the Eastern
Mediterranean, caused the loss of Cyprus, Crete (Candia) and Morea to
the Venetians and greatly aided the Portuguese in establishing their
commercial supremacy. Less profitable for the latter was the possession
of their American colonies. They, as well as the Spaniards, adopted here
a policy which ultimately brought commercial and industrial ruin upon
both. Entirely neglecting agriculture and relying on the mineral
resources of their transatlantic colonies, which were believed to be
inexhaustible, they strove to amass riches by reserving for themselves
the exclusive privilege of supplying them with the manufactures of
Europe in exchange for American gold. Neglecting home industries, they
bought their supplies as well as those of their colonies in France,
Holland and England. A spirit of speculation and adventure enervated
their people, and led in time to commercial bankruptcy and political
disaster.

Spain also drained her treasury by her wars with her Dutch dependencies,
and the loss of her northern provinces was a serious blow to her
commerce. Antwerp, which had become the successor of Bruges as the
commercial emporium of the north, began to decline, and Amsterdam, the
metropolis of the new Dutch republic, became heir to its glory and its
riches. The young republic at once commenced to compete in the carrying
trade with Spain and Portugal, and to make inroads into the eastern
commerce of the latter.

The Dutch East India Company, which was organized in 1602, sent a fleet
of fourteen vessels into the Indian Archipelago to found colonies in
Java, Sumatra and the Moluccas. In a short time they had monopolized the
entire spice trade, which immediately became a source of great wealth.
A cargo of five vessels, which returned to Amsterdam in 1603, consisted
of over two million pounds of spices. This cargo was purchased for
588,874 florins and was sold for 2,000,000 florins. It is under these
circumstances not surprising that the dividends of the company's
stockholders often amounted to 75 per cent., and never went below 12-1/2
per cent. previous to 1720. Holland's colonial trade made Amsterdam the
commercial metropolis of Europe. It became the grain market from which
Spain, Italy and other countries drew their supplies. All the products
of the world found purchasers here, and a well-developed banking system
greatly facilitated the exchange. The rapid accumulation of fortunes by
the Dutch merchants and bankers