Dutch Republic · 1588-1672

The Dutch Golden Age

A small republic becomes a world power through water, trade and ships. Students trace the trade network and discuss both the wealth and its dark side.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1650
Live lesson
7 rounds, 4 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live
The ChronoAtlas map in AD 1650, with the places this lesson visits a The republic itselfAD 1650 b A world of tradeAD 1650 c The other sideAD 1650
Plate 362Dutch Republic, AD 1650. The letters mark the three map steps of this lesson.

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
4 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A small republic becomes a world power through water, trade and ships. Students trace the trade network and discuss both the wealth and its dark side.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how a small country built a global trade network in the 1600s.
  • Point out three places on the map where the Dutch Republic had trading posts.
  • Name one positive and one negative consequence of that trade empire.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

The map in AD 1650 a

AD 1650

The republic itself

Open the map in 1650 on the Low Countries. Compare the Republic's size with France and Spain. What do you notice?

Open this view on the map
The map in AD 1650 b

AD 1650

A world of trade

Turn on the trade routes layer and zoom out to the world. Follow a Dutch route east. Which products came back on those ships?

Open this view on the map
The map in AD 1650 c

AD 1650

The other side

Look at the Atlantic routes between Africa and the Americas. What was traded there, and who paid the price?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why could a country this small become this rich? Name at least two reasons.
  2. The VOC is sometimes called the first multinational. What made it different from a normal trading company?
  3. Amsterdam's canals were built in this period. What does a city's architecture tell you about its economy?
  4. The same century brought wealth to the Republic and slavery to its colonies. How should we remember such a period?
  5. What ended the Golden Age? Look at the map around 1672.
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History: rule as a Dutch stadhouder or VOC governor. Afterwards, discuss: which choices were profitable but wrong by today's standards?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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