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Introduction

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

This book explains the formation of the Dutch world entrepôt at the end of the sixteenth century, and its subsequent development, in rather different terms from those of Fernand Braudel and others ... More

This book explains the formation of the Dutch world entrepôt at the end of the sixteenth century, and its subsequent development, in rather different terms from those of Fernand Braudel and others who place the main emphasis on Dutch bulk freightage. The book argues that the post-1590 ascendancy of the Dutch entrepôt over the mechanisms of world trade cannot be explained in terms of anything that happened in the Baltic, or in terms of Dutch Baltic bulk freightage, and that it is also an error to see the Dutch world entrepôt as declining after 1650. In place of this rise-and-fall rhythm linked to the ups and downs of the Baltic grain trade, the book notes a more complex pattern, a sequence of seven phases, commencing with the breakthrough to world primacy during what it termed Phase One and ending with the disintegration of the seventeenth-century Dutch trading system termed Phase Seven.Less

The Origins of Dutch World-trade Hegemony

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

Dutch supremacy in world trade and shipping revolutionized the world economic order and transformed the pattern of Europe's colonial expansion. However, what was the function, from an economic ... More

Dutch supremacy in world trade and shipping revolutionized the world economic order and transformed the pattern of Europe's colonial expansion. However, what was the function, from an economic standpoint, of this unprecedented hegemony over world commerce? Europe, and to some extent the wider world, had long been familiar with great regional distributive networks, such as those of Venice, Genoa, Lübeck, and Lisbon. Then, in the sixteenth century, Antwerp developed into the first general emporium, at any rate for Europe. However, a fully fledged world entrepôt, not just linking, but dominating, the markets of all continents, was something totally outside human experience. The fact is that never before — or perhaps since — has the world witnessed such prodigious concentration of economic power at a single point. Many scholars have expounded on the uniqueness of Dutch world-trade hegemony during the seventeenth century; relatively few, however, have tried to explain the phenomenon in terms of world economic development.Less

The Breakthrough to World Primacy, 1590–1609

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

The year 1590 was a decisive turning point for the hitherto floundering Dutch United Provinces. After two decades of implacable, often seemingly hopeless struggle against tremendous odds, the Dutch ... More

The year 1590 was a decisive turning point for the hitherto floundering Dutch United Provinces. After two decades of implacable, often seemingly hopeless struggle against tremendous odds, the Dutch Republic emerged from the gloom of its desperate political, military, and economic predicament of the late 1580s almost overnight. The deadening pressure of the 1580s suddenly lifted with Philip II's decision of 1590 to switch his priorities, go over to the defensive in the Netherlands, and intervene in the civil war in progress in France. It was during the early 1590s that Holland and Zeeland emerged for the first time as a general entrepôt for Iberian, Ibero-American, and Portuguese East India commodities, distributing to a wide range of markets in northern Europe. It was in the early 1590s that the bitter tension over commerce between London and the Dutch entrepôt, which from this point on was to be a constant feature of Dutch world trade primacy, first began.Less

Beyond the Zenith, 1672–1700

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

Although customs returns show that there was in fact no decline in actual levels of trade as yet, immediate prospects for the Dutch entrepôt looked precarious in the extreme. France, its army at a ... More

Although customs returns show that there was in fact no decline in actual levels of trade as yet, immediate prospects for the Dutch entrepôt looked precarious in the extreme. France, its army at a peak of readiness, was drifting towards war with the Dutch Republic and there was every likelihood that England or Sweden, or both, would join in the French attack. By early 1672, the Amsterdam Exchange was acutely jittery. Share prices began to slide. The English resumed their harassment of Dutch ships on the high seas. Finally, on the sixth of April 1672, Louis XIV declared war, mobilizing both his army and his navy and prohibiting all trade between France and the Republic. England followed suit the next day. A new phase, Phase Five in the history of the Dutch world entrepôt, had begun.Less

The Dutch World Entrepôt and the Conflict of the Spanish Succession, 1700–1713

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

Another disturbing development at the end of the 1690s was the loss of Dutch grip over the economy of the Spanish Netherlands. The southern provinces of the Netherlands had always been crucial to the ... More

Another disturbing development at the end of the 1690s was the loss of Dutch grip over the economy of the Spanish Netherlands. The southern provinces of the Netherlands had always been crucial to the functioning of the Dutch entrepôt system, and, during the half-century since the peace of Munster, Spain had fully acquiesced in Dutch economic supremacy over the region. Most disturbing of all was what was happening in Spain. On November 1700, Carlos II, sick and childless, finally died. The succession of Philip of Anjou to the Spanish throne implied a radical change in the political and commercial complexion of the entire world. But no part of the world stood to lose more from this change than the Dutch Republic, for the special relationship between the Republic and Habsburg Spain had, in the international political sphere, been a central pillar of Dutch world trade hegemony for half a century.Less

Afterglow and Final Collapse

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

The character of the Dutch world entrepôt changed fundamentally in the years around 1740. During the era of Dutch world trade primacy proper, from 1590 to 1740, the Dutch entrepôt with its immense ... More

The character of the Dutch world entrepôt changed fundamentally in the years around 1740. During the era of Dutch world trade primacy proper, from 1590 to 1740, the Dutch entrepôt with its immense array of shipping and commercial, financial, and industrial facilities was an active controlling emporium, able not only to bring force and political pressure to bear in pursuit of its objectives, but also to regulate the production and processing of many commodities that figured prominently in international high-value commerce and to manipulate their distribution. After 1740, the picture changed radically. Even though the year 1740 has not figured as a decisive turning point in most recent discussion of eighteenth-century economic development in the Dutch Republic, several earlier authorities did regard the years ‘around 1740’ as a time of rapid and definitive weakening of the Dutch world entrepôt.Less

Conclusion

Jonathan I. Israel

in Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

As a world emporium, the Dutch entrepôt of the 1590–1740 period differed from its precursor, Antwerp, in several fundamental respects. In the first place, the Dutch emporium, with its unrivalled ... More

As a world emporium, the Dutch entrepôt of the 1590–1740 period differed from its precursor, Antwerp, in several fundamental respects. In the first place, the Dutch emporium, with its unrivalled shipping resources, was in a position, as Antwerp never was, to buy commodities at source, wherever they were produced in the world, and to organize the transfer of those goods from one part of the globe to another. The Dutch staple was never dependent, as was Antwerp, on intermediaries such as Lisbon, Seville, Lübeck, and London. The Dutch Republic functioned as an active, controlling force for the whole of the century and a half from 1590 down to 1740. It was only in its last phase, from 1740 down to 1795, that the Dutch emporium lapsed into the powerless, passive condition of a mere central storehouse.Less

The Role of Savings and Wealth among Hong Kong Chinese: ([1963] 1969)*

Marjorie Topley

Jean DeBernardi (ed.)

in Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore: Gender, Religion, Medicine and Money

Hong Kong is in the middle of an industrial revolution. Before the war its economy was based on entrepôt trade. As this dwindled after the Japanese occupation more and more people turned to industry ... More

Hong Kong is in the middle of an industrial revolution. Before the war its economy was based on entrepôt trade. As this dwindled after the Japanese occupation more and more people turned to industry and in only fifteen years the Colony has passed through the initial stages of industrialization with which many Asian countries are still struggling and is approaching the status of a mature economy. A significant proportion of the labour absorbed by new industry is refugee labour coming to the Colony in recent years. The entrepreneurial élite includes an increasing number of Westerners and “local” Chinese previously devoting themselves to trade. Others were engaged in industry in pre-war years. Not all of Hong Kong's new entrepreneurs had been industrialists in the homeland. Some have made drastic changes in their mode of livelihood and in coming to Hong Kong, using their savings as capital and applying their skill and imagination to new ventures.Less

Hong Kong after the War

Stanley S.K. Kwan and Nicole Kwan

in The Dragon and the Crown: Hong Kong Memoirs

This chapter discusses Hong Kong after its liberation from Japanese rule. After the surrender of Japanese rule, Hong Kong was once again reclaimed by Britain. Although China was hoping to reclaim ... More

This chapter discusses Hong Kong after its liberation from Japanese rule. After the surrender of Japanese rule, Hong Kong was once again reclaimed by Britain. Although China was hoping to reclaim Hong Kong for itself, the Nationalist government of China offered no protest to British advances as it was highly dependent on the U.S. for its armament against Chinese Communist groups and the U.S. was a staunched ally of Britain. Although Hong Kong once again found itself under the rule of Britain, the economic conditions of Hong Kong did not reclaim their former glory to start with. In addition to the wavering economic conditions, Hong Kong became a home for fleeing Chinese liberals and intellectuals who felt they had a confusing stand regarding China's civil war. With the increasing call for the socialist reformation of China, Stanley Kwan's family found itself caught and engulfed within the workings of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as Stanley's two brothers found themselves campaigning for the reformation. In addition to the radical shift in the governance in China, Hong Kong's Chinese-based traditions, such as extended families, began to dwindle. Among other changes in Hong Kong included its gradual recovery from economic stagnation. Hong Kong became an important trading post and while the U.S. embargo had caused a temporary stagnation, Hong Kong nevertheless benefited from it by forcing businessmen to look overseas for business opportunities and for ways to jumpstart manufacturing for export. From this point, Hong Kong changed its economic focus from entrepôt trade with the Mainland to manufacturing for export. Hong Kong in the latter half of the 1950s saw rapid industrialization. With the economy booming, Stanley Kwan decided to follow his father's footsteps and found himself within the world of banking.Less

War and Reconstruction

S.G. Sturmey

in British Shipping and World Competition

This chapter presents the effects of the First World War on the future of the British shipping industry. It examines shipping tonnage statistics to demonstrates Britain’s loss of three million tons ... More

This chapter presents the effects of the First World War on the future of the British shipping industry. It examines shipping tonnage statistics to demonstrates Britain’s loss of three million tons and in contrast, the worldwide tonnage increase of seven million tons. It is presented in two halves: the first provides overviews of the tonnage profit between 1914 and 1920 in America, Japan, France, and Italy, and the tonnage of neutral countries and British enemies; detailed shipping losses and the financial effects on British shipping; plus tramp and liner statistics, tax rates, freight rates, the lack of equalisation schemes, and the loss of entrepôt trade. The second half examines the British postwar reconstruction effort, and calculates the value of the four major sources of tonnage available: British ships built during the war; ceded German ships; purchases from foreign owners; and new builds. It concludes that Britain sought to return to a prewar perceived sense of normalcy in shipping, despite irrevocable changes in worldwide shipping such as the rise of the American fleet.Less