1. The Golden Age and the Dutch Republic

2. Dutch Independence Dutch independence from Spain in 1648 after a long war which lasted on and off beginning in 1566. The United Provinces were created out of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1579 in order to defend against Spanish invasion.

3. Structure of the Dutch State A Republic with representatives from each of the Dutch provinces being represented in the States General. oligarchy of wealthy and powerful families. Dutch citizens enjoyed basic rights. Provincial Courts worked to defend rights against arbitrary acts of the provinces. The Stadholder came out of the House of Orange.  An influential appointed individual, not a ruler.  Appointed many influential people to the government, and military.

4. Dutch Economy Banking, credit, and warehousing facilities were unmatched throughout Europe. Good credit allowed the United Provinces to raise loans. Agriculture expanded through land reclamation of fertile land from the sea. Increased food supply sustained a larger population.  One of Europe’s most densely populated nations by the 17 th century.  More than half lived in towns.  Amsterdam – Canals, townhouses, infrastructure. Merchants  Baltics - Grain from Poland and Prussia, fish from the North Sea.  Worldwide – Dutch East India Company

5. Tolerance and Prosperity Religious tolerance  Mennonites, Lutherans, Quakers, Jews  Made economic sense Dutch prosperity in the mid 1600s was unmatched anywhere in Europe.  Real wages rose, varied diet (meat, cheese and fish), colonial goods (coffee, tea, cocoa, ginger, etc…)

6. Seventeenth- Century Dutch Culture Dutch painting in the Golden Age reflected commercial wealth and religious tolerance and the prosperity and taste of the middle-class. Picturesque and urban and rural scenes. Rembrandt Jacob van Ruisdael (everyday life) Frans Hals  Families at work or play Jan Steen  Boisterous revelers of different means Still Lifes

7. Rembrandt

8. Jacob van Ruisdael (everyday life)

9. Jan Steen

10. Still Life