Despite ceaseless conflict between different classes and cities, Holland's rise to powerwas almost miraculously rapid. In a few short years a tiny country gained control of territory from Indonesia to the West Indies, from South Africa to South America. In this marvellously evocative book Professor Boxer recaptures the scenes of adventure and dissipation in the four corners of the earth , the upsurgein the arts and sciences, and the sad decoines from the ' Golden Centurt' to the 'Periwig Period'. Few stories could be as rich and colourful, yet it was largely inspired by the ' grave and sober people of Holland', the Calvinist merchants of Amsterdam who forged a nation based on ' gain and godliness'. Such were the people whom Rembrandt painted, who debated policies of apartheid or assimilation, who founded factories and forts. The Dutch Seaborne empire offers a portrait of them all, as they made their spectaculair entrance into the modern world.