Public finance of the Dutch Republic in comparative perspective : the viability of an early modern federal state (1570s-1795) / by Wantje Fritschy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fritschy, Wantje, author.

Series:

Library of economic history ; Volume 9.

Library of Economic History, 1877-3206 ; Volume 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Finance, Public--Netherlands--History.

Finance, Public.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (447 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Leiden, Netherlands : Boston, [Massachusetts] : Brill Nijhoff, c2017, 2017.

Summary:

This study offers the first complete overview of the remarkable public finances of the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces. Wantje Fritschy has analysed the development and structure of its public revenue and expenditure. She argues that a ‘tax revolution’ and the ‘fiscal resilience’ of the provinces together were more important for its surprising performance than Holland’s public debt alone, and the institutional and economic characteristics of its ‘urban system’ were more important than wealth due to foreign trade. Comparisons with the fiscal systems of three more centralized states - the Venetian Republic, Britain and the Ottoman Empire - underline the crucial importance of long-term ‘urbanization trajectories’ in understanding early-modern fiscal performance. It was not because it was federal that the Dutch Republic collapsed.

Contents:

General Introduction

Part 1: The Development of the Fiscal System of the Dutch Republic

Introduction to Part 1

Financing the First Phase of the Revolt against Spain (1566–1572)

From Under-taxed Part of an Empire to Heavily Taxed Republic (1550s–1609)

Public Finance of the Dutch Republic in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Part 2: The Fiscal System of the Dutch Republic in International Comparative Perspective

Introduction to Part 2

A Comparison with the Venetian Republic

A Comparison with Britain

A Comparison with the Ottoman Empire

General Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-04-34128-5

OCLC:

979994625

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004341289 DOI