The Story of the Goudenleeuw Dynasty, Part Five
- The Tale of Maurits the Great
The last part of this complete story of the Dutch nation, left off with the death of Henrik Lodewijk, who became king of the Netherlands in 1476 and died in the year of our lord 1488. A mere 12 years was this giant of a statesman to sit on the Dutch throne, and yet in those 12 years he managed to implement more policy changes in the Netherlands and in the Holy-Roman Empire, than had been the case of the previous century combined.
Not only did institute the first imperial reforms in the Holy-Roman Empire, but more importantly, he allowed for freedom of religion in a time where the Catholic church had ruled supreme for more than a millennium. Most inhabitants of the Dutch lands preferred the more relaxed religious approach of the reformed Calvinists, to the rigorous ways of the Catholic Church and allowing this type of religious practices in the Dutch lands, called to the core of the Dutch culture. By allowing the Dutch people to practice which ever religion was most to their liking drew many new and industrious people to the lands. People that had suffered under the Catholic oppression in their homelands, and these new people, helped lay the foundation for the future wealth of the Dutch nation.
The son of Henrik Lodewijk, Mauits Van Goudenleeuw was to be the single greatest ruler in all of Dutch history. In one capacity or another he ruled and led the nation from 1488 to 1544. Under Maurits, the nation moved on from the Empire instituted under his forefathers and first into an administrative version of the monarchy, which had come to dominate the Continent. Following this change in regime he later changed the Dutch nation into a real republic, the first one since the days of the Roman Republic, in the days before the Lord our Saviour walked among men.
Among the first actions of this giant among men, was to institute the Hofgericht in the Holy-Roman Empire, so that a centrally recognized court would handle all conflicts and grievances that would arise between the members of the Empire. By doing so, the Emperor would take the blame for any decisions that did not please the members, but it would also reduce any lingering tension within the Empire.
After having tried to reduce the potential for conflict within the Empire, Maurits turned his focus on the Netherlands, for here he saw a nation with a great potential, only waiting to be unleashed. First he solved the rising issues with the many different religions that were taking root in the Dutch lands. This he did by making the most prominent, the reformed Calvinists, the new state religion, but at the same time forbidding any sort of religious persecution. This combined with legislation that allowed the practice of any religion within the Dutch borders, but with the exception that all children were given mandatory instructions in the state religion, so they would at least know what they were consciously deciding not to follow. He also started a mandatory school program for ALL Dutch citizens, so that no Dutch person would ever lack the most basic education.
Seeing the wisdom of his ancestors and the value of the trade generated by the Dutch merchants all over the world, he was quick to help the Dutch merchants with new laws that would secure their trade cargo and help them expand their trade networks. A system of naval convoys was established, and the help of privateers was hired for additional protection and harassment. He also allowed for trade houses to be established, and founded a school of navigation and made it mandatory for all Dutch ships to carry at least one educated navigator on board.
Later in his career, trade houses were also established in the West Indies as well as the Far East, and a much more comprehensive system of laws and regulations was implemented in the lands.
While Maurits made the Netherlands into the greatest nation on the face of the planet, mostly through reforms and institutional changes, he was also behind a rather comprehensive military expansion of the Dutch nation.
The triumphant conquests started with Picardie being taken from the French, in a short war in 1497, this was more a war of French containment, than it was a war of conquest. But the North American war of 1508 was definitely a typical war of imperial colonialism and resulted in the total destruction of the Iroquois people in the New World.
Lands acquired in North America under Maurits
After the war to quite down the native unrest in the New World, it was once again time to consolidate the Dutch grip of the West European region. In 1510, 1512 and 1514, a quick succession of wars resulted in the total destruction of the French armies, along with all the French vassals as well as several Germanic states being defeated and several provinces becoming part of the growing Dutch kingdom.
The Far East expansion was not initially a royally sanctioned expedition, but rather the result of a few powerful merchant houses that were denied access to the rich Chinese markets. They therefore hired a few thousand European mercenaries and managed to gain a small foothold into the Chinese mainland. The people that instigated this war in the name of the Dutch crown were all striped of rank and wealth, but the lands were never given back to the Chinese people, as their strategic value was too high, so in 1518 the Wu provinces were publicly acknowledged as being part of the Dutch kingdom.
After several years of relative peace in Europe, the kingdom of France had once again rebuilt its strength and was once again itching for a war to regain the possessions lost to the Dutch, so in 1521 and again in 1525 the French were punished and utterly defeated by the victorious Dutch armies, resulting in the French loss of both Paris and the surrounding provinces.
Lands acquired in Europe under Maurits
After this, no serious challenge arose to the Dutch power, neither in Europe, Asia or the America, but a Majahapit was conquered in 1525, areas in both Europe and North America were incorporated into the Netherlands in a succession of quick and short wars
In the more than 50 years that Maurits ruled the Netherlands, he managed to take a great nation and mold it into the greatest nation on earth. He managed to quadruple the wealth of the Netherlands; he tripled the Dutch lands as well as doubled the European holdings of the Dutch and doubled the Dutch army and navy.
He also worked tirelessly to improve the conditions for all the people in the Netherlands, and invested heavily in infrastructure and reforms. Under his wise guidance all provinces in the entire realm had roads build, as well as marketplaces, constables and courthouses built.
Player development history:
View attachment Player development.zip
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