The Dutch "Golden Age" 1580's-1670's

The Dutch "Golden Age" 1580's-1670's (17th century)

Causes

Works Cited

Migration of skilled workers to the Netherlands.

The Dutch "Golden Age"

• http://www.ageofsail.net/aosdgalh.asp

• http://courseworkbank.info/courseworkbank.info.php?f=R0NFIEEgLSBMZXZlbC9FY29ub21pY3MvV2hhdCBjYXVzZWQgdGhlIGdvbGRlbiBhZ2UucGRm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age#Causes_of_the_Golden_Age

• The Dutch were the foremost European shipbuilders, for the United Provinces, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany etc.
• The galleon was built for various nations by the Dutch in the late 1500s.
• The Fluyt was the three-masted square rigged merchant ship in the 1600s.
• This ship was built to be very economical in operation, and was meant to carry immense amounts of cargo and few crew people.

• After the surrender at Antwerp in 1585, the Protestant population had four years to settle their affairs before leaving Hapsburg territory.
• Many settled in Amsterdam which transformed into one of the most important ports in the world by 1630.

Causes of the "Golden Age"

• Migration of skilled workers to the Netherlands.
• Cheap energy sources.
• Birth and wealth of corporate finance.

Causes

Birth and wealth of corporate finance.

• During the 1600s the Dutch began trading with the Far East and eventually gained an increasingly dominant position in worldwide trade.
• The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602.
• It was the first multinational corporation and received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade and became the world's largest commercial enterprise.
• The demand for spices and the increasing trade led to the establishment of the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609 which was the first central bank.

Causes

Cheap energy source.

• The flowering of trade, arts, science, and industry demanded a lot of energy.
• One of the cheapest ways to get energy was through windmills and from peat which was easily transported by canal to the cities.
• The sawmill was invented which gave rise to the construction of a massive fleet for worldwide trading and a strong military defense for the republic's economy.

The Dutch "Golden Age"

• The "Golden Age" of Dutch sea-power.
• In 1650 the Dutch were the masters of naval warfare.
• Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter (1607-1676), was arguably the greatest admiral of the 17th century.
• He quickly adapted to the new linear-tactics of the First Anglo-Dutch War.
• He was wounded in 1676 in a naval battle off Sicily and died six years later.