‘Tsar Peter the Great was on extremely bad terms with the Dutch regents’
Misunderstandings, blunders and bad judgement were all instrumental in the Republic of the United Netherlands’ swift fall from political power in the Baltic Sea in the first half of the eighteenth century. This was despite the fact that the Republic relied heavily on trade with the areas around the Baltic Sea (known as the mother of all trade). The story of the Dutch influence on the waning power of Sweden and the growing power of Russia under Tsar Peter the Great is primarily a tale of bad personal relations and missed opportunities.
This was the gist of an inaugural lecture given by historian and Russia specialist Hans van Koningsbrugge at the University of Groningen on Tuesday 21 May. His research constitutes an insightful reflection on four centuries of relations between The Hague and the Kremlin in this special Netherlands-Russia year.
Tsar Peter the Great ‘too inquisitive’
It is an iconic moment in history: Tsar Peter the Great visiting the shipyards of the Netherlands, looking for knowledge that would strengthen his own maritime war machine. But although this image is well-known to many of the Dutch, very few people are aware of the appalling state of relations between the Tsar and the Dutch regents. Van Koningsbrugge: ‘All Russian objectives were destroyed by the bad will that dominated the Republic. The Dutch considered the Tsar too inquisitive, and this affected their willingness to help the Russians.’
Complete disaster
According to Van Koningsbrugge, the Tsar’s visit in 1716-1717 was a complete disaster. When the Tsar’s pregnant wife gave birth during the visit and lost her infant shortly afterwards, the Dutch government heaved a sigh of relief: they did not need to buy a christening present after all. The suggestion of a gift for the Tsarin worth thousands of ducats was openly abandoned by the Amsterdam Baltic Sea Merchants.
Dutch neutrality leads to political fiasco
The balance of power in the Baltic changed as Peter the Great’s Russia started to gain ground in the Great Northern War. This war, with Russia and Sweden as the main opponents, heralded a definitive end to Sweden’s status as one of the great powers. In formal terms, the Republic of the United Netherlands was neutral in relation to the warring parties, although this did not stop it from secretly supplying arms to the Russians nor did it prevent Swedish privateers from attacking Dutch merchant ships.
By the end of the war in 1721, the Republic had lost every vestige of political influence it had ever had over Sweden or Russia. Its pertinent refusal to take sides played an important part in this fiasco: both Sweden and Russia concluded that they could not rely on any form of real support from the Republic.
Emotions beat rationality
Van Koningsbrugge thinks that the Dutch regents allowed themselves to be guided by emotions at crucial moments. They were angry about the Swedish raids on Dutch ships and about the Russian commander’s abuse of power over Dutch merchants, who were assaulted and their cargoes impounded for many months. This general dissatisfaction was reinforced by diplomatic scandals such as the public Russian kidnapping of an officer from the Groningen garrison and the expulsion of a Dutch diplomat from St Petersburg.
Dutch diplomats continued to demand formal apologies for these practices as a condition for renewing political relations, and so the Republic gradually lost touch with the developments that really counted. ‘They missed quite a few junctions’, claims Van Koningsbrugge on the basis of his extensive review of the literature. Relations in 2013 are much better, says the Russia specialist. ‘Trade relations are excellent, and these days both sides favour the rational approach. We’re in a much better position than we were then.’
Curriculum Vitae
Hans van Koningsbrugge is Professor of Russian History and Politics at the University of Groningen. A historian, he specializes in Dutch-Baltic relations in the 18th century and in contemporary Russian history and politics. He is also director of the Netherlands-Russia Centre and the Centre for Russian Studies, both of which are based at the University of Groningen.
See also this Unifocus video: The Russian soul
Last modified: | 22 November 2021 3.40 p.m. |
More news
-
05 February 2025
Causes of Death Unraveled: From Doctor's Note to Dataset
The leading cause of death in the past year was dementia (*). But how was that in the nineteenth and early twentieth century? Researchers at Radboud University, the University of Groningen and Leiden University started a project to uncover this by...
-
03 February 2025
The Frisian language is passed on more successfully than Low Saxon
Frisian is in a better condition than Low Saxon. Frisians tend to use the language more at home and are better at passing it on than inhabitants of the region where Low Saxon is spoken. In addition, Frisian is less receptive to Dutch influences than...
-
30 January 2025
UG research on extremism in IJsselland
Although extremism is a limited phenomenon in IJsselland, it should be taken seriously due to its dynamic and multifaceted nature and recent social developments. This is the conclusion of a research report published today on extremism in the eleven...