The Dutch Miracle refers to the Netherlands's miraculous transition in the 1590s from a possession of the Holy Roman Empire to the foremost maritime and economic power in the world. The phenomenon is summarized by K. W. Swart in his article, The Miracle of the Dutch Republic as Seen in the Seventeenth Century, delivered at University College London 6 November 1967.
Famous quotes containing the words dutch and/or miracle:
“‘Tis probable Religion after this
Came next in order; which they could not miss.
How could the Dutch but be converted, when
The Apostles were so many fishermen?
Besides the waters of themselves did rise,
And, as their land, so them did re-baptize.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
“Fame sometimes hath created something out of nothing. She hath made whole countries more than nature ever did, especially near the poles, and then hath peopled them likewise with inhabitants of her own invention, pigmies, giants, and amazons: yea, fame is sometimes like unto a mushroom, which Pliny recounts to be the greatest miracle in nature, because growing and having no root, as fame no ground of her reports.”
—Thomas Fuller (1608–1661)