Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
and especially in the secret minutes recorded by representatives of the States General, a source which Boxer did not consult. Echoing the debate over the Raedt van Indien in the period 1618- 1621, this concerned the thorny question of which groups within society—merchants, magistrates, or noblemen—were best suited to represent the company’s interests, and which skills were most appropriate to the task of colonial government. It was, in a deeper sense, a conflict over the company's aims in Brazil and between the various orders of Dutch society for the authority to implement them. Among these orders, the figure of the Dutch merchant is perhaps the most familiar, both to contemporaries in early modern Europe and from the classic studies of capitalism from Max Weber and Werner Sombart to the present day. 12 Less familiar is the figure of the Dutch nobleman, whose place in Dutch history has been all but forgotten, Peter Burke’s comparative study of elites in Venice and Amsterdam may be taken as emblematic of the problem. After briefly mentioning the Dutch nobility and the important role they played at the Stadholder’s court at The Hague, Burke devotes his study entirely to Amsterdam’s merchant oligarchy. Whereas Venice was governed by a closed group of noblemen, and thus could be characterized as an “estate society,” Burke argues, Amsterdam developed Europe's first “class society,” with political and economic power centralized in the hands of a few merchant families. 13 As a description of Amsterdam this is largely correct, but Amsterdam was only one city in the province of Holland, and Holland only one of eight provinces. As Henk van Nierop's recent study of the Dutch nobility makes clear, even in Holland noble families continued to serve 12 Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Talcott Parsons (London: Routledge, 1992); Werner Sombart, Economic Life in the Modern Age, ed. Nico Stehr and Reiner Grundmann (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2001). 13 Peter Burke, Venice and Amsterdam: A Study of Seventeenth-Century Elites (London: Temple Smith, 1974), 27. 135
important military, administrative, and legal functions at almost all levels of Dutch society. 14 Their prominence and influence may have declined relative to urban merchant oligarchs, but those noblemen who chose to remain active in politics could exercise considerable political influence. To take but one of Van Nierop's many examples, the number of noblemen who attended the meetings of Ridderschap (the council of nobleman in the States of Holland) declined markedly over the course of the sixteenth century, but those noblemen who attended did so more frequently. 15 And since the Ridderschap represented the smaller towns within the States of Holland, chaired its meetings, voted first, and had a formal role in resolving disputes, its power was far greater than its single vote might suggest. 16 The important place of noblemen in the United Provinces in the seventeenth century is now widely recognized among Dutch historians, partly as a result of Van Nierop's work, but it is still frequently overlooked by scholars working only in English. What role, if any, did the nobility play in Dutch overseas expansion? In Spain noblemen filled the ranks of the Real y Supremo Consejo de Indias and served as council president, at least until Philip II selected Juan de Ovando for this office in 1571. 17 Noblemen also played a critical role in expeditions of military conquest and as colonial viceroys in the New World. 18 In England, as Theodore Rabb has shown for the period 1575-1630, the gentry were disproportionately represented as investors and directors in overseas commercial enterprises—especially those 14 H. F. K. van Nierop, Van Ridders tot Regenten: De Hollandse Adel in de Zestiende en de eerste helft van de Zeventiende Eeuw (Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw, 1990). 15 Ibid., 151. 16 Ibid., 147. 17 Stafford Poole, Juan de Ovando: Governing the Spanish Empire in the Reign of Philip II (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004). 18 John Lynch, “The Institutional Framework of Colonial Spanish America,” Journal of Latin American Studies 24 (1992): 69–81. 136
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important military, administr<strong>at</strong>ive, and legal functions <strong>at</strong> almost all levels of Dutch society. 14<br />
Their prominence and influence may have declined rel<strong>at</strong>ive to urban merchant oligarchs, but<br />
those noblemen who chose to remain active in politics could exercise considerable political<br />
influence. To take but one of Van Nierop's many examples, the number of noblemen who<br />
<strong>at</strong>tended the meetings of Ridderschap (the council of nobleman in the St<strong>at</strong>es of Holland)<br />
declined markedly over the course of the sixteenth century, but those noblemen who <strong>at</strong>tended did<br />
so more frequently. 15 And since the Ridderschap represented the smaller towns within the St<strong>at</strong>es<br />
of Holland, chaired its meetings, voted first, and had a formal role in resolving disputes, its<br />
power was far gre<strong>at</strong>er than its single vote might suggest. 16 The important place of noblemen in<br />
the United Provinces in the seventeenth century is now widely recognized among Dutch<br />
historians, partly as a result of Van Nierop's work, but it is still frequently overlooked by<br />
scholars working only in English.<br />
Wh<strong>at</strong> role, if any, did the nobility play in Dutch overseas expansion? In Spain noblemen<br />
filled the ranks of the Real y Supremo Consejo de Indias and served as council president, <strong>at</strong> least<br />
until Philip II selected Juan de Ovando for this office in 1571. 17 Noblemen also played a critical<br />
role in expeditions of military conquest and as colonial viceroys in the New World. 18 In England,<br />
as Theodore Rabb has shown for the period 1575-1630, the gentry were disproportion<strong>at</strong>ely<br />
represented as investors and directors in overseas commercial enterprises—especially those<br />
<br />
14<br />
H. F. K. van Nierop, Van Ridders tot Regenten: De Hollandse Adel in de Zestiende en de eerste helft van de<br />
Zeventiende Eeuw (Amsterdam: De B<strong>at</strong>aafsche Leeuw, 1990).<br />
15<br />
Ibid., 151.<br />
16<br />
Ibid., 147.<br />
17<br />
Stafford Poole, Juan de Ovando: Governing the Spanish Empire in the Reign of Philip II (Norman: <strong>University</strong> of<br />
Oklahoma Press, 2004).<br />
18<br />
John Lynch, “The Institutional Framework of Colonial Spanish America,” Journal of L<strong>at</strong>in American Studies 24<br />
(1992): 69–81.<br />
136
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