The early Dutch Golden Age spans the period 1590-1648 (the Year of Independence from Spain), a period of unprecedented innovation and prosperity. This successful development has for a large part been attributed to trade via the Atlantic Ocean and the emergence of political institutions that provided secure property rights to broader segments of society.
The Dutch Golden Age benefited from an influx of immigrants to the cities. By 1600 more than 10 percent of the Dutch population were Protestants from the southern Netherlands who had moved for religious and economic reasons.
It boasts of cultural geniuses such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, philosophers such as Spinoza, scientists such as Van Leeuwenhoek, a booming economy, and successful trade organizations such as the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Golden Age has also drawn the attention of scholars outside the Dutch academic world.
The Dutch Golden Age has been internationally admired and acclaimed for its impressive economic performance and its role in developing a world-economy.
The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade, science, and art. Followed by a marked slackening, and after 1672 (the Year of Disaster, with the French-English invasion) stagnation.
The Dutch Golden Age
