Two worlds existed in a limited space:

In conferring the southern provinces on his daughter, the Infanta Isabella, and on his son-in-law, Albert, Philip II gave Flanders the illusion of independence, but the country was to be ravaged by war and involved in the Spanish downfall. The Treaties of Münster (1648), the Pyrenees (1659), Aachen and Nijmegen closed the Scheldt, deprived Flanders of considerable territory; the Barrier Treaty (1715) confirmed the transfer of Flanders to Austria.

The court patronized the arts (Rubens became the official court painter) and certain national industries such as tapestry making.

Religious zeal revealed itself not only in the foundation of numerous monasteries but in the stimulus given to the arts under the influence of religious Orders, in particular of the Jesuits. Architecture, transplanted from Rome, was then the expression of the Catholic revival which triumphed in Flanders.

The assembly of the States General of The Hague was permanent from 1593. The United Provinces developed individually in about 1610; in the north, Holland and Zeeland (Orange family), dominated by middle class merchants; Friesland and Groningen, rural democracy; in the south, the ancient archbishopric of Utrecht, where the clergy, middle class and nobility were in conflict; in the centre, Overijssel and Gelderland dominated by the nobility.

Holland was agitated by the political rivalry between the Republicans, middle class, peace-loving and liberal in religion and the Orangeman, centralisers, democrats and warlike, from whose ranks numerous Stadtholders were chosen: Maurice of Nassua (1567-1625), who held a veritable court in The Hague, Frederick Henry (1584-1647) and William II (1626-1672). The Republican party triumphed in 1648 with Pauw, Jacob de Witt and his son Jan (1632-1672), and opposed Louis XIV's projects. In 1672, the assassination of the de Witts brothers and the breaking of the dykes brought back the Orange party. From 1672 to 1720, William III and the Grand Pensionaries were the preservers of liberty in Europe.

Religious differences complicated the political conflicts. The Protestants were divided. The Arminian sect (1610-1619) was opposed by the Dordrecht synod; the narrow Calvinism of the Gomarists triumphed.

Trade was prosperous, with agriculture, fishing, and the traditional industries: cloth (Leyden), linen (Haarlem), velvet (Utrecht). Amsterdam was the international market for precious metals; its bank was founded on 1609.

Colonies developed with the growth of the navy which brought Holland into contact with all parts of the world. The East India Co., started by shipbuilders, merchants and rich middle class men, seized the Portuguese trading posts of the Sunda Islands, founded Batavia in Java, conquered Ceylon and the Cape, established relations with China and Japan. The West India Co. exploited the Atlantic coasts of Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean Islands until the independence of Portugal (1640-1661).