International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Following the successful Dutch Revolt against Spain, the United Provinces of the Golden Age in the Netherlands continued. However, tension between the rising merchant class, whose political power was embodied by the States General, and the old military nobility, symbolized by the House of Orange, persisted and formed the basis for most of the unrest and protest from 1650 to 1800. While internal political and social conflict was far from absent, the Netherlands did not experience another major rebellion in the period from the 1650s to the 1740s. The foremost rebellion was the Patriot Revolt led by enlightened professional classes seeking to end the domination of the House of Orange. The Netherlands, like much of Western Europe, was influenced by the Enlightenment , the French Revolution , and Napoleonic wars. In 1747 William III of Orange captured the office of Stadholder, using the position to curb States General power. Most of William III's actions were supported by the popular classes, who perceived the States General as an oppressive power ruling in the interest of the propertied classes. The Orangists held power until the early 1780s, when the Patriot Revolt broke out to challenge the power of the Stadholder. The Patriot Revolt was led predominantly by members of the urban professional classes, who used democratic political theory influenced by the Enlightenment and the ... log in or subscribe to read full text