History chapter 3

Provincial States

The daily government of a province in the Republic led by regenten.

Regenten

Rich men who had a lot of influence in the daily politics of the Republic.

Grand pensionary

The political advisor of the States General.

Twelve Years' Truce

A truce of twelve years in which the Dutch Republic and Spain tried to negotiate peace.

Embargo

Measures taken by a government to restrict the trade of another country.

Peace of Münster

A treaty signed by the Dutch Republic and Spain, ending the Eighty Years' War.

Sovereign state

A state with borders, where a government makes laws and where people abide by those laws.

Baltic trade

The trade of luxury products in exchange for grain and wood between the Dutch Republic and countries around the Baltic Sea.

Commercial centre

A place where goods from all over the world were stored and eventually sold.

VOC

Dutch East India Company; trading company which sailed to the East Indies and traded mainly in spices.

Monopoly

Being the only company that has the right to trade in a certain product.

Shares

Represent parts of a company; you can buy and sell them for a profit if the company is successful.

Multinational

A company that is represented in many locations around the world.

Governor-General

A person who looked after the large trading network of the VOC in the East Indies.

Intra-Asian trade

A trading network between Japan, India, and the East Indies, in which the VOC participated.

WIC

Dutch West India Company; trading company which sailed to the West Indies and mainly traded in slaves.

Privateering

The capturing and destroying of enemy ships.

Absolutism

A system in which a king has absolute power.

Divine right of kings

Claim by an absolute monarch that he is made king to carry out God's will.

Mercantilism

An economic system in which a country focuses on its own economy and in which export is very important.

Orangists

Regenten who wanted the Republic to reform into a strict Calvinist monarchy with an Orange as a king.

Anti-Orangists

Regenten who wanted a strong Republic led by the States General.

First Stadtholderless Period

Time period from 1650 to 1672 in which some provinces did not have a stadtholder.

Disaster year

1672; in this year the Republic was attacked from three sides at the same time.

Empirical thinking

Research based on observing and experimenting.

Rationalism

Research based on reasoning and logic.

Scientific Revolution

A period of big changes in different fields of science; new scientific ideas gradually replaced classical-religious ideas.

Heliocentrism

Current worldview in which the earth revolves around the sun.

Geocentrism

Biblical worldview in which people believe the Earth is the centre of the universe.

Censorship

You are not allowed to write anything you want.

Freedom of conscience

Freedom to have your own worldview.

Clandestine church

Hidden churches often built in a house or barn where Catholics could practise their faith.

Baroque

Art style derived from Renaissance art, characterised by extreme realism, dramatic effects, and many emotions.

Dutch Realism

Art style in which painters focused on painting realistic subject matters.

Genre

A particular type of painting.

Arawak

The original inhabitants of Curaçao.

Asiento

An agreement which permitted traders to sell African slaves to Spanish colonies in North and South America.

Plantation House

A big house built by European colonists, often inhabited by a slave owner.