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This article focuses on social and cultural history. For political events, see History of the Netherlands and Eighty Years' War ( 1586- 1648). For more information about notable Dutch persons in the Golden Age, see Dutch Golden Age, List of People.
Several factors have contributed to the flowering of the arts and sciences during this period.
During a large part of the 17th century the Dutch, traditionally able seafarers and keen mapmakers, dominated world trade, a position which before to a lesser extent had been occupied by the Portuguese and Spaniards, and which later would be lost to England after a long competition that culminated in several wars (fought mainly at sea).
In 1602 the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) was founded. This company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade and would keep this for two centuries. It would become the world's largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits, due to the efforts and risks involved and the insatiable demand (spices masked the taste of not so fresh food). In 1609 the Amsterdam exchange bank was founded, a century before its English counterpart.
The Dutch also dominated trade between EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sean countries. The Low Countries were favorably positioned on a crossing of east-west and north-south trade routes and connected to a large GermanThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east hinterland through a major river, the RhineAt 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine River ( German Rhein French Rhin Dutch Rijn is one of the longest rivers in Europe. Its name is derived from the Celtic word renos (meaning "raging flow"). Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier. Dutch traders shipped wine from France and Portugal to the Baltic landsThe Baltic region (sometimes briefly The Baltics is an ambiguous term used to denominate an arbitrary region connected to the Baltic Sea (also called The Baltics . The term Balticum has a more precise meaning but is not as common in English. Etymology Bal and returned with grain destined for countries round the Mediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. 5 million kmē. The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin mediterraneus 'inland' mediu.
National industries expanded as well. Ship yards and sugar refineries are prime examples. As more and more land was made productive, partially through transforming lakes into polderA polder is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes and requiring drainage by pumps to maintain the water table within it from rising too high. The best known examples are those polders, local grain production and dairy farming soared.
The flourishing Dutch trade produced a large very wealthy merchant class. The new prosperity brought more attention to and sponsorship for visual arts, literatureLiterature is literally "an acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary; the term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word "literature" spelled with a lower-case "l" can refer to and science.
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