State Formation and Urban Finances in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-century Holland

Abstract

The governments of the Habsburg Empire (1477-1579) and the Dutch Republic (1579) depended largely on taxes imposed on Holland's wealthy cities. The wealth of Holland's cities was used for the needs of the state but only by the consent of the urban governments. Such negotiations benefited both town and ruler. Successful efforts of the province to impose control on urban finances involved the loss of urban financial autonomy, but it did not necessarily harm urban funds. Since it involved the restoration of urban credit as well, the great cities of Holland profited by the increasing provincial control over excises.

Fiscal Crises, Forced Loans and Unintended Institutional Consequences in Wartime Buenos Aires, 1800-1820

“…Even highly advanced economies, such as those of Venice and Florence, relied on forced loans for centuries ('t Hart, Brandon and Torres Sánchez 2018). The contrast is not simply one of «forced» vs. «voluntary», however; in times of crisis, even «voluntary loans» were of a forced nature, since rich officers might feel obliged to grant funds to the government (Van der Heijden 2006). The sociology of organisations also shows how coercion depends upon negotiation, since power relations are dependent upon the latter (Crozier and Friedberg 1977).…”

Introduction: New Perspectives on Public Services in Early Modern Europe

“…In the case of Dordrecht, such profit was destined primarily for various public works (such as repair and construction of walls, harbors, and streets). 13 The evolution of new tax systems and public debt seems to have been for many European cities an important condition for efficient policy toward public services. According to this line of reasoning, efficient systems of public provisioning may have been hindered by local providers who clung to traditional structures to protect their autonomy or by governmental inability to organize taxation and public debt.…”

Benefits of Empire? Capital Market Integration North and South of the Alps, 1350–1800

“…Annuity markets have been studied from a variety of perspectives. One strand of the historiography is concerned with the social background of the buyers of annuities and the role such instruments played in constitutional development and public finance (Gabrielsson 1971; Sprandel 1971; Rosen 1978; Gilomen 1982; Alter and Riley 1986; Brown et al 2001; Tracy 2003; Poitras 2006; Zuijderduijn 2009; van der Heijden 2006). This literature explores an issue closely linked to our present concerns: the geographical origin of investors.…”