Batavi (Germanic tribe)
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is applied to several military units employed by the Romans that were raised among the Batavi; the tribal name a derivation from batawjō, refers to the region's fertility, today known as the fruitbasket of the Netherlands. Finds of wooden tablets show; the Batavi themselves are not mentioned by Julius Caesar in his commentary Commentarii de Bello Gallico, although he is thought to have founded his dynasty's Germanic bodyguard, at least in generations dominated by Batavi. But he did mention the "Batavian island" in the Rhine river; the island's easternmost point is at a split in the Rhine, one arm being the Waal the other the Lower Rhine/Old Rhine. Much Tacitus wrote that they had been a tribe of the Chatti, a tribe in Germany never mentioned by Caesar, who were forced by internal dissension to move to their new home.
The time when this happened is unknown, but Caesar does describe forced movements of tribes from the east in his time, such as the Usipetes and Tencteri. Tacitus reports that before their arrival the area had been "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the ocean in front, by the river Rhine in the rear and on either side"; this view, however, is contradicted by the archeological evidence, which shows continuous habitation from at least the third century BC onward. The strategic position, to wit the high bank of the Waal offering an unimpeded view far into Germania Transrhenana, was recognized first by Drusus, who built a massive fortress and a headquarters in imperial style; the latter was in use until the Batavian revolt. Archeological evidence suggests they lived in small villages, composed of six to 12 houses in the fertile lands between the rivers, lived by agriculture and cattle-raising. Finds of horse skeletons in graves suggest a strong equestrian preoccupation.
On the south bank of the Waal a Roman administrative center was built, called Oppidum Batavorum. An Oppidum was a fortified warehouse, where a tribe's treasures were guarded; this centre was razed during the Batavian Revolt. The first Batavi commander we know of is named Chariovalda, who led a charge across the Vīsurgis river against the Cherusci led by Arminius during the campaigns of Germanicus in Germania Transrhenana. Tacitus described the Batavi as the bravest of the tribes of the area, hardened in the Germanic wars, with cohorts under their own commanders transferred to Britannia, they retained the honour of the ancient association with the Romans, not required to pay tribute or taxes and used by the Romans only for war: "They furnished to the Empire nothing but men and arms", Tacitus remarked. Well regarded for their skills in horsemanship and swimming—for men and horses could cross the Rhine without losing formation, according to Tacitus. Dio Cassius describes this surprise tactic employed by Aulus Plautius against the "barbarians"—the British Celts— at the battle of the River Medway, 43: The barbarians thought that Romans would not be able to cross it without a bridge, bivouacked in rather careless fashion on the opposite bank.
Thence the Britons retired to the river Thames at a point near where it empties into the ocean and at flood-tide forms a lake. This they crossed because they knew where the firm ground and the easy passages in this region were to be found. However, the Germans swam across again and some others got over by a bridge a little way up-stream, after which they assailed the barbarians from several sides at once and cut down many of them, it is uncertain. The late 4th century writer on Roman military affairs Vegetius mentions soldiers using reed rafts, drawn by leather leads, to transport equipment across rivers, but the sources suggest the Batavi were able to swim across rivers wearing full armour and weapons. This would only have been possible by the use of some kind of buoyancy device: Ammianus Marcellinus mentions that the Cornuti regiment swam across a river floating on their shields "as on a canoe". Since the shields were wooden, they may have provided sufficient buoyancy The Batavi were used to form the bulk of the Emperor's personal Germanic bodyguard from Augustus to Galba.
They provided a contingent for their indirect successors, the Emperor's horse guards, the Equites singulares Augusti. A Batavian contingent was used in an amphibious assault on Ynys Mon, taking the assembled Druids by surprise, as they were only expecting Roman ships. Numerous altars and tombstones of the cohorts of Batavi, dating to the 2nd century and 3rd century, have been found along Hadrian's Wall, notably at Castlecary and Carrawburgh, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. Despite the alliance, one of the high-ranking Batavi, Julius Paullus, to give him his Roman name, was executed by Fonteius Capito on a false charge of rebellion, his kinsman Gaius Julius Civilis was paraded in chain
Frisian freedom
Friese freedom or freedom of the Frisians was the absence of feudalism and serfdom in Frisia, the area, inhabited by the Frisians. Historical Frisia included the modern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, the area of West Friesland, in the Netherlands, East Friesland in Germany. During the period of Frisian freedom the area did not have a sovereign lord who owned and administered the land; the freedom of the Frisians developed in the context of ongoing disputes over the rights of local nobility. When, around 800, the Scandinavian Vikings first attacked Frisia, still under Carolingian rule, the Frisians were released from military service on foreign territory in order to be able to defend themselves against the heathen Vikings. With their victory in the Battle of Norditi in 884 they were able to drive the Vikings permanently out of East Frisia, although it remained under constant threat. Over the centuries, whilst feudal lords reigned in the rest of Europe, no aristocratic structures emerged in Frisia.
This'freedom' was represented abroad by redjeven who were elected from among the wealthier farmers or from elected representatives of the autonomous rural municipalities. The redjeven were all judges, so-called Asega, who were appointed by the territorial lords; the killing of Arnulf, Count of Holland in 993 is the first sign of the Frisian freedom. This Frisian count was killed in a rebel attempt to compel obedience from his subjects; the murder of another Count Henri de Gras in 1101 is regarded as the de facto beginning of the Frisian freedom. This freedom was recognized by the Holy Roman Emperor William II on November 3, 1248, he did this after the Frisians aided in the siege of the city of Aachen. Emperor Louis IV repealed these rights and granted Friesland to the Count of Holland. In 1417 the status of the Frisians was reaffirmed by Emperor Sigismund. An alternative interpretation of the origins of the freedom states that it was granted in the Karelsprivilege by Charlemagne to Magnus Forteman, as a reward for the conquest of Rome.
Various sources have reported the existence of the Magnuskerren. The original has been lost, although according to some it was inscribed on a wall of a church, which could be either at Almenum, Ferwâld or Aldeboarn. In 1319, more than five hundred years after the death of Charlemagne, a copy was entered in the register of William III of Holland; some historians consider the Karelsprivilege an invention from subsequent times and believe that all copies that have been found are forgeries. Regardless of the origins of the Frisian freedom, from the tenth century to the beginning of the sixteenth century Frisia went through a unique period of development entirely lacking the feudal structure introduced by Charlemagne; the absence of a manorial authority meant. It lacked any central legal or judicial system. In order to provide a systematic legal system, local leaders attempted to agree and apply rules to the entire region of Frisia. Legal and political delegates from various regions came to meetings at the Opstalboom in Aurich.
Those meetings were held in Groningen. In addition to the arrangements of the Opstalboom an attempt was tried to resort to the old law as it was recorded in the 17 and 24 Landrechten Keuren Lex Frisionum. After a uniform legal system had been agreed on, the region's lack of central administration meant that there was no way to clarify the content of the law, the enforcement of the law was left up to individual communities. Friesland had no Ridderschap. In Friesland, the feudal idea of nobility, which gave the right of control in the country, was deemed incompatible with the "Frisian freedom"; the region had no forced labour. Some "nobles" still had a major influence in the region due to their great land ownership; the right to vote in local matters was based on the ownership of land, in which a person owning one unit of land received the right to have one vote. This meant. Voting men used their influence to choose a mayor from one of the thirty municipalities, who in turn represented all of Friesland.
Each city had eleven votes. The conflicts between the Schieringers and Vetkopers contributed in a significant way to the end of the Frisian Freedom; the absence of an effective authority contributed to the emergence of disputes. The arguments made it attractive for outsiders to interfere in their dealing with Friesland, sometimes with an appeal to old rights. At the same time triggered by the lawlessness which resulted from this battle, was the call for a lord. At the time in Friesland the Schieringer Potestaat Juw Dekama called upon the help of Albert, Duke of Saxony; this period is described by Petrus Thaborita. The Frisian freedom disappeared in the other Frisian areas at different times. In West Friesland the freedom ended earlier with the conquest by the counts of Holland. In the Frisian region in Groningen, the power vacuum in the course of the 14th and 15th centuries was filled by the city of Groningen; the city agreed various treaties with its environs, for the establishment of a court which had jurisdiction to rule and to take appeals.
By the power of the city it was able to fulfill these statements to monitor. The city was presented as a Frisian town, as a champion of the Frisian Freedom. After seeing the power of Albert of Saxony in Friesland, the city was forced to seek aid from a foreign noble. After a short period in which Charles, Duke of Guelders was adopted as Lord, Charles V annexed the city and its region to his empire. Charles appealed to the old rights of the bisho
Research
Research comprises "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans and society, the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. A research project may be an expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a topic, or in the example of a school research project, they can be used to further a student's research prowess to prepare them for future jobs or reports. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a whole; the primary purposes of basic research are documentation, interpretation, or the research and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Approaches to research depend on epistemologies, which vary both within and between humanities and sciences.
There are several forms of research: scientific, artistic, social, marketing, practitioner research, technological, etc. The word research is derived from the Middle French "recherche", which means "to go about seeking", the term itself being derived from the Old French term "recerchier" a compound word from "re-" + "cerchier", or "sercher", meaning'search'; the earliest recorded use of the term was in 1577. Research has been defined in a number of different ways, while there are similarities, there does not appear to be a single, all-encompassing definition, embraced by all who engage in it. One definition of research is used by the OECD, "Any creative systematic activity undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man and society, the use of this knowledge to devise new applications."Another definition of research is given by John W. Creswell, who states that "research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue".
It consists of three steps: pose a question, collect data to answer the question, present an answer to the question. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research in more detail as "studious inquiry or examination; this material is of a primary source character. The purpose of the original research is to produce new knowledge, rather than to present the existing knowledge in a new form. Original research can take a number of forms, depending on the discipline. In experimental work, it involves direct or indirect observation of the researched subject, e.g. in the laboratory or in the field, documents the methodology and conclusions of an experiment or set of experiments, or offers a novel interpretation of previous results. In analytical work, there are some new mathematical results produced, or a new way of approaching an existing problem. In some subjects which do not carry out experimentation or analysis of this kind, the originality is in the particular way existing understanding is changed or re-interpreted based on the outcome of the work of the researcher.
The degree of originality of the research is among major criteria for articles to be published in academic journals and established by means of peer review. Graduate students are required to perform original research as part of a dissertation. Scientific research is a systematic way of harnessing curiosity; this research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific research is funded by public authorities, by charitable organizations and by private groups, including many companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different classifications according to their academic and application disciplines. Scientific research is a used criterion for judging the standing of an academic institution, but some argue that such is an inaccurate assessment of the institution, because the quality of research does not tell about the quality of teaching. Research in the humanities involves different methods such as for example hermeneutics and semiotics.
Humanities scholars do not search for the ultimate correct answer to a question, but instead, explore the issues and details that surround it. Context is always important, context can be social, political, cultural, or ethnic. An example of research in the humanities is historical research, embodied in historical method. Historians use primary sources and other evidence to systematically investigate a topic, to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. Other studies aim to examine the occurrence of behaviours in societies and communities, without looking for reasons or motivations to explain these; these studies may be qualitative or quantitative, can use a variety of approaches, such as queer theory or feminist theory. Artistic research seen as'practice-based research', can take form when creative works are considered both the research and the object of research itself, it is the debatable body of thought which offers an alternative t
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The earliest roots of science can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3500 to 3000 BCE, their contributions to mathematics and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to explain events of the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries of the Middle Ages but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age; the recovery and assimilation of Greek works and Islamic inquiries into Western Europe from the 10th to 13th century revived natural philosophy, transformed by the Scientific Revolution that began in the 16th century as new ideas and discoveries departed from previous Greek conceptions and traditions. The scientific method soon played a greater role in knowledge creation and it was not until the 19th century that many of the institutional and professional features of science began to take shape.
Modern science is divided into three major branches that consist of the natural sciences, which study nature in the broadest sense. There is disagreement, however, on whether the formal sciences constitute a science as they do not rely on empirical evidence. Disciplines that use existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine, are described as applied sciences. Science is based on research, conducted in academic and research institutions as well as in government agencies and companies; the practical impact of scientific research has led to the emergence of science policies that seek to influence the scientific enterprise by prioritizing the development of commercial products, health care, environmental protection. Science in a broad sense existed in many historical civilizations. Modern science is distinct in its approach and successful in its results, so it now defines what science is in the strictest sense of the term. Science in its original sense was a word for a type of knowledge, rather than a specialized word for the pursuit of such knowledge.
In particular, it was the type of knowledge which people can communicate to share. For example, knowledge about the working of natural things was gathered long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought; this is shown by the construction of complex calendars, techniques for making poisonous plants edible, public works at national scale, such as those which harnessed the floodplain of the Yangtse with reservoirs and dikes, buildings such as the Pyramids. However, no consistent conscious distinction was made between knowledge of such things, which are true in every community, other types of communal knowledge, such as mythologies and legal systems. Metallurgy was known in prehistory, the Vinča culture was the earliest known producer of bronze-like alloys, it is thought that early experimentation with heating and mixing of substances over time developed into alchemy. Neither the words nor the concepts "science" and "nature" were part of the conceptual landscape in the ancient near east.
The ancient Mesopotamians used knowledge about the properties of various natural chemicals for manufacturing pottery, glass, metals, lime plaster, waterproofing. The Mesopotamians had intense interest in medicine and the earliest medical prescriptions appear in Sumerian during the Third Dynasty of Ur. Nonetheless, the Mesopotamians seem to have had little interest in gathering information about the natural world for the mere sake of gathering information and only studied scientific subjects which had obvious practical applications or immediate relevance to their religious system. In the classical world, there is no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, well-educated upper-class, universally male individuals performed various investigations into nature whenever they could afford the time. Before the invention or discovery of the concept of "nature" by the Pre-Socratic philosophers, the same words tend to be used to describe the natural "way" in which a plant grows, the "way" in which, for example, one tribe worships a particular god.
For this reason, it is claimed these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense, the first people to distinguish "nature" and "convention." Natural philosophy, the precursor of natural science, was thereby distinguished as the knowledge of nature and things which are true for every community, the name of the specialized pursuit of such knowledge was philosophy – the realm of the first philosopher-physicists. They were speculators or theorists interested in astronomy. In contrast, trying to use knowledge of nature to imitate nature was seen by classical scientists as a more appropriate interest for lower class artisans; the early Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, founded by Thales of Miletus and continued by his successors A
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards the Counts of Flanders were one of the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries their estates around the cities of Ghent and Ypres formed one of the most affluent regions in Europe. Up to 1477, the area under French suzerainty was located west of the Scheldt River and was called "Royal Flanders". Aside from this the Counts of Flanders from the 11th century on held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, an area called "Imperial Flanders". Part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, the county was removed from French to Imperial control after the Peace of Madrid in 1526 and the Peace of Ladies in 1529. In 1795 the remaining territory within the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated by the French First Republic and passed to the newly established United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815; the former County of Flanders, except for French Flanders, is the only part of the medieval French kingdom, not part of modern-day France.
Flanders and Flemish are derived from the Frisian *flāndra and *flāmisk, the roots of which are Germanic *flaumaz meaning "overflow, flooding". The coastal area of Flanders was flooded twice per day from the 3rd century to the 8th century by the North Sea at the time when the coast was visited by Frisian traders and largely inhabited by Frisians; the Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of the Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725; this work mentions the "Flanderenses", who lived in "Flandris." The geography of the historic County of Flanders only overlaps with present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, though there it extends beyond West Flanders and East Flanders. Some of the historic county is now part of France and the Netherlands; the land covered by the county is spread out over: Belgium: two of the five Flemish provinces: West-Flanders and East-Flanders part of the Flemish province of Antwerp: the land of Bornem part of the Walloon province of Hainaut: Tournaisis and the region around Moeskroen France: French Flanders the French westcorner: the region around Dunkirk and Bailleul, an area where Flemish used to be the main language Walloon Flanders, where the Picard language related to French, was spoken.
Artois: removed from Flanders in 1191 and created as independent county in 1237 Netherlands: Zeelandic Flanders, a region between Belgium and the Western Scheldt in the southern part of the modern province of Zeeland, which from 1581 formed part of the Generality Lands under control of the Dutch Republic. The arms of the County of Flanders were created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. In the story about the Battle of the Golden Spurs, the arms and its corresponding battlecry Vlaendr'n den leeuw plays a crucial role in the forming of a Flemish consciousness, popularised in recent times by the book De Leeuw van Vlaanderen by Hendrik Conscience; as a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the lion flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he conquered it from a Saracen knight, but this is a myth; the simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, when he had not yet set one step in the Levant, disproves it.
In reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period lions appeared in the arms of Brabant, Holland and other territories, it is curious that the lion as a heraldic symbol was used in border territories and neighbouring countries of the Holy Roman Empire. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, who used an eagle in his personal arms. In Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop; the future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory. During the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, a collective name for all Celtic and Germanic tribes in the north of Gallia. For Flanders in specific these were the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates. Julius Caesar conquered the area around 54 BC and the population was romanised from the 1st to the 3rd century; the Roman road that connected Cologne with Boulogne-sur-Mer was used as a defense perimeter.
In the south the Gallo-Romanic population was able to maintain itself, while the north became a no-mans land that suffered from regular floods from the North Sea. In the coastal and Scheldt areas Saxon tribes appeared. For the Romans, Saxon was a general term, included Angles, Saxons and Erules; the coastal defense around Boulogne and Oudenburg, the Litus Saxonicum, remained functional until about 420. These forts were manned by Saxon soldiers. From their base land Toxandria the Salian Franks further expanded into the Roman empire; the first incursion into the lands of the Atrebates was turned away in 448 at Vicus Helena. But after the murder of the Roman general Flavius Aëtius in 454 and Roman emperor Valentinianus III in 455, the Salic Franks encounterd hardly any resistance. From Duisburg, king Chlodio conquered Cambrai and Tournai, he reached the Somme. After his death two Salic kingdoms
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country located in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian. The six largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Tilburg. Amsterdam is the country's capital, while The Hague holds the seat of the States General and Supreme Court; the Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, the largest in any country outside Asia. The country is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union.
It hosts several intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are centered in The Hague, dubbed'the world's legal capital'. Netherlands means'lower countries' in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with only about 50% of its land exceeding 1 metre above sea level, nearly 17% falling below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 16th century. With a population of 17.30 million people, all living within a total area of 41,500 square kilometres —of which the land area is 33,700 square kilometres —the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture; the Netherlands was the third country in the world to have representative government, it has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848.
The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised abortion and human euthanasia, along with maintaining a progressive drug policy. The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870, allowed women's suffrage in 1917, became the world's first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001, its mixed-market advanced economy had the thirteenth-highest per capita income globally. The Netherlands ranks among the highest in international indexes of press freedom, economic freedom, human development, quality of life, as well as happiness; the Netherlands' turbulent history and shifts of power resulted in exceptionally many and varying names in different languages. There is diversity within languages; this holds for English, where Dutch is the adjective form and the misnomer Holland a synonym for the country "Netherlands". Dutch comes from Theodiscus and in the past centuries, the hub of Dutch culture is found in its most populous region, home to the capital city of Amsterdam.
Referring to the Netherlands as Holland in the English language is similar to calling the United Kingdom "Britain" by people outside the UK. The term is so pervasive among potential investors and tourists, that the Dutch government's international websites for tourism and trade are "holland.com" and "hollandtradeandinvest.com". The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces a single province, earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom. Following the decline of the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Flanders, Holland became the most economically and politically important county in the Low Countries region; the emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic, the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, made Holland serve as a pars pro toto for the entire country, now considered either incorrect, informal, or, depending on context, opprobrious. Nonetheless, Holland is used in reference to the Netherlands national football team.
The region called the Low Countries and the Country of the Netherlands. Place names with Neder, Nieder and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in places all over Europe, they are sometimes used in a deictic relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Oben, Superior or Haut. In the case of the Low Countries / Netherlands the geographical location of the lower region has been more or less downstream and near the sea; the geographical location of the upper region, changed tremendously over time, depending on the location of the economic and military power governing the Low Countries area. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior and upstream Germania Superior; the designation'Low' to refer to the region returns again in the 10th century Duchy of Lower Lorraine, that covered much of the Low Countries. But this time the corresponding Upper region is Upper Lorraine, in nowadays Northern France; the Dukes of Burgundy, who ruled the Low Countries in the 15th century, used the term les pays de par deçà for the Low Countries as opposed to les pays de par delà for their original
Dutch Golden Age
The Dutch Golden Age was a period in the history of the Netherlands spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first section is characterized by the Eighty Years' War, which ended in 1648; the Golden Age continued in peacetime during the Dutch Republic until the end of the century. The transition by the Netherlands to the foremost maritime and economic power in the world has been called the "Dutch Miracle" by historian K. W. Swart. In 1568, the Seven Provinces that signed the Union of Utrecht started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain that led to the Eighty Years' War. Before the Low Countries could be reconquered, a war between England and Spain, the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, broke out, forcing Spanish troops to halt their advances and leaving them in control of the important trading cities of Bruges and Ghent, but without control of Antwerp, arguably the most important port in the world. Antwerp fell on 17 August 1585, after a siege, the division between the Northern and Southern Netherlands was established.
The United Provinces fought on until the Twelve Years' Truce. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Eighty Years' War between the Dutch Republic and Spain and the Thirty Years' War between other European superpowers, brought the Dutch Republic formal recognition and independence from the Spanish crown. Under the terms of the surrender of Antwerp in 1585, the Protestant population were given four years to settle their affairs before leaving the city and Habsburg territory. Similar arrangements were made in other places. Protestants were well-represented among the skilled craftsmen and rich merchants of the port cities of Bruges and Antwerp. More moved to the north between 1585 and 1630 than Catholics moved in the other direction, although there were many of these. Many of those moving north settled in Amsterdam, transforming what was a small port into one of the most important ports and commercial centres in the world by 1630. In addition to the mass migration of Protestant natives from the southern Netherlands to the northern Netherlands, there were influxes of non-native refugees who had fled from religious persecution Sephardi Jews from Portugal and Spain, Protestants from France.
The Pilgrim Fathers spent time there before their voyage to the New World. Economists Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O'Rourke attribute part of the Dutch ascendancy to its Protestant work ethic based on Calvinism, which promoted thrift and education; this contributed to "the highest literacy rates in Europe. The abundance of capital made it possible to maintain an impressive stock of wealth, embodied not only in the large fleet but in the plentiful stocks of an array of commodities that were used to stabilize prices and take advantage of profit opportunities." Several other factors contributed to the flowering of trade, the arts and the sciences in the Netherlands during this time. A necessary condition was a supply of cheap energy from windmills and from peat transported by canal to the cities; the invention of the windpowered sawmill enabled the construction of a massive fleet of ships for worldwide trading and for military defense of the republic's economic interests. In the 17th century the Dutch — traditionally able seafarers and keen mapmakers — began to trade with the Far East, as the century wore on, they gained an dominant position in world trade, a position occupied by the Portuguese and Spanish.
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was founded. It was the first-ever multinational corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern stock exchange; the Company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade, which it would keep for two centuries, it became the world's largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits due to the efforts and risks involved and insatiable demand; this is remembered to this day in the Dutch word peperduur, meaning something is expensive, reflecting the prices of spices at the time. To finance the growing trade within the region, the Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1609, the precursor to, if not the first true central bank. Although the trade with the Far East was the more famous of the VOC's exploits, the main source of wealth for the Republic was in fact its trade with the Baltic states and Poland. Called the "Mothertrade", the Dutch imported enormous amounts of bulk resources like grain and wood, stockpiling them in Amsterdam so Holland would never lack for basic goods, as well as being able sell them on for profit.
This meant that unlike their main rivals the Republic wouldn't face the dire repercussions of a bad harvest and the starvation it accompanied, instead profiting when this happened in other states. In time the Dutch traders gained such a dominant position in Poland and the Baltic they all but turned into de facto satellite states. According to Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O'Rourke, geography favored the Dutch Republic, contributing to its wealth, they write, "The foundations were laid by taking advantage of location, midway between the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic. Seville and Lisbon and the Baltic ports were too far apart for direct trade
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