The Dutch golden age
innovation, and responsibility can develop’. 20 Thus, the societal characteristics whichWeber attributed to the impact of Calvinism were already visible in the pre-Reformation Netherlands.
Thirdly, notwithstanding the often- repeated assertion concerning the ‘modernizing’ impact of Reformed Protestantism, the writings of prominent theologians indicate a perceptibly more traditional attitude towards economic activity. 21 This stance is illustrated by the dispute concerning the admittance of bankers to Communion. In 1574, the Synod of Dort deliberated on whether a banker should be permitted to participate in Communion. The theologians’ response was negative: ‘No, for he has been allowed by the magistrates to operate his bank only because of the hardness and evil of men's hearts, and not because of God's will.’ 22 Several orthodox theologians remained intransigently critical of novel financial practices even during the height of t he Republic’s commercial primacy. For example, in 1646, the theologian, Gisbertus Voetius published a pamphlet entitle Res Judicata, in which he refuted the view that bankers should be permitted to attend Communion. As A. Hyma concluded, the pamphlet ‘sho wed plainly that in the provincial towns, removed from the bustle of great commercial enterprises, the attitude of the clergy and the scholars was very slow to change’. 23 This traditional perception of finance propounded by preachers stood in contrast with significance of financial innovations for the Republic’s commercial development. The onset of the Dutch Golden Age witnessed the creation of numerous financial institutions granting Dutch traders with important advantages over their foreign competitors. For example, the establishment of the Amsterdam Exchange Bank in 1609 substantially facilitated the financing of mercantile expeditions of the East Indies. Consequently, the attitude of Calvinist theologians towards financial development contradicts the notion of Reformed Protestantism as a driver of economic growth. Fourthly, while the majority of Amsterdam’s mercantile elite was Calvinist, religious minorities were not excluded from commercial entrepreneurship. 24 Amsterdam’s Jewish community played a major role in several important commercial enterprises. Many Jewishmerchants maintained trading contacts on the Iberian Peninsula and thus substantially facilitated commerce with Spanish and Portuguese domains in the New World 25 . Indeed, the Sephardic Jews constituted one of the most prosperous confessional groups in the Provinces’ capital. 26 The successful integration of the Jewish community into the Dutch economy was enabled by a pragmatic policy of religious toleration. Orthodox Calvinist ministers often expressed distaste towards ‘heathens’ and opposed the granting of additional privileges. 27 This hostility towards religious minorities highlights that orthodox Calvinism could act as regressive force, entailing negative implications for economic growth. Even more importantly, the success of Jewish traders clearly highlights that the Weberian ‘spirit of capitalism’ was not a uniquely Calvinist phenomenon. Non-Reformed groups were also capable of establishing highly profitable and systematic business enterprises and displayed a remarkably modern attitude towards their business operations.
20 Ibid. : 160. 21 See Hyma 1938: 326.
22 Ibid. : 327. 23 Ibid. : 330. 24 See Vanhaelen 2018: 228-229. 25 De Vries van der Woude 2010: 307. 26 See Vanhaelen 2018: 228-229. 27 Ibid. : 228.
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