| Early
in the 1500s the Netherlands, of which Holland is
a part, Belgium and Luxembourg being the other parts,
was ruled by Spain. From 1568 the House of Orange,
one of the powerful families in the country, led
a revolt and by 1581 Holland was free from the rule
of Spain and had become a republic. The House of
Orange became the stadholder, chief magistrates
who ruled. It would take some years before Belgium
and Luxembourg would be free of Spain.
Most
of the people who lived in Holland were Protestants
who did not want to be ruled by Catholics.
Holland,
like England, was a maritime country relying heavily
on their ships for trade. During the late 1500s
sailors ventured to the East Indies and discovered
the wealth of the Spice Islands. This led to Holland
becoming a lead in world trade. By the mid 1600s
Holland, with its new empire, had gone to the
forefront of European trade, art and science.
Maurits
was Prince of Orange and Stadholder of Holland.
He never married. During his reign the VOC (Dutch
East India Company) was founded. The VOC was based
in Amsterdam, an unimportant city at that time.
The Dutch were renowned in England for their cruelty
in the Spice Islands. It was the Amboyna Massacre
of 1623, which shocked those in Britain, including
James I, but it was Oliver
Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, that
finally got the better of the Dutch and reclaimed
the Company's territory, Pulo Run, in the Spice
Islands.
|
