Sebastian Guarda 10702156

Admiralties and Federal State

Throughout this essay I will argue that the creation and consolidation o the !e"ublic o the #nited $ro%inces& "recursor to the country nowadays 'nown as the (etherlands& could not ha%e ta'en "lace as it did without the in luence o the admiralties) First& some conte*t is needed) +e ore the inde"endence o the (orthern ones& the ,ow -ountries consisted o se%eral %ery heterogeneous "ro%inces& each o which en.oyed considerable autonomy or its administration& be it under +urgundian or /absburg dynasty) They were %ery conscious o this uni0ue trait& and considered reedom to be one the core %alues o their society) This is may be considered either cause or conse0uence 1or both2 o the hea%y cultural di erences between "ro%inces) It is well 'nown that small geogra"hical distances in the (etherlands can mean great cultural distances& little towns .ust a ew 'ilometers away may e%en ha%e di erent dialects o their own) All o this meant that the 3utch needed a strong moti%ation or uni ication& or the di erences between "ro%inces would 'ee" them di%ided) #ni%ersal history teaches us that the strongest alliances between nations come rom ha%ing a common enemy& and 3utch history "ro%ed to be no e*ce"tion to the rule) -onstant threat rom its bigger& and at most times more "ower ul& neighbors was enough or the "ro%inces to "ut aside their di erences and wor' together or their reedom as a ederation& under the rule o the States4General& the ederal state) Inde"endency was enough to rally the "ro%inces against their S"anish o%erlords in the irst years o the !e"ublic& but still more moti%ational orces were needed to consolidate this union& i it wanted to sur%i%e in a constantly warring continent) 5nter the 3utch na%y) This institution is o ten "ercei%ed as mercantile4dri%en& %ery decentrali6ed& and ine icient in its tactics) This is most "eo"le7s irst im"ression under the 'nowledge that it had i%e admiralties& !otterdam& Amsterdam& (orth /olland& 8eeland and Friesland) /owe%er& a dee"er analysis by 9an Glete "ro"oses that the irst characteristic actually wor'ed or the bene it o the !e"ublic& and the other two are "lainly alse) I "roceed to detail two institutional details mentioned by Glete that su""ort the thesis o this essay) First& the admiralties were ederal institutions instead o "ro%incial& which meant that they answered to the States4General and the Stadholder be ore anyone else& both o whom guarded the general interests o the !e"ublic) This connects us to the "a"er by -harles Tilly& who discusses the de inition o a legitimate use o %iolence by states& and how& by the Arthur Stinchcombe de inition o legitimacy& states ac0uire this this trait when they hold a substantial amount o "ower& which raises the "robability o other authorities in the region o su""orting the decision o the state) The act that the 3utch na%y& which might arguably enter the com"etition o the most "ower ul na%y in history& was under the control o the ederal state meant that this go%ernment held great authority through its mono"oli6ation o na%al %iolence) +eing authority a must or any orm o go%ernment to be sustainable& it becomes clear how indis"ensable the 3utch na%y and its admiralties were or the sur%i%al o the !e"ublic)

Sebastian Guarda 10702156 Second rele%ant characteristic o the admiralties that increases their im"ortance to the #nited $ro%inces: they were the only e*isting ederal ta* and customs authority or them) Internally& this meant the na%y7s inancial inde"endence rom the "ro%inces& which released them rom their "otential in luence) The admiralties were in charge o this& ederal authorities) This also brings us to Tilly7s arguments) A ter all& it is ta*ation the main means o e*tracting resources rom a scared "o"ulation through a ;legitimate< "rotection rac'et by the state) +ecause ta*ation "ro%ed to be in hands o the admiralties& the ederal state had the "er ect tool to com"lete its "rotection rac'et scheme& because it did not lac' o "otential enemies to maintain ear in its "o"ulation) Following these two elements that gi%e the ederal authorities "otential or a great "rotection rac'et& under Tilly7s logic the admiralties were a solid contribution to the ormation o a State in the (etherland by enabling said authorities to e*ercise the our acti%ities he mentions in his "a"er& war ma'ing& state ma'ing& "rotection and e*traction) I will name one more characteristic o the 3utch admiralties which contributed to the creation o an e*ce"tional state& no less im"ortant than the others) +e ore& I mentioned that many considered the na%y7s mercantile4dri%en goals as a wea'ness& a law in its design) Glete "ro"oses this is not so& because this mechanism enabled local elites to connect their ob.ecti%es to those o the ederal state) +eing the !e"ublic a new nation still in the "rocess o ormation and consolidation& this was a necessity or the creation o the "ower ul na%y as we 'now today that it was) This connection o ob.ecti%es was achie%ed through the "resence o the local elites in the admiralty colleges& who e*erted then in luence o%er its management) -on%eniently& they did so to build a orce o s"eciali6ed warshi"s to "rotect their shi""ing 1note how this means the state is ul illing its ;"rotection< acti%ity as described by Tilly2) In an entre"ot economy li'e that o the se%enteenth century 3utch& this tactic wor'ed wonders& a clear e*am"le being the "ermanent debilitation o the S"anish na%al economy during the =0 >ears7 ?ar) Through the admiralties then& resources were "um"ed rom the elites to the na%y which was under ederal control& a di icult thing to do since the early modern iscal4 military states were new and un'nown "ro.ects in that time) I ha%e gi%en three main characteristics which illustrate how the 3utch admiralties ser%ed to sha"e a relati%ely strong ederal state or such a culturally and administrati%ely decentrali6ed con ederation o "ro%inces) This ederal state& with the might o its na%y& 'e"t the 3utch shi" a loat in the treacherous waters o early modern 5uro"e& at least until 17@5) +ut by then& the "rocess o ormation o nation and state had made considerable ad%ances towards nowadays (etherlands& which would be resumed a ew years a ter)