From New Amsterdam to New York, openness and tolerance were good business
Openness and enterprise were the foundations of Amsterdam's prosperity. The city as well as the tiny country of Holland achieved their premier position in the modern era by creating a dynamic network of global trade. Most people know that New York was originally New Amsterdam, and that the Dutch people were the pioneers of capitalism. But how did it play out?
It began with voyages of discovery and trade, to all corners of the globe. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the age of maritime exploration, the eighteenth and nineteenth of marine empires. The Dutch made their fortunes as mercantile traders, bringing resources and luxury goods from the corners of the world - spices from the islands of the East Indies, furs and timber from North America, tulips from Persia. Less creditably, they transported slaves from Africa to labor on the sugar plantations of the West
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Philosophers like Erasmus and Spinoza outlined the belief that liberalism and tolerance were also the most economically and politically advantageous beliefs. This wisdom was learned the hard way, in the religious wars that tore apart Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Dutch Calvinism too learned the value of religious tolerance. Its austere doctrines sat uneasily beside the lavish lifestyle of the Amsterdam merchants, but between the two, the spirit of capitalism was born.
New Amsterdam became New York and changed hands from the Dutch to the English. But it is not only Dutch place names and styles of architecture scattered across the five boroughs and all of the Empire State that beat witness to this moment in history. The values of openness, tolerance, liberalism and engagement with the world remain the hallmarks of New York, city and state alike. They have made it one of the economic, intellectual and cultural centers of the
essence of New York and all its nuances in the form of terse observations. Whether
Although the smallest of the European powers in terms of territory, population, and natural resources, for 150 years the Dutch Republic dominated European trade with approximately half of the world’s total stock of seagoing ships at the zenith of its power.# How did such an insignificant state rise so rapidly, becoming according to contemporary observer Sir William Temple: “the envy of some, the fear of others and the wonder of all their neighbours”?# Shifting commercial patterns since the 16th century had seen the rise of a truly global economy. As the quality of ships improved, skippers travelled further distances with cargo, making arrival times and availability of goods unpredictable. A centrally located market where goods could be bought and sold at constant prices was needed.# Geographical factors made the Dutch Republic ideal for this role, situated at the intersection of Northern waterways connecting the Atlantic, Baltic and the Rhine. This position had grown in significance since the Mediterranean’s function as pivot of international trade had diminished.# Within the country, the Republic’s extensive waterways, river fleets and timber depots were well suited to a boom.# The Republic had already established a leadership in bulk transportation, a firm foundation which could be built upon. Since the 1590’s, the moedernegotie or mother trade moved huge quantities of goods such as lumber, fish and grain in large volume in cheap, simple ships.# However, real wealth lay in the “rich trades” of spices, silver and other luxury goods imported from the East Indies, Africa and the Americas. This trade was previously dominated by the Hanseatic states and England, but the Dutch Republic’s ease of access to the Iberian market and colonial goods enabled it to overtake the England Muscovy trade by 1600.# In 1602, the Dutch East Indies Company or VOC was founded, followed by the Dutch West Indies Company nineteen years later. Throughout the 1630’s, training posts were established in Sri Lanka and New Guinea.
The first part of the voyage began in Europe which was sending goods to Africa which was not yet made anywhere else. These goods included guns, gunpowder, horses, alcohol, and cloths. In return, Africa then traded their people who were shipped off to the Americas.
people. Work was done not for one’s own personal gain, but for the sake of god. Weber found that in areas where Calvinism was the highest is where capitalism rose first, and no other religion resulted in the rise of capitalism.
A few years ago, New York was nothing like what it is today. It was a discovery in a process of development. During the development process, the city had to tolerate diverse types of unstable situations that are unknown to many Americans. Going back into the history of New York, one would be amazed by how this fascinating city looked a few years back. Immigrants, who were unskilled workers, and probably didn’t speak English, built the city that we live in today.
New York City is known for their abundance of theatre, culture, and the exciting world of Wall Street. When thinking of the economics of New York, many think of the stock exchange and don't think of the theatre. But in reality Broadway theatre is running New York, while creating jobs, creating money, and its constant production of new shows, it is changing economics around the world.
During two centuries which were the 15th and 16th centuries, several leaders of European nations were sponsoring expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth and very great extent of undiscovered lands. In the so called “Age of Discovery” the Portuguese were the first people to participate in it. About 1420 was when it started of small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast and which were carrying spices, gold, slaves and other goods from Asia and Africa to Europe.
Max Weber’s outlines his views on religion and capitalism in his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber held the important theory that an individual’s views are significant in promoting social change, not material things as believed by former theorists. In his work, Weber compares two waves of “the calling” as preached by different Protestant leaders and describes the teaching and spread of ascetic beliefs in followers. This paper considers the context of the calling, explores the outward signs of grace which helped develop capitalism and, lastly, how capitalism, through rationalization, transformed Calvinist ideals for its advancement.
It truly is an honor to live in a city like New York; it is the most cultural city of the world. Its artsy, its fancy, its luxurious, its opportunistic and most importantly a lifestyle like none other. After coming in New York I realized New York is not only about extraordinary buildings that pierce the sky, it is a city that offers infinite possibility for a person. The author of the text “All I need to know I learned in New York City” Whoopy Goldberg gives a description about how New York has had an influence in her life. Growing up in New York has given her many opportunities and understandings and that she acknowledges in this text. As a girl from Bangladesh I’ve lived all of my life in a small town and that town has nothing in common
There are so many opportunities in the city. It is easy to quickly observe some of the amazing opportunities that cities offer. Cities have advanced over the past 2000 years and there are so many interesting facts about them. The first Industrial Revolution played an important role in the development of London. It made this city famous and powerful. The people of London made the steam engine, which is what powered the first trains. The second Industrial Revolution played an important role in the development of New York. When New York was a part of the second industrial revolution, the people came up with an assembly line idea. This idea helped New York become the first city to replace horses with cars, which made a huge impact on the
By the 17th century, Europeans were at the forefront of the world stage. They gained access to new lands, established impressive Empires, and sparked a global exchange network referred to as the
The Protestant Reformation was integral in shaping Western Europe from a religious perspective, but arguably, the resulting divergence of Christianity was just as important to the development of Western Europe's political and economic climate. The adoption of Protestant beliefs would serve as a catalyst for the sharp rise in capitalist, mercantilist, and democratic thought and practice. The process by which democracy, capitalism and to an extent nationalism and mercantilism would come to fruition is a multistep path that begins with the Reformation, and Martin Luthers ninety-five theses. By distinguishing the factors that led to widespread dissatisfaction with the the Roman Catholic church, a correlation can be found in the timing of the rise in individual wealth within a newly formed capitalist structure, and the advent of Protestant beliefs. Furthermore, democratic politics are typically seen to increase with a rise in capitalist economic behaviour, an increase in personal wealth, and unobstructed business is often the result of fair, liberal representative government and vice versa. Increased capitalist economic behaviour and democratic practices were further catalyzed by Western European geopolitics, the result of which led to the beginnings of nationalism, which ran in parallel to, and was heavily influenced by what Adam Smith coined as Mercantilism.
When you associate anything with New York City it is usually the extraordinary buildings that pierce the sky or the congested sidewalks with people desperate to shop in the famous stores in which celebrities dwell. Even with my short visit there I found myself lost within the Big Apple. The voices of the never-ending attractions call out and envelop you in their awe. The streets are filled with an atmosphere that is like a young child on a shopping spree in a candy store. Although your feet swelter from the continuous walking, you find yourself pressing on with the yearning to discover the 'New York Experience'.
The Dutch’s appearance in Southeast Asia was predominantly a two-stage colonization process. The initial stage of this expansion period arose in 1602 with the charter of the Dutch East India Company. The VOC (Dutch East India Trading Company) had been formed by the State-General of the Netherlands to carry out, for a granted 21-year monopolistic control, colonial expansion privileges representing the Dutch in South East Asia. While at first it may have seemed that the VOC were to enlarge the territory size of the Dutch overseas to contest with the other European superpowers, they were in fact predominantly more concerned with maximizing their profits through their many monopolies in the trade system. The most popular products to be exchanged in the trading system taken out of Asian and brought to Europe were spices such as pepper, which were exceedingly valuable for the Europeans and most plentiful in Asia.
New York is known as one of the most popular cities in the United States and also one of the largest. New York is located in the Eastern Standard time zone and is in the North Eastern of the United States. It is listed as the 27th of the biggest cities you can find in the United States. People called New York the ‘’five boroughs home’’ because there are five states surrounding New York naming, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens County and Staten island. You can find a variety of cultures in the city of New York, which is great for those who like to travel for culture. Tourists can find a variety of things to do in New York City that can keep you busy for weeks. Another two names which people called New York is the Big Apple because of an old saying from musicians saying “there are many apples on a tree but only one big apple” from this, new york is the big city in the United states, and the city that never sleeps because no matter at what time you walk through the town you will always find something to do and places that are still open. Especially if you enjoy going into the night life and having a bit of fun with friends, there will always be a night club open.. It is an ‘’architectural marvel’’ where you can find a big variety of skyscrapers which gives you a beautiful sight of New York and its surroundings.