Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands

by Ben Coates

For a while the Dutch fleet was bigger than the English and French fleets combined, and the Netherlands imported more from Asia than did Portugal, France, England, Denmark and Sweden combined. The rapid growth of the Netherlands’ trading links naturally concerned its rivals, including the English. Like the Dutch, the English had arrived late at the empire-building game, for many years only watching with envy as the Portuguese constructed a lucrative global trading network. Under Queen Elizabeth I, however, the English began building a serious naval force. At first the Dutch and English were allies. In 1585, Elizabeth signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the two countries agreeing to unite against Spanish attempts to cement the Catholic dominance of northern Europe. English sea captains such as Francis Drake did a fine trade in capturing Spanish loot. As Dutch sea power grew, however, relations between the Dutch and English became increasingly strained. In the seventeenth century, King Charles I signed a series of treaties that had the effect of gradually switching sides, so the English were aligned with Spain against the Dutch. During and after the English Civil Wars, leaders including Oliver Cromwell continued to invest heavily in building up the English navy, and became increasingly keen to challenge Dutch dominance of the seas. In 1651, the devoutly Calvinist Cromwell even attempted a barely disguised takeover of the Netherlands, se...