Nor did the enterprising spirit of the Dutch confine itself to
the obtaining of these sources of wealth: they became, as we have already
seen, the carriers for nearly the whole of Europe; by their means the
productions of the East were distributed among the European nations, and
the bulky and mostly raw produce of the shores of the Baltic was exchanged
for the productions and manufactures of France, England, Germany, and the
Italian states.
From the middle of the eighteenth century, the commerce of the Dutch began
to decline; partly in consequence of political disputes among themselves,
but principally because other nations of Europe now put forth their
industry with effect and perseverance. The English and the French,
especially, became their great rivals; first, by conducting themselves each
their own trade, which had been previously carried on by the Dutch, and,
subsequently, by the possessions they acquired in the East. The American
war, and soon afterwards the possession of Holland by the French during the
revolutionary war, gave a fatal blow to the remnant of their commerce, from
which it has not recovered, nor is likely at any time to recover, at least
nearly to its former flourishing state. For, as we have remarked, the Dutch
were flourishing and rich, principally because other nations were ignorant,
enslaved, and destitute of industry, skill, and capital.
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