oct 21, 1581 - Dutch Republic Formed (1581)

Description:

The Low Countries (largely consisting of today’s Netherlands and
Belgium) declared independence from the Spanish King Philip II (son of
Emperor Charles) with the "Act of Abjuration" declared on June 14,
1581. For the next six years, the Dutch searched for an alternative
monarch, even asking Elizabeth I of England to take the position as their
sovereign, but she declined (fearing Spanish retaliation). The "StatesGeneral"
then set up their own system of governance without any king or
monarch in 1587 and this confederation of states became a republic. .
The governance of the Dutch Republic was made up of both nobility and
the wealthy middle classes who formed a new ruling body known as the
"States-General." Both these groups were predominately Calvinists. The
republic was NOT a democracy but a meritocracy. The wealthy nobles
as well as capitalists passed laws promoting trade and business in their
mutual favor. The poorer classes were excluded from political power.
The first stock market in Europe was set up in the Dutch Republic. The
republic was clearly a modern capitalist, rather than a feudal, political
and economic system