The Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch Golden Age

After England's defeat in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654), the Netherlands gained England's ports in India, Dutch East India, Australia, South America, and the Caribbean. This included the spice trade. With the spice and slave trade in full swing, countries that wanted spices, and sugar needed to buy it from the Dutch. With this victory, full control over the trades, and millions of dollars of money pouring into Dutch banks, the Netherlands experienced a full on Golden Age which drastically improved lives for many Dutch people. Art, literature, and science became heavily introduced. But how did this all happen?

Painting from the Dutch Golden Age.

The Dutch Revolt (1568 -- 1648)

Revolutionists in the seven provinces of the Low Countries were tired of their catholic Spanish rulers. Most people in the provinces were Protestant, but King Phillip II had demanded them be Catholics. After protests, the protestants launched the Dutch Revolt, named after the most determined fighters, the Dutch, led by William I, Prince of Orange. In 1572, King Phillip II successfully crushed the rebellion, however the rebels capture Brielle, causing the rebellion to re-surge and go out of control. In 1581, the northern provinces declared their independence from Spain. They declared the Republic of the United Netherlands and declare William I, Prince of Orange as their ruler. In 1582, the Dutch invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them. After a failed attack on Antwerp, one year later, the duke left the Netherlands. In 1584, Prince William was assassinated, and England and France declined their request for recognition. So, led by their new ruler, Maurice, son of William I, attacked Antwerp yet again. The Dutch captured the city, and went on toward Brussels and Luxembourg. Francis, Duke of Anjou returned to the Netherlands in 1586, and commanded their troops towards the Calais region. The Dutch captured the city, and soon, the French and English recognized the new Dutch nation in 1590. Spain finally recognized the republic in 1648.

Colonization

In the 1600s, Dutch explores with Cornelius Jacobsen May explored Delaware Bay. In 1614, they land in the New World, at present day New York City. They set up a settlement named New Amsterdam. They decide to move north, and reach present day Albany. They name the colony New Netherland, and they make Cornelius Jacobsen May as their first director. This marked a colonization age for the Netherlands, as they would flourish through their colonies in the Caribbean, South America, India, the Dutch East Indies, Africa, and the Far East. In 1816, the Dutch East Indies were created as a full on colony. Sugar was grown in the Caribbean, and from 1500-1850, the Dutch sold slaves from Africa, to their colonies. Slaves would be continued to be sold until 1807, were selling of slaves was illegal. In 1863, the last slaves were set free in Dutch colonies. In the Indian ocean, the spice trade was in full swing, and the Dutch gained vast swaths of the trade. The Dutch economy boosted, and the percent for a golden age were rapidly increasing.

File:Map of new netherlandjpg.jpg

Map of the colony New Netherland, soon to be Dutch America.

The Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652 -- 1689)

In 1652, after disputed about trade routes, the Commonwealth of England declared war to the Dutch Republic. The war began when English ships began firing on Dutch merchant ships. By the middle of the 17th century, the Netherlands had the biggest merchant fleet in Europe. After initial English success, they were unable to win the Battle of Scheveningen, that they were able to win in OTL. This victory gave the Dutch initial success, enough to win the war. The Battle of Scheveningen is known as the last battle of the war, as this battle turned the war. The war ended with the Treaty of Westminster.

• Article I: England must cede it's colonies in the New Wold, Caribbean, South America, India, the Far East, and the western half of Australia to the Netherlands.
• Article II: England must give 1/4 of its fleet to the Netherlands.
• Article III: England must pay war reparations to the Netherlands.

After England's defeat in the First Anglo-Dutch War, the Netherlands gained England's ports in India, Dutch East India, Australia, South America, and the Caribbean. This included the spice trade. With the spice and slave trade in full swing, countries that wanted spices, and sugar needed to buy it from the Dutch. With this victory, full control over the trades, and millions of dollars of money pouring into Dutch banks, the Netherlands experienced a full on Golden Age which drastically improved lives for the Dutch. s for many Dutch people. Art, literature, and science became heavily introduced. The Golden Age is born!

The Second Anglo-Dutch War, started as England prepared to conquer the territories it had lost in the First Anglo-Dutch war. After the Restoration, Charles II tried to make diplomatic ties with his nephew,  Prince William III of Orange, and it failed. England invaded New Netherland and the Dutch American Colonies from its last big colony, Canada. After the capture of New Rotterdam (Boston) England captured and destroyed much part of the Dutch Navy, hurting its economy, however the Golden Age remained. The English were winning the war, but that all changed after the Raid on the Medway, a large scale attack on the English fleet. The war ended with Dutch victory and the Treaty of Breda.

• Article I: England must cede New Zealand and their colonies in the Indian Ocean and Polynesia to the Netherlands
• Article II: England must reduce it's fleet smaller than the Dutch fleet.
• Article III: English troops must cede Canada to France.
• Article IV: England must pay war reparations to the Netherlands.

The Third Anglo-Dutch War was part of a greater war, the Franco-Dutch War. The war started in 1672 with a surprise invasion of the Netherlands by French, English, and German forces. The coalition took most of the country, and the Golden Age reached an all-time low. (Also known as het Rampjaar, The Disaster Year.)

France was going to attack the Netherlands, but needed support from England. England, without a strong naval fleet, was threatened by the Dutch fleet, now the largest in the world. England accepted it. Sweden joined in, threatening Brandenburg-Prussia if the states joined. France mobilized 180,000 troops, and sent them towards the Dutch Border. They invaded, quickly taking Calais and present-day Belgium. The headed for the Rhine after that. They went around by invading the duchy of Cleves, then entering into the Netherlands's heartland. In the summer campaign of 1673, the French besieged Maastricht.The French took the city, and they pushed their way to Amsterdam. The

By Fall of 1673, France and her allies took much of the Netherlands.

French pushed for the city, but the Dutch resisted and pushed back.The Dutch naval fleet gave the weak English one a beating. With England at a weak state, the Dutch crossed the channel and invaded England in the winter of 1673. Meanwhile, in the new world, Dutch forces invaded French Canada and captured the cities of Acadia and Montreal. They were on their way to Quebec by the spring of 1674. Turenne in the spring of 1674 tried to conquer Phillpsburg, but was pushed to the western Rhine. That same spring, Dutch forces arrived in England by the thousands, and went on to capture London. With strong English positions, the Dutch went up into Cambridge, to surrounded the resisting English army. London fell in the summer of 1674, along with the whole of England in the fall of 1674. The Dutch eventually pushed the French back, and after several years of bloody fighting with the Dutch, Spanish, Germans, and more, the French and their allies called for peace. The war ended in Dutch victory yet again,and the Peace of Nijmegen.

• Article I: The whole of England and it's colonies shall be ceded to the Netherlands.
• Article II: The present day provinces of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island shall be ceded from France to the Netherlands. The territory shall join the colony of Dutch America.
• Article III: France shall cede it's colonies in India, Polynesia, the Caribbean and Africa to the Netherlands.
• Article III: France shall cede the southern half of the Louisiana territory to Spain.
• Article IV: Spain shall cede Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic to the Netherlands, as they already gaining southern Louisiana.
• Article V: France and her allies must cede 1/4 of their naval fleet to the Netherlands.
• Article VI: France and her allies shall pay war reparations.

So, the Golden Age reaches a peak height in the Netherlands, as they are now the richest country in the world, with the largest naval fleet and the most successful colonies. Morale in the Netherlands also make a peak height.

The Fall of the Golden Age

Empires rise and fall. That's what happens to the mighty ages and empires that flourished and fell thousands of years ago. The Fall of the Golden Age started with the abolition of slavery. With sugar not producing fast enough, the sugar industry took a deep hit. With the spice trade falling, and the colonies rebelling, the need for such an empire had declined. The economy of the Netherlands had crashed, with the need of all these colonies for no reason. The fur business was the only thing that kept the Netherlands from falling out of their golden age, until the French and Indian War. With the Netherlands weak, France swiftly attacked Dutch America, and took back present-day Canada land. In 1776, the United States of America fought a independence war against the Netherlands. The Dutch fleet had taken a beating from French ships, and soon, India and the Dutch East Indies were whats left of the Dutch colonial empire. Even with Napoleon defeated, in 1815, the Dutch economy plunged into bankruptcy. The Golden Age ended. With World War 2, the Netherlands was occupied by France, and Nazi Germany. Nationalist China wins the Chinese Civil War, and occupies the Dutch East Indies and India. The USA, Scotland, Japan, the Soviet Union, and Turkey were the only allied powers not fully occupied. The Allies win WW2, and the Dutch East Indies declare independence. India is set free. Soon, in 1991, even the Netherlands brakes up. In order, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Calais declare their independence from the Netherlands. To this day, the Dutch fleet is still the strongest in the world, and Dutch presence is appeared on every continent. In all, the Golden Age lasted from 1654-1815.

What's Different?

• No EU.
• Dutch is now the official language of the USA, Eastern Canada (provinces of Quebec,New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador), Calais, Belgium, Luxembourg, India, Australia, New Zealand, and England.
• France is divided into city-states (Paris, Toulouse, Dijon, Marseilles, Normandy, Brittany, Calais, Tours, Orleans.)
• Dutch is now the most spoken language in the world (even beat Chinese in this timeline!)
• Japan remains imperialist.
• Communism never prevails in China and Korea.