The state and the economic acceleration of the Dutch Republic, 1585-1637

Abstract

In the 50 years after 1585, the Dutch Republic developed from a loose set of small territories into the first country to dominate the emerging world economy. This chapter traces the outlines of this remarkable economic growth spurt and seeks to identify its causes. Following in the footsteps of Marjolein ’t Hart's thesis that the federal structure and significant urban autonomy was not a handicap – as generations of historians had argued – but actually an asset, this chapter claims that Dutch economic growth was promoted and sustained in crucial ways by the fact that the Dutch acquired their own state during precisely this period. The Dutch Golden Age, therefore, did not happen in spite of the Dutch Revolt and the long war against Spain, but because of it. Acquiring their own state, and a state's means of systematic violence, allowed Dutch merchants to often literally conquer overseas markets.