Why go
The Republic was a federation of provinces rather than a kingdom. That distinction helps explain the importance of city wealth and provincial government in its history. Amsterdam’s trade and financial institutions supported a period of artistic and scientific achievement, while the East and West India Companies extended Dutch power overseas. The colonial story belongs beside the cultural achievements.
The full story
The seven provinces of the Dutch Republic retained their own governments. Their representatives met in the States General in The Hague, giving the federation a shared centre without removing provincial autonomy. Other territories had a different status: Drenthe lacked the standing of a province, while conquered lands in the south were governed separately. During the seventeenth century, Dutch shipping linked Amsterdam with markets across the world. The East and West India Companies established trading posts and colonies, including in what became Indonesia and Suriname. Their reach also included the Cape and the trading post of Dejima in Japan. Commerce helped support painting, science and financial innovation. The tulip speculation of 1636–1637 is one example of the risks that accompanied this commercial world. By the later eighteenth century, competition from England and rivalries between republicans and supporters of the stadtholder weakened the Republic. Its wealth and cultural achievements were part of a contested political and colonial history.