/kloc-the geographical discovery at the end of 0/5 brought unprecedented commercial prosperity to Europe, and also provided the Netherlands with a historic opportunity to realize a commercial empire. As middlemen, agents, processors and salesmen, the Dutch load spices, silk and gold from Portugal and Spain and then sell them all over Europe. After returning home, they transported wheat, Swedish ironware, Finnish wood and their own naval materials to the first two maritime hegemonic countries.
The Dutch defeated Britain by designing a cheaper boat. Previously, typical European merchant ships were built with platforms on which artillery could be erected, which could effectively prevent pirate attacks. The Dutch first ventured to build a merchant ship that could only transport goods but could not install guns. It has a unique design and a big belly, so the hull is big and round. And the deck is small. This is because in Scandinavia, the tax paid by a ship depends on the width of the deck. The narrower the deck, the less money you pay. Therefore, the Dutch-made ship has a small deck and a big belly, and the more profits it makes. To a great extent, it is with this kind of boat that the Dutch won the world-famous title of "sea coachman".
From 1596 to 1598, a Dutch captain named Barents tried to find a route from the north to Asia. He has experienced three civilizations and is now an island in Russia, but they are trapped by the frozen sea. Sanyan Cliff is located in the Arctic Circle, where Captain Barents and 17 Dutch sailors spent a long winter of eight months. They removed the deck of the ship as fuel to keep their body temperature in the cold of MINUS 40 degrees; They hunt for clothes and food to make a living. Eight people died in such serious danger. However, the Dutch businessman did something unimaginable. They don't touch the goods entrusted to them by others, including clothes and medicines that can save their lives. When winter went and spring came, the surviving merchants finally brought the goods back to Holland almost intact and delivered them to their customers. At the cost of their lives, they stuck to their beliefs and created business rules that will be passed down from generation to generation. At that time, this practice also brought obvious benefits to Dutch businessmen, that is, won the world market of maritime trade.
1543, the king of Spain gained the sovereignty of the Netherlands through political marriage. When the king of Spain declared that the Netherlands was a sacred and inseparable part of Spain, the Dutch agreed with this statement; When the Spanish king re-divided the administrative regions of the Netherlands, they accepted it frankly; When the king of Spain sent a new governor for the Netherlands, they also obeyed. But when King Philip II of Spain reached into their wallets, the Dutch resisted.
Dutch War of Independence broke out. At first, the Spanish army easily crushed the Dutch resistance. In less than six years, 1.5 million Dutch people died. The grim reality forced the divided Dutch provinces to unite. 1579, representatives of seven northern Dutch provinces signed an agreement in this hall to form a military alliance to jointly fight against the enemy. From then on, the war began to change in favor of the Netherlands, on the one hand, because of the Dutch alliance, on the other hand, because Philip II made enemies on all sides of Europe, and successive years of hegemonic wars exhausted Spain's national strength.
158 1 On July 26th, 2008, representatives of various uprising cities in the Netherlands solemnly announced in The Hague that the Spanish king's rule over the Dutch provinces would be abolished.
The Dutch entrusted their country to Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Queen of England readily agreed to become their monarch and sent troops to protect the lives and property of the Dutch. However, shrewd businessmen soon discovered that the protection fee charged by the Queen of England was actually higher than the Spanish king they drove away.
158 1 year, seven provinces joined forces and announced the establishment of the Netherlands joint provincial republic. This is an unprecedented country in human history. Many historians say that it was the first country in the world to "give the merchant class full political rights".
1602, under the leadership of Oden Barnvelt, Speaker of the Republic, Dutch and East India companies were established one after another. Just as they created an unprecedented country, now they have created an unprecedented economic organization. In the short five years after the establishment of the East India Company, it sent 50 merchant fleets overseas every year, exceeding the combined fleet of Spain and Portugal.
The Bank of Amsterdam was founded in 1609, about one hundred years earlier than the Bank of England. It is a city bank, a financial bank and a foreign exchange bank. It absorbs deposits and issues loans. All payments of a certain amount must be made through banks, so Amsterdam Bank plays an important role in the economic stability of the Netherlands. More importantly, it invented what we now call credit. It was called "virtual currency" at that time.
By the middle of17th century, the global commercial hegemony of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands had been firmly established. At this time, the Dutch East India Company has 65,438+05,000 branches, accounting for half of the total world trade. 10000 More than one merchant ship flying the Dutch tricolor flag is cruising on the five oceans of the world;
In East Asia, they occupied Taiwan Province Province of China and monopolized Japanese foreign trade.
In Southeast Asia, they turned Indonesia into their own colony, and the first colonial stronghold they established, Batavia City, constituted the embryonic form of Jakarta today.
In Africa, they seized the Cape of Good Hope fortress from Portugal to the new route;
In Oceania, they named a country after a province in the Netherlands-New Zealand;
In South America, they occupied Brazil;
At the mouth of the Hudson River on the North American continent, the East India Company built the new Amsterdam City. Today, the name of this city is new york.
Marx's comment: 1648 Holland: It has reached the peak of commercial prosperity.
1648, Amsterdam citizens decided to build a new city hall. For the sake of quality, the citizens did not set a deadline for the completion of the project in advance. In fact, it took them eight years and more than 70 tons of gold to build this magnificent building. 1656, new town hall completed.
1656, the Dutch delegation arrived in Beijing. The Qing court, who had just entered the Central Plains for eight years, received them with excitement. However, the Dutch encountered a problem that all diplomatic envoys in China would encounter at that time, that is, they had to pay three respects and knock nine times when they saw the emperor. In fact, until the end of 18, almost no diplomats from European countries were willing to accept such harsh heaven rules. However, the Dutch agreed without hesitation.
1In September, 688, a huge fleet set sail from Amsterdam Port. These ships carried William III, the supreme consul of the Netherlands, and 20,000 Dutch soldiers. The British Parliament invited William III to protect the "religious freedom and property" of British nationals.
/kloc-At the end of 0/7th century, the development of the Netherlands slowed down and gradually lost its hegemony over the world. No matter in time or space, William III's departure from Holland to England has become a very symbolic change on the world center stage.