In this episode we chart the Protestant uprising in the Low Countries and the war with Spain that followed We witness a Dutch Republic that emerged from this religious and cultural conflict which promoted liberal and mercantile values that changed the face of a civil society increasingly at odds with an old Europe ruled by royal elites

In 1600 the Dutch formed the East India Company the first multinational corporation It developed a monopoly with the Asian spice trade and its huge maritime fleet became the worlds most powerful and profitable shipping company The Dutch today are actively debating their colonial legacy which involved the enslavement and exploitation of millions in their former Asian and Caribbean colonies