450 Years of Leadership: The Technological Flourishing of Holland in the 14th-18th Centuries and What Followed

Innovation and progress are an important section of economic history and the history of technology. In this book, Karel Davids conducts a deep analysis of the issue of technological leadership using the history of the Dutch Republic, which is considered the first modern economy, as a case study. By examining a vast amount of European archival materials, printed sources, and secondary literature, Davids offers a broad overview of Dutch technological progress in Europe, from the High Middle Ages to the early Modern period, explaining the entire process of rise and decline and extending the case of Holland to the evolution of technological leadership in general.

The book "450 Years of Leadership: The Technological Flourishing of Holland in the 14th-18th Centuries and What Followed" will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the development of technologies in the early modern period, trace the connection between technological changes and the economic rise of the Dutch Republic, and gain a broader perspective on the situation in the Netherlands during the early modern period.