Van Nederveen Meerkerk

National overview Netherlands, Textile conference IISH, 11-13 Nov. 2004

Textile workers in the Netherlands. Part 1: 1650-1810 Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk International Institute of Social History Amsterdam, The Netherlands enm@iisg.nl

Introduction Until 1568, the northern Netherlands had belonged to the Habsburg Empire. A combination of economic crisis, power struggle between the Dutch gentry and the Spanish king over his policy and taxes, and religious differences, led to the revolt of several provinces in the north against the Spanish Crown. This revolt resulted in a war for independence that would last for 80 years, until the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648. In 1588, seven provinces had proclaimed the Dutch Republic of United Provinces (in the following: ‘the Republic’).1 The Republic was governed by the Estates General, in which all provinces were represented. Despite the ongoing warfare, relative peace existed in the economically most important provinces of the Republic, Holland and Zealand, after 1585. In the southern Netherlands, the war against the Spanish troops continued, resulting in the loss of their key position in trade and industry. Thousands of protestant migrants fled from the southern parts of the Netherlands to the safer cities in the north. This migration provided the northern Netherlands with a new labour force. Furthermore, many of the refugees were rich merchants from cities like Antwerp and Ghent, who brought capital and knowledge, giving an economical impulse to the Dutch cities in which they settled.2 The then unstable international situation, with England and France at constant war, continued for almost a century. Due to all these circumstances, the Dutch Republic became the centre of the world economy from the 1580s until at least 1650. The Dutch leading role in shipping and trade led to the development of a large staple market in the city of Amsterdam, where people dealt in goods from all over the