History of Protestantism in the Netherlands - James Aitken Wylie

They sent their merchant fleet over every sea -- to
the fertile islands of the West, to the rich continents
of the East. They erected forts on promontories and
creeks, and their settlements were dispersed
throughout the world. They formed commercial
treaties and political alliances with the most
powerful nations. The various wealth that was
wafted to their shores was ever greater than that
which had flowed in on Spain after the discovery
of the mines of Mexico and Peru. Their land, which
yielded little besides milk and butter, overflowed
with the necessaries and luxuries of all the earth.
The wheat, and wine, and oil of Southern Europe;
the gold and silver of Mexico; the spices and
diamonds of the East; the furs of Northern Europe;
silk, cotton, precious woods, and marbles --
everything, in short, which the earth produces, and
which can contribute to clothe the person, adorn
the dwelling, supply the table, and enhance the
comfort of man, was gathered into Holland. And
while every wind and tide were bringing to their
shores the raw materials, the persecutions which
raged in other countries were daily sending crowds
of skillful and industrious men to work them up.
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