History chapter 3

3.1 A Republic of Regenten

Provincial States

Regenten

Twelve Years' Truce

Embargo

Peace of Münster

Sovereign state

Grand pensionary

In Chapter 2, you have learned that the seven provinces that stood up against Philip IT formed a republic, after unsuccessful attempts of finding a new monarch. Now these provinces had to figure out a way of governing the Dutch Republic. How did they solve this problem? And how did the continuing war against Spain develop?

Way of ruling

Each province was ruled in its own way by the Provincial States. This assembly of a small group of rich men, called regenten, formed the daily government of their province and made all the political decisions.

For certain larger political issues, it was better for the provinces to work together.

For example: what to do about the war with Spain? For these kinds of decisions, every province would send one or more regenten as representatives to the States General in The Hague. These representatives did not rule the Dutch Republic however.

There was actually an eighth province in the Republic: the province of Drenthe. However, this area was so poor it was exempt from paying taxes and therefore was not allowed to send a representative to the States General.

grand pensionary

the Provincial States.

The Provincial States

would agree with the suggestions or not. All decisions

unanimously: if one disagreed with the others, it would not

Source 3.6 The great hall of the Binnenhof in The Hague, where a meeting of the States General is taking place. Painting by Bartholomeus

Money equals power!

You might think that the meetings of the States General would take very long, because the representatives had to travel back and forth to their provinces to confer. In practice however, this was hardly the case. Representatives from Holland dominated the assemblies of the States General. Holland was the richest province in the Dutch Republic and therefore paid most of the taxes that were needed to finance the war against Spain. Because of this, the province of Holland had a bigger say in the meetings of the States General.

In 1586, the representative of Holland, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (1547-1619), became grand pensionary of the States General. In this function he would advise the States General about all sorts of matters like finances and laws. Because Holland had the most power, Van Oldenbarnevelt could decide about the policy of the Republic, such as taxes and foreign affairs, on his own. As grand pensionary, Van Oldenbarnevelt was the most powerful person of the Dutch Republic.

Science and Changing Politics

Grand pensionary versus stadtholder

In 1585, the son of William of Orange, Maurice of Orange (1567-1625), was appointed stadtholder for Holland and Zeeland. At first, Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt worked closely together. Van Oldenbarnevelt looked after the financial and foreign affairs, while Maurice looked after the army and led many successful battles against Spain. Because of this, he gained a lot of popularity.

Source 3.7 Maurice at the battle at Nieuwpoort (1600), painted by Hendrick Ambrosius Pac (early seventeenth century)-

Due to financial problems, the Spanish wanted to start peace negotiations in 1609.

Although Spain and the Republic could not agree on the conditions of the peace, they decided to sign a Twelve Years' Truce to halt the war. During this truce, a political conflict between Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt arose. Van Oldenbarnevelt wanted to end the war with Spain as soon as possible for financial reasons. The war was expensive and affected the trade: ships with goods were destroyed or captured. This resulted in a loss of income for the Republic. Maurice however wanted to continue fighting, because he was convinced that the Spanish fleet was at its weakest.

Maurice becomes more powerful

Besides the difference in opinion about whether or not to continue the war against Spain, there was also a religious conflict between the two men: Van Oldenbarnevelt supported the liberal Calvinists, whilst Maurice took sides with the strict Calvinists.

The conflict nearly led to a civil war between Holland and the army led by Maurice.

Maurice used his influence in the States General to arrest Van Oldenbarnevelt in 1618 on account of high treason. In the meantime, the States General had organised a national church synod. There it was decided that the principles of the liberal Calvinists were false. Van Oldenbarnevelt was tried in May 1619 and sentenced to

IVSTITIE AEN IAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT GESCHIET,

T'HOF VAN HOLLAND!

Source 3.8 The decapitation of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, in 1619. The heading says: 'Justice of Van Oldenbarnevelt is done.' Created by Claes Jansz. Visscher.

Chapter 3

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Without a monarch or lord to reprace, the stadtholder became obsolete.

However, the Republic decided they wanted to keep the position

ofstadthoiler，

because they were often very good at battling the Spanish army.

Twelve Years' Truce

Van Oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death by beneading. His final words were presumably: 'Make it short, make it short? This however he did not say to the

executioner, but

to his servant who wanted to say goodbye.

war again!

in 1621 agotiations about a definite peace ended without a solution. Spain posed demands that the Republic was unwilling to meet, and vice versa. The war with Spain was resumed under the directions of Maurice. The Spanish took measures such as embargoes to restrict Dutch trade. These embargoes meant that the Dutch Republic embart lowed to trade anymore with Spanish or Portuguese trading posts in the East Indies. As a reaction, the States General ordered the Dutch West India Company - a trading company that sailed between the Republic and South America (see section

3.2) - to destroy Spanish ships, which sailed between the Spanish colonies and Spain carrying goods and silver. This meant a huge loss of income for Spain.

In 1625, Maurice died. His half-brother Frederick Henry succeeded him. Frederick Henry was a very able military leader. During his 21 years as a stadtholder, he was able to conquer many cities such as s-Hertogenbosch and Maastricht from the Spanish.

Peace at last!

Besides waging war on the Dutch Republic, Spain was also at war with France.

Furthermore, Spain was also involved in a major European war about religion, which lasted for 30 years. Because of all the wars Spain was involved in and its loss of many trade ships, the country went bankrupt. Therefore, Spain was forced to start new peace negotiations.

In 1646, talks between Spain and the Republic began in the city of Münster. The Spanish and Dutch delegations soon came to an agreement and in 1648 signed a treaty called: Peace of Münster. This treaty finally ended the Eighty Years' War and Spain officially recognised the Dutch Republic as a sovereign state: a state with borders, where a government makes laws and where people abide by those laws. The Republic gained some new borders: parts of the Spanish Netherlands were added to the Dutch Republic.

Peace of Münster sovereign state

The Peace of Münster was one of many trearies that were signed within the Peace of Westphalia. This was a big peace conference ending the Thirty Years' War.

Source 3.9 The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. Painting by Gerard ter Borgh (1648).

Essence

In the Republic, each province was ruled by Provincial States. Representatives of the Provincial States discussed larger political issues in the States General.

As grand pensionary, Johan van Oldenbarneveldt was the political leader of the Republic. The stadtholder was the military leader. In 1648, the Eighty Years' War with Spain ended and the Republic was officially recognised as a sovereign state.

Science and Changing Politics

3.2

A world economy: The VOC and WIC

Baltic Trade

Commercial centre

VOC

Multinational

Governor-General

Intra-Asian trade

WIC

Privateering

Despite the war with Spain, the Republic became one of the wealthiest nations in the world. How did the Republic get so rich? Why were the VOC and WIC so important for the Republic's economy?

Amsterdam: The largest trade city

In 1585, the Spanish army conquered the city of Antwerp, the most important trade city of North-western Europe at that time. Because the waterways to the city were closed off (see section 2.5), no trade ship was allowed to go in or out. Because of this, the merchants who traded in Antwerp had to find another trade centre. They

Amsterdam had a big and easily accessible port. Its trade had already flourished since the fourteenth century, mostly from the trade within the Hanseatic League. In the sixteenth century, Dutch merchants brought luxury products like wine and salt to countries around the Baltic Sea, such as Poland and East Prussia. In return, the merchants brought huge amounts of grain and wood back to the Republic to sell it to other countries. This is called the Baltic trade.

Goods brought in from other countries were not immediately sold, but were stored in warehouses instead. The merchants waited for a buyer who really needed the goods and then sold them for the highest possible price. For example: the merchants stored a lot of grain and then waited for a famine to break out in another country. The starving people would pay a large amount for the stored grain.

The trade in Amsterdam boomed even more when many small Dutch companies started sailing to the East Indies and brought back luxury products like silk, cinnamon and pepper to trade. As a result, Amsterdam became a

where goods from all over the world were brought in, stored and eventually sold to places throughout Europe.

Source 3.10 Warehouses at the Brouwersgracht in Amsterdam.

The rise of the VOC

The many small Dutch companies that sailed to the East Indies had to compete with each other. As a result, their profits reduced because they had to sell their goods at lower prices. This also meant that the Republic received less profit taxes from the sold goods. In 1602, the States General decided it would be more effective to join all the small companies together into one unified company. Representatives from the small companies were invited by the States General to establish the Dutch East India Company ('Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), also known as the VOC.

The States General granted a monopoly to the VOC. This means that the VOC was the only company allowed to trade spices in the East Indies.

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Baltic trade

commercial centre

VOC

Seting up the VOc was very expensive; the o a to e hares ey yat to be hie .

So ting ce this and to spread the risks, the VOC issued shares. By buying a share, To file ove this and l part of the companes of agains a profit. Therefore, the value people share would increase and could be sold against a profit. Therefore, many people would invest money in the VOC and its trading opportunities. This is the beginning of a new economic system based on commercial capitalism.

Science and Changing Politics

To get more profit from the spice trade, the VOC decided to cut out the local merchants by taking over areas overseas. They placed these areas under the direct control of the Dutch Republic, making them colonies of the Republic. In this way the Republic acquired a monopoly on the trade of spices such as cinnamon, clove, mace and nutmeg. Batavia and Sumatra are examples of these colonies.

The Intra-Asian trade

In 1619, Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587-1629) was appointed the Governor-General of the VOC. Coen came up with an idea to make the trade with the East Indies more profitable. There was not much demand in the East Indies for goods such as grain and wood. Therefore, the VOC had to pay for the goods like spices and silk with valuable gold and silver. Coen argued that the Republic would not have to spend its valuable gold and silver if the VOC joined the Intra-Asian trade.

As part of this trade network, the VOC exchanged goods with Japan for silver and copper. These precious metals from Japan were then exchanged in India for textiles and silk. These products were either traded with the East Indies for spices or brought back to the Republic to be sold. This system proved to be very successful.

Dutch trade routes

Areas linder

Dutch control

Spices Goods shipped to

Scandinavia

The Baltic

1cdl

China

Japan

Tobacco

Chapter 3

Source 3.11 The Mauritius and other ships of the VOC sailing out of the Marsdiep. A painting by Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom (early seventeenth century).

The power of the VOC

Seventeen lords, called the Lords Seventeen ('Heeren XVII'), managed the daily affairs of the VOC. The VOC had many privileges. By decree of the States General, it was allowed to wage war, take and execute prisoners and invade areas in the East Indies to establish colonies and set up trading posts.

The VOC established a large trading network with many trading posts throughout the East Indies. The Company became the first multinational in the world because it traded with so many different areas in the East Indies. To oversee this large trading network, the VOC appointed a Governor-General who looked after all the financial and other affairs in the East Indies. The Governor-General resided in Batavia, the present-day city of Jakarta.

Intra-Asian trade

The VOC was the biggest company in the Dutch Republic. At the height of its success it employed 20,000 people such as sailors, carpenters, rope makers and sail manufactures.

India

multinational

Governor-General

The VOC was the first company in the world to issue shares. Nowadays you can buy shares from a lot of companies, like Nike and H&M. If you invest wisely, you might just end up being the richest kid in school!

Source 3.12 A senior Merchant of the Dutch East India Company, presumably Jakob Martensen, and his wife; in the background the fleet near Batavia. Painting bij Albert Cuyp (c. 1650).

Source 3.13 The Intra-Asian trade.

Coen's plan also had a very dark side: to establish a monopoly on the spices nutmeg and mace, Coen used the VOC's right to wage war to establish control over the Banda Islands. These were the only islands where these spices were grown. This proved to be a black day in the history of the Republic: to gain control over the Banda Islands many men, women and even children were killed. Their villages were burned down to the ground and their ships were destroyed.

To the West!

On the other side of the world were other trading opportunities. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company (West-Indische Compagnie) or WIC was established. The WIC was managed almost similarly to the VOC. It established many trading posts and colonies in North and South America and the Caribbean, like Curaçao and Brazil.

The WIC traded mostly in gold, sugar and slaves. They bought slaves on the west coast of Africa. African tribe leaders would often sell their captured enemies as slaves. These slaves were shipped to a trading post of the WIC, such as Curaçao.

Here the slaves were sold at auctions, mostly to work on plantations in North or South America. Slaves were crammed together and treated miserably on the WIC ships. Slaves that got sick or died during the journey across the Atlantic were thrown

Historians claim that the Republic was the wealthiest country in the world during the seventeenth century. That is why the Dutch often call this age the Golden Age.

WIC

1700

privateering

overboard. You wilearn more about the Atlantic stave trade in section 3.6 and in

chapter 4.

Besides trade, the WIC was also allowed to capture and destroy Spanish ships that journeyed between the Spanish colonies and Spain. Their goods and silver were taken by the WIC. This was called privateering and caused a big blow for the Spanish economy. The States General supported privateering to stop Spain from waging war against the Republic.

NIKOW AMSTERDAM OFTE NUE NIRUN JORX ON TRYTANT MAN

The most successful privateer in the history of the WIC was Piet Hein. In 1628 he succeeded in capturing a silver fleet of fifteen Spanish ships. He ended up capturing more than 11 million guilders in gold and silver.

Source 3.14 New Amsterdam as it appeared in 1664. Under British rule it became known as New York.

Painting by Johannes Vingboons (1664).

Due to the Spanish conquest of Antwerp, for the Baltic trade and companies sailing to the East Indies to trade, Amsterdam became one of the biggest cities for trade in Europe. By establishing the VOC and the WIC, the Dutch Republic successfully took part in trade with many countries around the world and became one of the wealthiest countries.

Science and Changing Politics

3.3

Absolutism

Divine right of kings

Mercantilism

Orangists

Anti-Orangists

First Stadtholderless

Period

Disaster year

Apart from the Dutch Republic, monarchs ruled the countries of Europe. These monarchs strived for absolute power. How did the monarchy get so much power? Why did the French king's struggle for absolute power involve the Dutch Republic fighting in another war?

Louis XIV

After years of ruling together with his chief minister, the French king, Louis XIV, astonished his court in 1661 by declaring that he would from now on rule alone.

Louis XIV did have a small counsel of high ministers from whom he took advice.

He could call or dismiss his ministers at will, listen to their advice or disregard it.

When a king has absolute power, we call this absolutism. This meant that Louis took every important decision in France by himself. Louis XIV, as every other king in Europe at that time, believed in the divine right of kings: he claimed that he was made king by God to carry out Gods will. During his reign, Louis XIV turned France into a centralised state that was governed from his palace in Versailles.

Source 3.15 Louis XIV, by Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701).

Source 3.16 The palace of Versailles. Painting by Pierre-Denis Martin (1722).

Chapter 3

In the theatre

performances held at Versailles, Louis

XIV would often play a role himself.

During his reign he played in over 40 plays. This was similar to the amount of plays a professional dancer would play in his career.

absolutism

divine right of kings

Louis XIV often stated that

France would not function without him, as the Earth would not function without the sun. Therefore, Louis XIV became known as the Sun Kung.

A well-known English saying regarding absolutism is 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This means that a person who has absolute power will always be tempted to the wrong things.

Up to this moment, I have been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late cardinal. It is now time to govern them myself.

You will assist me with your counsels when I ask for them?

Source 3.17 Speech of Louis XIV to his ministers in 1661.

A new economic system

Because of the many wars it waged in the seventeenth century, France was almost at the point of bankruptcy. Louis XIV appointed Jean-Baptist Colbert as controller of financial affairs and ordered him to improve the finances of France.

Colbert introduced a new economic system, called mercantilism. He increased the taxes on imported goods to protect and focus on frances own economy. That way the government funded merchants who exported goods from france. The extra gold and silver France received from its export turned it into a wealthy nation once again.

Political struggle in the Republic

Maurice, and after him Fredric Henry, tried to make the stadtholdership hereditary in order to reform the Republic into a strict Calvinist monarchy, with an Orange as king. Some regenten in the States General supported this idea. They are known as Orangists. Other regenten were more in favour of a strong Republic led by the States General. This group is known as the Anti-Orangists.

After Frederick Henry's death in 1647, his son William II was appointed stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. At that time, the peace negotiations with Spain were in an advanced state. William II wanted to continue the war with Spain.

However, the States General refused to keep funding the war and so eventually the Treaty of Münster was signed. Angered by the peace, William II tried to take control of the Republic, supported by the Orangists. A few months after this failed attempt, William II died of chickenpox.

He left no heir to succeed him, because his son William III was born eight days after the death of his father.

The States General decided to do without a stadtholder until William III would be old enough. This idea got a lot of support from grand pensionary and Anti-Orangist Johan de Witt. The period from 1650 until 1672 is known as the First Stadtholderless Period. De Witt even tried to abolish the post of stadtholder completely. He did not succeed. In fact, in 1672 a number of events occurred that required a new strong military leader.

Stuart, by Anthony van Dyck (1641).

Source 3.18 Double portrait to commemorate the engagement of William Il and Mary Henrietta

Science and Changing Politics

Disaster strikes for the Republic

In 1672, the French king started a war against the Dutch Republic. Louis XIV wanted possession of the Spanish Netherlands. He claimed that these areas belonged to him because his wife, daughter of the king of Spain, inherited them.

Louis had made secret agreements with England and two German states, Cologne and Münster, to join his attack on the Dutch Republic. England had agreed, because it was jealous of the Republic's successful trade and wealth.

So when Louis XIV started the war, the English attacked the Republic at sea. At the same time the French army and the armies of the German states invaded the Republic. The Republic was not prepared for this kind of war. At sea the Republic was very strong. Admiral Michiel de Ruyter defeated the English fleet, preventing the English army invading the Republic. So after a year, England was forced to withdraw from the war. The Republic's land defences, however, were not good. The French army was able to invade and control parts of the Republic in no time. 1672 is known as the Disaster Year (Rampjaar), because the Republic was

village was attacked by the armies of

attacked from three sides at the same time.

The need for a stadtholder

As the French army advanced, panic broke out in the Republic. People called out for a stadtholder to lead them against the French invasion. The Orangists in Holland and Zeeland seized this opportunity to convince the regenten of the Provincial States to appoint William III as stadtholder. It made Johan de Witt realise that he could not maintain his position as grand pensionary. His resignation did not satisfy the Orangists however. When Johan came to visit his brother Cornelis in prison, both brothers were murdered and their bodies were mutilated by a group of Orangists.

William Ill proved a successful military leader and the war with France ended in 1679.

The war had a big impact on the Republic's economy. This resulted into the decline of the Republic as a powerful country.

Source 3.20 After the brothers de Witt were killed, their bodies were strung up and mutilated.

Painting by Pieter Frits (1672).

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The Fürst

Stadthorderess

Period only applied to the provinces of which

William Il was stadtholder. The other provinces did have a stadtholder.

Disaster Year

The actual reason for Louis XIV to start a war against the Republic was because he wanted to have natural borders for France. In his regard, the natural French border in the north was the Rhine.

To achieve a

centralised country with one religion (Catholicism, in

1685 Louis XIV

revoked the Edict of Nantes. This made it possible to persecute the Protestants once again. Many French Calvinists, called Huguenots, Hed to the

Republic. Becaus of this, some peo in the Netherlan today still hase.

French last nanu

1700

The Glorious Revolution

In 1685, James II became king of England. He had close ties with Louis XIV of France and was a Catholic. The Anglican Church in England feared that James would try to make the Catholic Church powerful again. Their hopes rested on the king's Protestant daughter and heir, Mary Stuart. She was married to stadtholder

William III.

When in 1688 James II became father of a son, this boy became the first in line of succession. The Protestants were afraid that now there would be a Roman Catholic dynasty. Some influential Anglican Parliamentarians sent a letter to William III, asking him to take over the English throne. After consolidating financial and political support from the Republic, William III crossed the North Sea to England in 1688 with an enormous fleet. After only two minor clashes with the opposing army, James' regime collapsed. William III and Mary Stuart now became king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. This powerful takeover of the English throne is called the Glorious Revolution.

Source 3.21 Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III. Painting by Jan van Huchtenburg (c. 1700).

King Louis XIV of France strived for absolute power. In 1672, he formed an alliance with England and two German states to attack the Dutch Republic.

Because the army of the Republic was heavily neglected and due to a political struggle between Orangists and anti-Orangists, there was no stadtholder who could lead the army, so the French army easily took over the Republic. William III was made stadtholder in 1672 to lead the Dutch army in battle against France. He would win the war in 1679.

Science and Changing Politics

3.4

The Scientific Revolution

Rationalism

Empirical thinking

Scientific revolution

Heliocentrism

Geocentrism

The seventeenth century was the age of new scientific discoveries. An increasing number of universities were established. This led to a new generation of scientists who discovered scientific laws, some of which are still valid today. However, not all scientists used the same method for their research. What caused this thirst for knowledge? Which methods were used? And who were some of those famous scientists?

The rise of universities

Up to the sixteenth century, there were only a few universities in Europe. If you lived in the Low Countries and wanted to study at a university, you had to move to Paris, Cologne or Leuven. In the sixteenth century, many universities emerged in big cities.

After the Revolt, it was nearly impossible for students in the northern provinces to study in Leuven because the Spanish controlled this city. For this reason, William of Orange founded the University of Leiden in 1575. It enabled students from the northern provinces to study different subjects, like maths and physics. William of Orange also argued that a university would supply well-educated men for the government of the country.

Chapter 3

Many famous people graduated at the University of Leiden, such as Christican Huygens, Kung

Willem-Alexander and even DJ Armin van Buuren.

Source 3.22 The anatomical theatre of Leiden University was an institution used in teaching anatomy.

It was built in 1596. Engraving by Willem Swanenburg (1610).

Change in science

Scholas the Midle Ages had ignored the scientifical schelars be greek and Roman Scholars irs for nearly a thousand years, Most medieval scholars believed everything From the fourteenth century, humanists gradually started to question this. They started to search for plausible explanations for natural phenomena. Their research starteasto sen reasoning and logic, without experiments. This way of doing research is called rationalism. In the seventeenth century, another way of doing research developed: scientists started doing research by observing and experimenting.

They used their results to establish new scientific laws. This method of scientific research is called empirical

These new ways of doing research led to the scientific revolution. New ideas about maths, physics, astronomy, and microbiology gradually replaced the classical-religious ideas about these subjects, creating an atmosphere of enormous optimism.

In the rest of this section, we shall take a look at a number of influential scientists who lived during the

Source 3.23 With an experiment, William Harvey (1578-1659) proved that our blood circulates in our body. Drawing from his book (1628).

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was born in Pisa, Italy. As a student Galileo decided that he wanted to study maths and natural philosophy.

After his studies, he became a teacher at the University of Pisa and later on at the University of Padua. During his career, Galileo made important discoveries about the Universe. By making improvements to the existing telescope, he was able to look into space and see planets and stars up-close. He proved that the Earth revolved around the sun. This view is called heliocentrism. Most people in that time believed in the Biblical view that the sun and all planets and stars would revolve around the Earth.

This view is known as geocentrism.

The formation of the heliocentric view changed the way people thought about the world.

The Earth was no

the centre of the

Universe. The Catholic Church was not willing to accept Galileo's heliocentric view.

Therefore, Galileo

accusation of heresy.

sentenced to life-long he fulfilled until his

Velho (1568).

Source 3.24 An illustration of the geocentric view, by cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu

Screwe

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was a scientist from England. After his study at Cambridge, he started to make huge contributions in many fields of science. For instance, Newton discovered that when you hold a glass prism into a bundle of light, the light will split up and show a rainbow of colours.

Newton's biggest discovery however, was the discovery of gravity. Newton found out it was the reason why the Earth and other planets revolved around the sun. Gravity was also the explanation for how tides work. To explain gravity, Newton used reasoning and logic.

Today we still use laws of physics discovered by Newton that are therefore known as Newton's

Laws.

Source 3.25 Isaac Newton. Portrait by Godfrey Kneller (1689).

Christian Huygens

Christian Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch scientist and mathematician.

Huygens made many contributions to several scientific areas, such as maths, physics In the field of physics, Huygens discovered that light consists of waves, disproving other scientists like Newton who thought light existed of particles. Huygens' theory of light is still valid today.

One of Huygens' best-known inventions was the pendulum. People could use this pendulum to tell time very precisely. This was important for ships, because the pendulum made it possible to exactly locate its position at sea.

far into the twentieth century and is the predecessor of the

Source 3.26 Christian Huygens.

Painting by Bernard Vaillant (1686).

Source 3.27 Huygens' telescope without tube. Picture from his book 'Astroscopia Compendiaria tubi optici molimine liberata' (1684).

Chapter 3

When Newton saw an apple falling from a tree, he wondered why the apple would always fall down to the Earth. His conclusion: the Earth was pulling the apple down with the force of gravity. He also concluded that the same force pulled the moon to the Earth. Therefore, the moon revolved around the Earth.

Hugo Grotius

The scientific revolution also brought forth intellectual thinkers and humanists.

One of these humanists was Hugo Grotius ('Hugo de Groot'). Grotius (1583-1645) was a child prodigy. At the age of eleven, he already went to Leiden University to study law. After his studies, he published many books, mostly about legal issues.

In his book Mare Liberum, Grotius argues that all people were allowed to use the seas to sail anywhere. According to Grotius, nobody could own the sea and therefore all countries were allowed to sail across the sea and trade with each other. Grotius publications played a vital role in giving the Republic and the VOC a legal basis to ignore the Treaty of Tordesillas and travel to the East Indies:

With these words I will prove that the Duten Repubic has the right to sail to the East Indies and to trade with the locals there.

As proof! will point you to the rule of international public law that dearly states: every nation is free to make contact with every other nation and trade freely with them?

Source 3.28 Part of Mare Liberum (1609).

Grotius was Van Oldenbarnevelt's political and legal advisor and the two worked very closely together. Therefore, Grotius was arrested on the same day as Van Oldenbarnevelt. Grotius was sent to prison for life. After two years he managed to escape and fled to France. There he wrote most of his works until his death.

LOVENSTEYN

Source 3.29 Drawing of Loevestein, the castle where Grotius was imprisoned (1619).

Essence

In the seventeenth century, new ways of research developed, such as empirical thinking and rationalism. This led to the scientific revolution. It resulted in many discoveries in different fields of science, and in many scientific laws we still use today.

Science and Changing Politics

3.5

A Golden Age: Art in the Republic

Censorship

Freedom of conscience

Clandestine church

Baroque

Dutch Realism

Genre

In the seventeenth century, the Republic was a tolerant country ruled by regenten.

Kings in surrounding countries were jealous of the Republic's wealth. Many Dutch painters of this time are still famous today. What was so special about their art? How does this relate to the wealth and religion of the Republic?

Religious tolerance

The Republic was a tolerant country because it was not ruled by an absolute monarch.

Its people enjoyed a lot of freedom. There was no censorship in the Republic. This meant that scientists and writers could publish their theories and opinions freely, even if they contradicted the current view. Citizens had freedom of conscience, so they were allowed to have their own worldview and to practise their own faith.

Although Catholicism was seen as the faith of the Spanish enemy, Catholics were not prosecuted.

After the Dutch Revolt, many Catholics moved to the Spanish Netherlands. Some Catholics however, chose to stay in the Republic. They met in so-called clandestine churches to practise their religion. These were hidden churches mostly built inside a house or barn. At first, the Republic did not allow these clandestine churches and some of them were demolished or burned down. However, when the Republic found out that the Catholics kept meeting in secret, the regenten decided to allow these meetings but only under strict terms:

The entrance must not be on the Jodenbreestraat, but 'behind' on a lesser thoroughfare, the Burgwal. There was to be no 'waiting for another person on the street after services. Services were timed so that there would be no chance of Roman Catholics offending Protestants bu meeting them in the streets on their way to Dutch Reformed churches?

Source 3.30 Extract from a document from 1691 specifying the terms for a clandestine Catholic church in Amsterdam.

Church buildings with and without art

As you can see in the source on the right, the altar of the clandestine church Onse Lieve Heer op Zolder is covered with beautiful and extravagant art. This art style is known as Baroque, which is derived from the Renaissance art. Characteristics of Baroque art are extreme realism, dramatic effects and many emotions, especially on faces. In the seventeenth century, this was the main art style in Catholic churches and countries in Europe. A good example of Baroque architecture is the Palace of Versailles, as seen in section 3.

Source 3.31 The Altar of the clandestine church in Amsterdam, covered in Baroque art.

In Dutch Protestant churches, you will not find any statues of saints or large In out Protestant hurt scines, Artist in the feelin y. ot tereive atsignments

paintie hurt a ire, so their at develosed differty. Here the tit style Dutch feat th arose. In this art style, painters focused on reproducing realistic subject

matters.

Art for the wealthy

Because of the prosperity in the Republic, many citizens could afford to buy art.

Every wealthy household had several paintings decorating their walls.

Therefore the demand for art was very high. This led to an abundance of high quality art. Many painters became famous. The extensive production of art also meant a lot of competition between artists. To stand out, many artists specialised in

landscapes, portraits, history paintings, still life, maritime

Science and Changing Politics

Political cartoons

Due to the tolerance of the Republic and because of the specialising of art in different genres, a different kind of genre became more popular: political cartoons. These cartoons display funny illustrations mocking parts of society by drawing recognisable political figures and monarchs as caricatures.

A caricature often showed body parts out of proportion, like a big nose or giant ears.

HET DROF. ACHANCINES

NIXON DE CALMASSAUA

Source 3.34 A cartoon, mocking the departure of the Spanish from Flandres in 1646.

Source 3.32 A river landscape with ferry, by Salomon van

two of these genres.

Portraits and group portraits

A genre very popular among regenten and low nobles was portrait painting. Regenten with positions of power ordered paintings of themselves to show off how important they were for the Republic. Local administrators and regenten often had a group portrait painted to decorate their conference hall and show off their status.

The most famous group portrait made in the seventeenth century is the Night Watch ('de Nachtwacht) by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). It shows a company of Dutch militia ready to embark on a mission at night.

In this painting, Rembrandt broke with the tradition of making stately and formal group portraits. Instead he painted an action scene in which the figures seem to move. Its size was exceptional too: the painting covered an area bigger than 3 by 4 meters - unusually big for a painting in the seventeenth century.

Portrait painting was probably the most popular art genre in the seventeenth century. Conservative estimates show that between 750,000 and 1 million portraits were painted in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century.

Source 3.33 Still Life with a Gilt Cup, by Willem Claesz. Heda (1635).

Source 3.35 Rembrandt's portrait of Maerten Soolmans (1634). Do you like his shoes?

Source 3.36 The 'Merry Drinker' by Frans Hals (c. 1630) shows a militiaman raising his glass to toast us.

Chapter 3

Some historians say that because there was quite a difference between the mainstream

Baroque style in Europe and Dutch Realism, the Dutch Golden Age painting went Through a mini-Renaissance of its

Scenes of everyday life

Some painters chose to recreate scenes from everyday life of ordinary people in the Republic. For example, the paintings of Jan Steen (1626-1679) often display chaotic or messy households.

Although the scenes are lively and festive, subtle hints in the paintings show that they were actually meant as a warning: Jan Steen wanted to teach people not to copy this behaviour.

After the Disaster Year of 1672, the art market collapsed. To cope with the loss of income, Jan Steen opened a tavern that he ran until his death.

tiCs

Science and Changing Politics

3.6

Curaçao: A former Dutch colony in the Caribbean

Arawak

Asiento

Plantation house

You probably know Curaçao as a popular holiday destination or you might have family living there. Curaçao has a rich history as a colony of the Dutch Republic.

However, Curaçao also had a dark period in its history, when it was the centre of the transtantic slave trade. What happened in this period?

Chapter 3

Source 3.37 'The milkmaid, painted by Johannes Vermeer, shows us an everyday life scene.

When your room is messy, your parents might sau to you: It looks like a 'Huishouden

van Jan Steen?

This refers to the chaotic or messy households displayed in

Steen's paintings.

Source 3.39 Dutch Caribbean architecture in Willemstad. These houses were built in the seventeenth

century.

Curaçao is conquered

Before Spanish explorers discovered the island of Curaçao, the Arawak had inhabited it for centuries. According to archaeological research, these Indians travelled here from South America. Not much is known about the Arawak. We only know that they lived from hunting, fishing and collecting fruits and plants.

The Spanish found no gold or other natural resources on Curaçao. They concluded that the island was useless and in 1515 a Spanish fleet tried to capture and deport all Arawak as slaves to the island Hispaniola (present-day Haiti).

In 1633, the leaders of the WIC, the Lords XIX, were looking for a strategic base for the privateering of Spanish ships. For them, Curaçao was a strategic option because it lay close to Spanish colonies such as Venezuela on the main land of South America.

Besides privateering,

Dutch traders were also interested in Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire for their salt plains. Salt was in high demand because of the

Willemstad

profitable trade in herring.

In 1634, Johannes van

Pacific Ocean

Walbeeck and his fleet

Atlantic Ocean

successfully conquered

Curaçao. They met little resistance from the Spanish.

Source 3.40 Curaçao, lying close to former Spanish colonies in South America.

The 32 Spanish colonists, twelve of them only chithe s and about The 32 Spanish cons just moved to the west of the island after burning down their village and poisoning their water wells.' Source 3,41 Written in the journal of Van Walbeck after he conquered curaçao in 1634.

Van Walbeeck was appointed as the first governor of Curaçao. He was ordered to build a fortification around the harbour. This fortification was called Fort Amsterdam and was completed in

1635. Around this fort, the town Willemstad was built.

Willemstad would eventually become the capital of Curaçao.

Source 3.42 Fort Amsterdam can still be seen and visited in

Willemstad today.

Curaçao and the slave trade

At first Curaçao was only used for the exploitation of salt and to privateer Spanish ships. However, because of its strategic location and the presence of a natural harbour, Curaçao soon became an important trade centre for the WIC.

Trade goods were stored here for a while before they were shipped to America or Europe. Like Amsterdam, Curaçao became a commercial centre for colonial goods.

The WIC bought slaves from

awful conditions. There they

Most slaves travelled further

colonies in the Americas, such as Surinam or Brazil.

In chapter 4, you will learn more about what happened to

Source 3.43 The Penha building was built in 1708. It is on the

UNESCO World Heritage List.

The increase of the slave trade

In 1662, the Spanish government granted the asiento to the bankers Domingo Grillo and Ambrosio Lomelino. This was an agreement that permitted them to sell African slaves to Spanish colonies in North and South America. The Spanish colonies were in dire need of slaves to work on the big plantations.

Instead of supplying the slaves themselves, the bankers set up a contract with the WIC. The WIC agreed that they would ship 24,000 slaves in a period of seven years for a fixed amount of money. This gave the WIC a monopoly on the slave trade with Spanish colonies. Because of its strategic location in Curaçao, the WIC was able to keep this monopoly until 1730. After 1730, other Dutch traders started to compete with the WIC.

Science and Changing Politics

Everyday life for a slave on Curaçao

Some slaves stayed at Curaçao because they were bought to work on local plantations. Others were not immediately sold because they were sick. They were sent to slave camps to recover. In these camps, doctors tried to cure them. After all, only a healthy slave could be sold for the conventional price of 150 Guilders.

Most slaves that stayed on Curaçao were used to farm corn plantations for the WIC.

This was excruciating work. Others were forced to work on private plantations, to work as craftsmen, to do household work or to work as a hand on a private ship.

Slave plantations on Curaçao were rather small compared to the plantations such as those in Surinam and the United States. In 1735 for example, there were only eight slave owners who possessed more than fifty slaves.

The master of the slaves lived in a plantation house, a big house built by the European colonists.

For the plantations on

Curaçao it was often said that the possession of slaves was a sign of status rather than a source of income.

Source 3.44 On Bonaire, slaves were treated very bad too. In these very small houses, built in the seventeenth century, lived complete families.

The slave revolt of Tula

On August 17th, 1795 a man named Tula and fifty other slaves from the plantation 'Knip' refused to go to work. They had gathered news that black slaves in French colonies were granted freedom. Inspired by this news, they marched to the plantation house and told their master Casper Lodewijk van Uytrecht that they too demanded their freedom. Instead of repressing them, Van Uytrecht told the slaves to go to the governor at Fort Amsterdam and tell him their complaints.

Tula and his followers left the plantation and started plundering the western part of Curaçao. Slaves of other plantations joined them. After two days their numbers had increased to 2,000 men, women and children. They destroyed many plantations, often by burning down the fields and breaking into the plantation houses. Here they would acquire food, water and even weapons.

The governor reacted to this uprising by sending a small party of armed men.

The governor's men were defeated however, because they had underestimated the rebels. When the governor heard of this defeat, he raised a bigger and better armed troop of men to attack the rebels once again. This time the army was much stronger. The slave revolt that had lasted for fourteen days was now over.

Tula was among the captured men. He was brutally tortured to death.

Essence

The colonisation of Curaçao led to an increase of the slave trade by the WIC.

The island was used as a base where they were brought and sold. From here they continued their journey to South or North America. The slave trade peaked between 1662 and 1730, when the WIC had contracts giving them the right to sell slaves to the Spanish colonies. Slaves who stayed on Curaçao mostly worked on plantations.

Chapter 3

plantation house

The 17th of August is a

commemoration day on Curaçao.

Although the saves were defeated, their actions led to a series of government regulations

that started the emancipation of the slaves. Slavery on Curaçao would finally end in 1863.

Key words

3.1 A Republic of Regenten

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

3.2 A world economy: The VOC

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

VOC: Dutch East India Company: trading company which sailed to the East-Indies and traded mainly

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

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

3.3 Absolutism

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

untics

Science and Changing Politics

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

3.4 The Scientific Revolution

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 world view in which men believe the Earth is the centre of the universe

3.5 A Golden Age: Art in the Republic

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, especially on faces Dutch Realism: art style in which painters focused on painting realistic subiect matters

Genre: a particular type of painting

3.6 Curaçao: A former Dutch colony in the Caribbean

Arawak: the original inhabitants of Curacao 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