This book offers a discussion of the processes by which a unique Dutch society was produced and an analysis of its character.

The Dutch Republic was a major power politically and economically and the paintings produced by its artists, including Rembrandt and Vermeer still resonate today. While the international role of the Republic, its economic development and cultural achievements have all been explored, the society which lay behind these successes has received markedly less attention.

Dutch society in this period was to a significant extent different from that of the rest of Europe. A high proportion of the population lived in the numerous towns and market forces had penetrated the whole economy and transformed every level of society. J. L. Price sets these social changes against the late sixteenth century background and in the context of international, political and economic circumstances of the seventeenth century. In the final chapters the effects of the strains of war and a stagnant and faltering economy on Dutch society are outlined.