Dutch Republic

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Dutch Republic
• 1584–1625
Predecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)
Capital	None (de jure) The Hague (de facto)
Common languages	Dutch, Dutch Low Saxon, West Frisian
Religion	Dutch Reformed (state religion),¹ Catholicism, Judaism, Lutheranism
Demonym	Dutch
Government	Confederal parliamentary republic

• 1625–1647	Frederick

• 1647–1650	William II

• 1672–1702	William III

• 1747–1751	William IV

• 1751–1795	William V

• 1586–1619 (first)	Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

• 1787–1795 (last)	Laurens Pieter van de Spiegel

Legislature	States General

• State Council	Council of State

Historical era	Early modern period

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands,^m also known as the United Provinces, and referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation and great power that existed from 1588 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands and the first independent Dutch nation state. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration), after which they confederated in 1588 (the Instruction of 12 April 1588) after the States General could not agree on a new monarch. The seven provinces it comprised were Groningen (present-day Groningen), Frisia (present-day Friesland), Overijssel (present-day Overijssel), Guelders (present-day Gelderland), Utrecht (present-day Utrecht), Holland (present-day North Holland and South Holland), and Zeeland (present-day Zeeland).

This article is about the Dutch state as it existed from 1588 to 1795. For the idea of a contemporary republic in the Netherlands, see Republicanism in the Netherlands.

History of the Low Countries (schematic) Further information: Lists of rulers in the Low Countries
Frisii		Germanic tribes		Belgae & Celts
Frisii	Cana– nefates^a	Chamavi, Tubantes^b		Gallia Belgica (55 BC–c. 5th century AD) Germania Inferior (83–c. 5th century)
Frisii	Cana– nefates^a	Salian Franks		Batavi^a
unpopulated (4th –c. 5th centuries)		Saxons	Salian Franks^a (4th–c. 5th centuries)
		Saxons

Although the state was small and had only around 1.5 million inhabitants, it controlled a worldwide network of seafaring trade routes. Through its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (GWC), it established a Dutch colonial empire. The income from this trade allowed the Dutch Republic to compete militarily against much larger countries. Major conflicts were fought in the Eighty Years' War against Spain (from the foundation of the Dutch Republic until 1648), the Dutch–Portuguese War (1598–1663), four Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1654, 1665–1667, 1672–1674, and 1780–1784), the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697), the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), the War of Austrian Succession (1744–1748), and the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) against the Kingdom of France.

The republic was more tolerant of different religions and ideas than contemporary states, allowing freedom of thought to its residents. Artists flourished under this regime, including painters such as Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, and many others. So did scientists, such as Hugo Grotius, Christiaan Huygens, and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Dutch trade, science, armed forces, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world during much of the 17th century, a period which became known as the Dutch Golden Age.

The republic was a confederation of provinces, each with a high degree of independence from the federal assembly: the States General. In the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the republic gained approximately 20% more territory, located outside the member provinces, which was ruled directly by the States General as Generality Lands. Each province was led by a stadtholder (Dutch for 'steward'); this office was nominally open to anyone, but most provinces appointed a member of the House of Orange. The position gradually became hereditary, with the Prince of Orange simultaneously holding most or all of the stadtholderships, making him effectively the head of state. This created tension between political factions: the Orangists favoured a powerful stadtholder, while the Republicans favoured a strong States General. The Republicans forced two Stadtholderless Periods, 1650–1672 and 1702–1747, with the latter causing national instability and the end of great power status.

Economic decline led to the 1780–1787 Patriottentijd, a period of political instability.³ This unrest was temporarily suppressed by a Prussian invasion in support of the stadtholder. The French Revolution and subsequent War of the First Coalition reignited these tensions. Following military defeat by France, the stadtholder was expelled in the Batavian Revolution of 1795, ending the Dutch Republic, which was succeeded by the Batavian Republic.

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Dutch Republic

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