The Dutch Republic

The independence of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands was recognized in 1648 in the treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War. Rejecting the rule of a monarch, the Dutch adopted a system of republicanism, whereby power rested in the hands of the people and was exercised through elected representatives. An oligarchy of wealthy businessmen called regents handled domestic affairs in each province’s Estates, or assemblies. The provincial Estates held virtually all the power. A federal assembly, or States General, handled foreign affairs and war, but all issues had to be referred back to the local Estates for approval, and each of the seven provinces could veto any proposed legislation. Holland, the province with the largest navy and the most wealth, usually dominated the republic and the States General.

In each province, the Estates appointed an executive officer, known as the stadholder. Although in theory freely chosen by the Estates, in practice the reigning prince of Orange usually held the office of stadholder in several of the seven provinces of the republic. Tensions persisted between supporters of the House of Orange and those of the staunchly republican Estates, who suspected the princes of harboring monarchical ambitions.

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The Young Scholar and His WifeA new genre of painting emerged in the seventeenth century celebrating the virtues of domestic life and family. It was particularly popular in the wealthy, urban Netherlands, among prosperous families such as the couple depicted here. (The Young Scholar and His Wife, 1640, oil on panel by Gonzales Coques [1614–84]/Gemaeldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel, Germany/© Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel/The Bridgeman Art Library)> PICTURING THE PASTANALYZING THE IMAGE: What social and cultural values does this painting seem to celebrate? What insight does the painter offer into masculine and feminine roles in this society? Why do you think the husband and wife are standing separately and not together, as they probably would in a modern family portrait?CONNECTIONS: Based on your reading in this chapter, how might the portrait of a more typical European family of 1640 differ from this one? Why would a family in the Netherlands have a different lifestyle from many families in other European countries?

Global trade and commerce brought the Dutch the highest standard of living in Europe, perhaps in the world. Salaries were high, and all classes of society ate well. The moral and ethical bases of Dutch commercial wealth were thrift, frugality, and religious tolerance. Jews enjoyed a level of acceptance and assimilation in Dutch business and general culture unique in early modern Europe. (See “Individuals in Society: Glückel of Hameln.”) Tolerance contributed to profits by attracting a great deal of foreign capital and investment.

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What limits had been put in place on the power of English kings by the end of the seventeenth century?