Author Description
Despite its small size and population, the Dutch Republic functioned as the hub of world trade, shipping, and finance for nearly two centuries. This is the first detailed account of that hegemony from its sixteenth-century origins to the final collapse of the Dutch trading system in the eighteenth century. The economic structure of the early modern world was such that the Dutch Republic, particularly Amsterdam, was able to dominate the world economy to a far greater degree than any commercial power before or since. Using archival and secondary sources, this book explains how such a small nation was able to achieve and sustain this ascendancy for so long. In particular, Professor Israel emphasizes the interaction between Dutch commercial activity in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East, and its penetration of nearby European markets.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the mechanisms and historical conditions that allowed the Dutch Republic to function as the central hub of global trade, shipping, and finance between 1585 and 1740. Professor Jonathan I. Israel, a specialist in early modern European history, utilizes extensive archival research and secondary analysis to construct a comprehensive narrative of Dutch economic hegemony. He argues that the Republic's dominance was not merely a result of internal commercial efficiency but was fundamentally tied to the complex interaction between its global colonial ventures and its strategic penetration of European markets.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A chronological analysis of Dutch economic expansion from the late sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century.
- Examination of the Dutch Republic's commercial activities across Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.
- Detailed study of the relationship between the Dutch entrepôt system and the broader European economy.
Scope Limits
- The text focuses primarily on economic and commercial history rather than social or cultural developments within the Republic.
- The analysis concludes with the decline of the Dutch trading system by 1740 and does not extend into the late eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Historians and scholars of early modern economics frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the rise and fall of the Dutch commercial empire. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous and detailed examination of trade statistics and geopolitical shifts.
Page Count:
490
Publication Date:
1989-01-01
Publisher:
Clarendon Press
ISBN-10:
0191591823
ISBN-13:
9780191591822
History
Trade and Commerce
European History
Netherlands history
Economic History
Dutch History
History - Modern
Community Tags
Similar Books
