Introduction
Pride in their port, defiance in their eye,
I see the lords of humankind pass by.
Oliver Goldsmith (cited in Tracey 1997)
The history of mankind knows many examples of changes which were caused du to the development of the relationships between various countries. Also the flow of international influence was supported by a growth of scientific thought and some significant discoveries as of the geographical picture of the world. The period of time between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries is known to be a colonization time. Many of the Western countries provoked their main forces to achieve a precious share of the world.
The emergence of fleet was the impulse for representatives of different European countries to obtain a huge part of the world and achieve hegemony over merchant fields of activity, so that to provide current policy with personal profits.
Pointing out the idea of world’s limits in the geopolitical coloring the most outstanding empires divided spheres of influence in various ways in order to protect their own interests and maintain political approaches towards mutual interaction without breaking the territorial wholeness of the colonies. “…institutional changes in the international economic order speeded the process in banking, finance, transportation, and communication,” and their source, industrial technology, “made it virtually impossible for any non-Western society to resist Westernization, at least in the field of trade and exchange.” (Tracey 118)
Main Body
The Netherlands was one of the most influential and powerful empires in the world of between, especially, the fourteenth up to the eighteenth centuries. The country was known at that time to be one full of merchants. The population of the country consisted mainly of the layer of traders and sailors supported. It is quite significant to outline that this country was the hugest empire for a long period of time due to the activity of the Dutch West India Company having encompassed the bigger part of the colonies all over the world. The point is that Dutchmen are of that kind of people who always want to earn money in large amounts.
That is why the aim of The Company was not to occupy the territories, but to earn more money by means of exchange and trade. The question remains the same: what were the stimuli and straightforward background for the Dutch expansion in the world?
Looking back at the seventeenth century it is important to realize that this time is characterized by several cases of rebellion wars and revolutions in European countries. “The Dutch Revolution, which garnered de facto independence for the Netherlands from Hapsburg’s Empire in 1609 and de jure sovereignty in 1648, was a critical juncture on the road to world capitalism.” (Boswell 73) Hence, since that moment the country was intended to have economic and financial influence on other European countries being involved in the process of colonization. The main opponents to the Netherlands were England and France.
Mainly in the first half of the seventeenth century, a time when the economic crisis made the rest European countries suffer from its effects, the Netherlands began actively trading with eastern countries and India, in particular. The monopoly which outgrew then into hegemony of the Dutch Company made all close competitors lag behind. Revolutions which are aimed to bring the independence are the core elements of political and economic perspectives within a definite country. A great desire as well as credibility of Dutchmen made the results of the Netherlands’ trade successful. “The Netherlands went on to become the prime mover in the geometric expansion of trade during the first half of the seventeenth century and the first hegemon over capitalist trade.” (Boswell 73)
In the seventeenth century the situation changed due to the historical changes in the main European countries, which impacted on the political system and balance of powers within countries. This epoch was reflected on the formerly powerful country of the Netherlands. The main competitor of Dutch trade policy was England, which being united with France made the Netherlands break down. World order at that period changed from event to event: “No major institutional changes swept the European-centered system until a series of liberal revolutions starting in North America (1776-1783), followed by the Netherlands (1785-1787), and especially France (1789-1792).” (Boswell 74)
Still the Netherlands kept business relations with England in order to support the re-export of tobacco in it. At the late of the eighteenth century the agreements on making a union or providing mutual policies were at stake in terms of stronger positions in the world arena. That is why by means of general efforts of England and the Netherlands they could compete with Portugal and Spain, which were greatly represented in Americas and India, along with West Indies.
Conclusion
Thus, the expansion of the world’s best known European empires was great due to the discoveries of America and India being rich in the goods and soil deposits which were useful for European countries. The Netherlands was the first most powerful and significant hegemon in the sphere of trade and exchange due to the historical events which helped the country to prosper during the crisis of the seventeenth century. Therefore, in the late eighteenth century world order changed in favor of England.
Works cited
Boswell, Terry. The spiral of capitalism and socialism: toward global democracy. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.
Tracy, James D. The political economy of merchant empires. University of Minnesota. Center for Early Modern History. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Tracy, James D. The Rise of merchant empires: long-distance trade in the early modern world, 1350-1750. University of Minnesota. Center for Early Modern History. Cambridge University Press, 1993.