Dutch Empire

The United Provinces of the Netherlands, officially the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden) and commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands and the first independent Dutch nation state. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration). The seven provinces it comprised were Groningen (present-day Groningen), Frisia (present-day Friesland), Overijssel (present-day Overijssel), Guelders (present-day Gelderland), Utrecht (present-day Utrecht), Holland (present-day North Holland and South Holland), and Zeeland (present-day Zeeland).

The Dutch Republic, also known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, was a confederation that existed from 1579 to 1795. It was established after seven provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule and formed an alliance. The republic had only around 1.5 million inhabitants but controlled a worldwide network of trade routes through its trading companies, which allowed it to compete militarily against larger countries. Despite being small, it experienced a period of great prosperity called the Dutch Golden Age due to its flourishing art, science, trade and armed forces. The republic's political structure consisted of provinces with high independence from the federal assembly known as States General; each province was led by an official called stadtholder (initially open to anyone but later hereditary). Tensions between Orangists who favored powerful stadtholders and Republicans who preferred strong States General caused two Stadtholderless Periods and eventually led to national instability until it ended with Batavian Revolution in 1795 succeeded by Batavian Republic.