Dutch Republic Dbq

During the 1650s the Dutch Republic was a union of 7 provinces with Holland being the strongest. The Dutch Republic had many challenges to their security, unity, and prosperity. The Dutch did not have a strong standing army to protect themselves from foreign invades. Also the Dutch Republic was decentralized and split into 7 provinces, Holland being the most powerful and successful. They were very prospers in the fact that they were in war with the English in the 1650s which made other countries have an opportunity to take them over. The security of the Dutch Republic was very weak. The Dutch was very strong in trade which means they sent out a lot of ships. Stating the fact that the Dutch did not bring aboard any protection from invaders, so that they would have more room for their products. With that the Dutch had many ships seized while on sea and on their ships. A man living in the province of Holland states this “Naturally merchants must have low taxes, peace, and trade as well as protection, and we cannot be turned into soldiers.” This shows that the Dutch was very desperate for soldiers to help fight because they did not have a strong standing army. This statement shows point of view because it is written by a merchant who does not want to go to war but instead live a peaceful and low taxed life. With the Dutch Republics security very low they were prospers for other countries to invade. (Doc. #2,3,5,9,10) The unity of the Dutch was not centralized. Instead Dutch was split into seven provinces. Holland was the main province and the strongest through trade. Once one negative action happened all of the other smaller provinces would turn to Holland for an answer. The Dutch Republics debt significantly rose after the wars. The other provinces were not as strong and as wealthy as Holland. Sir George Downing sates “The province Holland alone must expect to bear the financial burden in a war because the other provinces are poor.” This statement shows that the