United+Provinces

Note: The United Provinces were originally part of Spain, but the eleven provinces rebelled against Philip II, the king of Spain at the time. Four of the provinces fell back under Spanish control, but seven remained independent. This independence was asserted after the Thirty Year’s War in the Treaty of Westphalia. The area is now the Netherlands.

In the United Provinces there was less social inequality because of the dominance by merchants. It was more religiously tolerant and artistic than other places.

When William III of Orange took the throne of England he seemed to be moving toward an absolute control of the United Provinces, but their merchants and provincial leaders in the Estates General soon took back their power. William originally wanted to continue his war with France (1672-1678) into France and reinforce his authority after France attacked in 1672, but the Estates General, led by Holland, ended the war.

When William was later offered the throne it was only with the Estates General’s approval that he was able to do so. He had to keep the representative assemblies of the two countries separate, but as the English economy rose, the United Provinces' failed. Though they continued to remain wealthy, they were never as powerful again. William died without an heir and Antonius Heinsius, his good friend, continued his policies. He held the position of grand pensionary of Holland that Jan de Witt had once held, but unlike de Witt, Heinsius was ruled almost completely by the Estates General.

The Dutch area had originally been one of the most financial successful in Europe, but England was quickly overtaking it. The wars they had engaged in was a crippling burden because of the troops they had to maintain.

The aristocracy was different from many in Europe. Instead of the ‘old money’ of ancient families and bureaucratic dynasties, they had the ‘new money’ of merchants and mayors. Prominent citizens of leading cities were a major part of the Dutch upper class. Because of this there was less distinction between the hard-working financers and traders of the upper class and lower class peasants. Thus the problem of the privileges of the nobility was less prominent here. The United Provinces had no glamorized court and though the government was ruled by a small elite, they ruled more for economic ends and differently.