• differing visions of empire • England, Netherlands, France o Empires of liberty o The liberty of the empire expands with the empire o Every person had some form of equal footing o This empires would actually bring liberty o Different approach to indigenous people, more tolerant toward them o They are now more focused in commerce rather than territory or precious metals o Now it is about controlling the seas, commercial lines o They see themselves as a new kind of empire o Avoided conquest unless absolutely necessary • CAPITALISM is the new empire building term • A shift from north to south o The centers of Europeans move to the Netherlands, Britain and France o Technological developments by the Dutch, the culture and religions and the financial decline of Spain and Portugal o The Europeans power have moved north to Britain, France and Netherlands Case Study: The Dutch • The low countries • Emergence of the Dutch Republic o Eighty Years War (1568 – 1648) o The spread of Calvinism changes the religion majority in this area o Philip II was a catholic and does not like this o They finally declare their independence in 1561 but not officially until 1648 o The Spanish spends too much money in the war leading to the eventually demise of the Spanish empire • Constitutionalism o Regents controlled the internal affairs of the government o Estates Generals o Stadholder (House of Orange) No political power other than that granted by the Estates Generals Almost always selected from the House of Orange o Netherlands were different because they were a republic and have a constitution o They are also very tolerant of other people and thousands of people flee to the Netherlands for a better life Anglo-Dutch rivalry • The Dutch become Britain’s main rival • First Navigation Act (1651) o If you were involved in shipping goods for the English you had to have an English ship, with English people. • Mercantilism o Related to capitalism o Wealth accumulation is a zero sum game If I don’t have that wealth then somebody else has it Countries compete for that wealth Governments help for that goal such as state sanctioned monopolies like the East India Trading Company o Countries were highly involved in the economic proceeds of the country • Anglo-Dutch wars (1652-54, 1665-67, 1672-74) The Dutch seaborne empire • The Dutch golden age • Exchange bank (1609) • Amsterdam Bourse (1611) o “stock exchange” o they would bet on pretty much everything o Tulip Mania (1636-37) • Financial services • The Dutch dominated commerce with their shipping, cheap loans, and shipping insurances • Dutch East India Company (1602) o Like the English counterpart it was given government monopolies in certain regions o Allowed to have an army and print their own money • New Mercantile Elite o The most prosperous and highly educated o Almost everybody could read in Netherlands o They printed books that other countries banned o High levels of urbanization. High concentration of people o Among the first to have a mass market for artwork Not sold to elites, but to middle class merchants The Birth of Consumer Society • Consumption, the use of goods and wants and desires • The growth of international trade grows consumerism • Sugar becomes a commodity, calicos (a textile), tobacco (English) • The French quadruple their outputs • Chocolate, tea, coffee become a necessity • Coffee houses become a place to change information and political thinking 17/07/2007 07:30:00 17/07/2007 07:30:00