The Dutch golden age
ministers worked ceaselessly to impose ecclesiastical discipline on their faithful. 8 This enables the historian to closely examine the potential linkages between the Reformed doctrine and the economic transformation which characterized that period. While it cannot be denied that Calvinist beliefs partially contributed to the Republic’s financial florescence, the Weber hypothesis fails to provide a convincing explanation of Dutch prosperity. Several practices and institutions necessary for economic modernization pre-dated the Protestant Reformation while Calvinist orthodoxy could constitute an impediment as well as a boon to commercial expansion. Historical sources provide a number of potentially convincing arguments in favour of Weber’s theory. Firstly, the dissemination of Reformed Protestantism resulted in an increase of the average working time, with considerable implications for household incomes. 9 As J. de Vries noted, in pre-Reformation Europe, the calendar was punctuated with numerous ecclesiastical holidays. Overall, the liturgical year and numerous Saints’ days removed between 40 and 50 working days from the calendar of a Catholic worker. 10 Considering its sceptical attitude towards sacraments and ceremonial practices, it is not surprising that the Reformed Church proceeded to alter this situation. In 1574, the first Reformed Synod of Dort recommended the abolition of all religious holidays except for Sunday. As a result, the length of the average working year in the Dutch Republic increased by over 15%. 11 This increase in work ing time implied a rise the economy’s total labour supply and improvements in disposable income. Consequently, while there exists no direct evidence to support the view that Calvinism encouraged greater assiduousness, it cannot be denied that the Protestant Reformation lead to rise in economic activity through stimulating an expansion of labour supply. Secondly, the beginning of the Dutch breakthrough to commercial primacy coincided with the arrival of large numbers of Calvinist refugees fleeing religious persecution in the Southern Netherlands. This is most clearly evidenced by the aftermath of the siege of Antwerp (1585), which precipitated a wave of immigration into the United Provinces. Among the Calvinist emigres were numerous successful merchants who soon formed the nucleus of Amsterdam’s newmercantile elite. Prior to the outbreak of the Dutch Revolt, the Northern Netherlands lacked a clearly defined commercial stratum. The influx of Calvinist traders from the South fundamentally altered this situation. The émigrémerchants pioneered new trade routes and established commercial connections across Europe. For instance, the Antwerp refugee Isaac le Maire, was active in trade with Italy, Portugal, France and the East Indies. Perhaps even more prominent was Balthasar Coymans – whom J. Israel regarded as an archetypical exponent of Amsterdam’s merchant elite. His successful ventures helped bring about the Dutch breakthrough to commercial primacy in the lucrative ‘rich trades’ of high -value goods such as spices and cloth. The economic position of Amsterdam’s Calvinist merchants – many of whom were confessional refugees from the Southern Netherlands – provides an important insight into the importance of religion for entrepreneurial development. The fact that t he founders of Amsterdam’s position as a global entrepot were of predominantly Reformed faith can be regarded as a tentative argument in favour of the Weberian notion of the Protestant work ethic.
8 Ibid. : 189. 9 De Vries, van der Woude 2010: 616-617.
10 Ibid. : 616. 11 Ibid. : 617.
146
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs