(^138) THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONS
cess reflected an attitude toward work and trade best exemplified by the
fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. Loot and prizes were well and
good, but what mattered in the long run (never forget the long run)
were those small, low-risk gains that add up and do not disappoint.^4
We call it Holland, but the Dutch knew it as the United Provinces
of the Netherlands. It was a confederation, the northern half of a col
lection of cities, counties, and duchies once northern Europe's most
vital and precociously urban civilization, only to become the pawn and
prize of feudal bargains and matrimonial accident. In the early seven
teenth century, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also became king of
Spain through the marriage of his father Philip to Juana, daughter of
Ferdinand and Isabella. Charles brought along in his basket of tides
and sovereignties the duchy of Burgundy (fruit of another happy al
liance). Burgundy, in turn, held sway over the Low Countries. In this
roundabout way, one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan areas of
Europe—hub of industry, trade, and ideas, long free of seigneurial
servitudes and accustomed to economic, intellectual, and spiritual di
versity—got tied to the short leash of the Spanish Habsburgs. One
source of irreconcilable conflict: the ruler of Spain, bound by his coun
try's past, could never tolerate open Protestant worship in his domin
ions.^5
It is an irony of history that Dutch and Spanish should do battle.
The Low Countries (north and south) had better things to do. These
doughty burghers, seamen, fishers, and peasants had become the mid
dlemen of northern Europe. They imported and reexported the pri
mary products of the North Sea, Scandinavia, and eastern Europe:
grain, timber, fish, tallow, tar, hides. They manufactured woolen and
mixed fabrics and were masters of commercial credit and international
finance. Antwerp, great port on the Scheldt, dominated the new mar
itime economy. It linked an enormous European hinterland to the At
lantic and beyond, sweeping past older centers such as Venice and
Genoa to become the ultimate destination of cargoes from new worlds
overseas. These might stop first in Lisbon and Seville, but they finished
in the Netherlands, there to be absorbed, processed, and redistributed
throughout the world.
On the other hand, this was Spain's moment on the world stage. The
immense inflow of colonial treasure gave the Spanish crown unheard-
of sway. Spain was now the greatest power in Europe, and nothing
must thwart its claims and ambitions. So when these pesky wool-clad
Lowlanders dared to stand up to Spain's silky representatives, they
nora
(Nora)
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