Dutch Masters of the Golden Age Painting
The New Dutch Republic The Netherlands became a Spanish possession beginning in 1556 when its crown passed to the foreign king Philip II of Spain. William the Silent (24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584) was the Father of the Dutch Republic. He was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt which saw The Netherlands emerge as a state during the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), declaring their independence from the Spanish Empire in 1581. The new Dutch Republic was proclaimed in 1588. The Dutch Republic achieved world power in the 17th-century and became a leading power in European trade, science, and art. The Dutch East India Company (United East India Company), was a megacorporation which prospered through most of the 17th-century as part of the powerful Dutch, commercial empire in the East Indies (present-day Indonesia). It was dissolved in 1799. Capitalism was the economic and political system which caused trade to expand, attracted immigrants and stimulated the growth of the main cities...