A vivid account of the exoticism of the Dutch Republic at a critical moment in its cultural and political historyThe seventeenth century witnessed a great flourishing of Dutch trade and culture. Over the course of the first half of the century, the northern Netherlands secured independence from the Spanish crown, and the nascent republic sought

"The early years of the seventeenth century saw a great flourishing of Dutch culture. In the arts, this was the era of Vermeer and Rembrandt, as well as the development of a local art market. Commerce extended around the world, with state-sponsored trading companies importing foreign goods. Politically, the Netherlands became the first nation-state in Europe, in 1648. In this book, Claudia Swan considers all these aspects together, examining the material culture of the period-the designed, manufactured, and hand-crafted materials and wares-to show how the Dutch encounter with so-called "exotic" goods played a fundamental role in the country's political formation"--

"The special, indeed exceptional, value of this excellent book, a work that took many years to complete, lies in the precious role it plays as a bridge between the Dutch art world of the early seventeenth century and the far better-documented processes of commerce, the expansionist policy of the East India Company in the Far East, and the diplomatic world of the day."---Jonathan I. Israel, Journal of Modern History