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It is of interest that one of the greatest trade commodities in early 17th century Holland was the tulip bulb. This famous flower had been brought from Turkey via Carolus Clusius, previously Prefect of the Imperial Medicinal Garden of the Austrian emperor. Any unusual tulip (often resulting from a virus infection) became a status symbol and prices sky-rocketed, with the tulip trade becoming a full-time occupation for many. Speculation in "futures" followed and laws and regulations were drawn up defining the way business should be carried on. Sometimes a single bulb would sell for 2,500 florins. Finally, however, as more and more bulbs flooded the market the collapse came and by mid-century Holland was on the brink of bankruptcy with this as a major factor. Tulip-mania ended, but the flower remained. (Ref. 13 ) Tea was introduced to the Dutch in this century, probably from Japan and soon all Europe thought that it would cure all illnesses. (Ref. 211 )

In religion the Dutch found it profitable to practice a degree of toleration broader than elsewhere in Christendom. The majority were Calvinists, but the Catholics were so numerous that suppression was impractical. Marrano Jews accumulated in many of the cities and they were granted freedom of worship but were forbidden to marry Christians.

The Jews included some of the wealthiest merchants. Some 4,000 Portuguese-Jewish families built a beautiful synagogue, which is still one of the sights -of Amsterdam. About 1630 Ashkenazaic, or Eastern (German) Jews arrived but were not welcomed well by the existing Sephardic group. Dutch cities were flooded with books and publishers and in at least five different cities there were books printed in Latin, Greek, German, English, French and Hebrew, as well as in Dutch. Amsterdam, alone, had 400 shops with books.

The area now called Belgium broke free from Spain for about 20 years at the opening of this century under Archduke Albert, but then it fell back under Spanish rule. Although ethnically diverse, the people were overwhelmingly Catholic, preferring to be dominated by a distant Catholic Spain than be subjected to Protestant neighbors. They welcomed the Jesuits and followed the intellectual lead of the Catholic University of Louvain. By the treaty of Westphalia, Spain had agreed to the closing of the River Scheldt to foreign trade, so that the city of Antwerp and the country 's entire economy was crippled. At the end of the century Belgium served as the battle ground for the French-Spanish wars, with the result that a large section of the beautiful city of Brussels was destroyed by French bombardment in 1695. It is somewhat ironic that Liege had developed a booming armaments industry, supplying much of Europe. (Ref. 279 ) One of the few great Flemish painters of this century was David Teniers, the Younger. (Continue on page 968)

British isles

England and wales

This 17th century was a time of transition from the island kingdom of Queen Elizabeth to the great European power of the later 18th and l9th centuries. (Ref. 131 ) The struggle of the English throne to rule with absolute monarchy against the powers of Parliament had ensued through the reigns of Henry VII and VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I, but it came to an acute reckoning at the death of James I (Stuart of Scotland and son of Mary, Queen of Scots) in 1625. When Charles I then became king, civil war broke out and he countered by declaring war on Spain and France, further deteriorating the financial state of England. In 1628 Parliament issued the "Petition of Right", citing the old Magna Carta and reviewing various limitations on the king. Charles dismissed the Parliament and called none to meet for 11 years. A long civil war followed (the English Revolution, 1640-1688), with the king holding out in Oxford and the Parliament controlling London. Oliver Cromwell emerged as a military organizer, who picked religious enthusiasm as a rallying agent (Puritans), formed the "Ironsides" as a democratic military unit, beheaded Charles after a "trial" by a Rump Commons, suppressed an Irish Catholic insurrection, chastised Scotland again at the battle of Dunbar (1650) and then took to sea, trouncing the Dutch navy and making the English fleet supreme. Cromwell's Puritan supporters, who often wore short hair, were derisively called "Round-heads" in distinction to the wigged Cavaliers, supporters of the king. Commercially England was far behind the Dutch, but it soon became clear that only the English could possibly challenge them. More war with Spain followed and the Spanish fleet was again destroyed. At Cromwell's death in 1658 his republicanism came to an end and the son of Charles I, Charles II, was brought back to the throne, restoring the Stuart Monarchy. Under Cromwell the simple citizen profited little, although the merchant princes prospered from the wars. Rule by army and naked force, even coated by the religious cant of Puritanism, was still offensive and at the end Cromwell's regime was hated perhaps more than any that had gone before.

Questions & Answers

how does Neisseria cause meningitis
Nyibol Reply
what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
what is inflammation
Shelly Reply
part of a tissue or an organ being wounded or bruised.
Wilfred
what term is used to name and classify microorganisms?
Micheal Reply
Binomial nomenclature
adeolu
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Source:  OpenStax, A comprehensive outline of world history. OpenStax CNX. Nov 30, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10595/1.3
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