its effective mobilization of war funds and military reform, based on fishing, shipping, and commerce, the Netherlands defeated the then-mighty Spanish Empire and won its independence. For about half a century after the war, the Netherlands became the warehouse of Europe, selling luxury goods from Asia and other parts of the world in European markets and reaping enormous profits. But the Dutch golden age did not last long. In the European world, which was fundamentally based on feudalism, agricultural output declined due to climate change and demand for luxury goods dropped sharply, so Dutch commerce, which relied on the purchasing power of feudal aristocrats, also declined. (…) In the Netherlands, capitalism was visible to some extent in securing economic surplus from commerce as well as agriculture, but the process of pioneering new commercial networks revealed a limitation: it depended mainly on violence. Moreover, the source of the Netherlands' greatest profits was the European ruling class living in the feudal world, and the fact that their purchasing power could not expand indefinitely was also a problem.

Topics: War,United Kingdom,Netherlands,17th century,18th century
Link:: Link
Category: Wiki/History