The economic prosperity of the Netherlands during the early modern period filled contemporaries with amazement and envy. Modern day historians also feel this sense of amazement. In much of their research, however, a remarkable one-sidedness has crept in. In the course of time, the individual has almost been lost from sight. As a result, an important aspect of our economic history is largely ignored. By focusing attention on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship during the early modem age, this book gives an impetus to re-evaluating the role and importance of the individual in economic life. Not surprisingly, the Dutch staplemarket plays a central role in many of the essays. This does not mean that only merchants and industrialists living in the Netherlands are included. Various articles examine Dutch merchant communities abroad and their relation with the staplemarket. What all of the essays have in common, however, is the intent to include with the economic, also the political, social, cultural, and religious aspects of human thought and behavior.