ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the effects of provincial trade policies on the growth and decline of Holland's export brewing centers during the Dutch Republic. It shows that provincial trade policies indeed affected market integration and regional specialization in the brewing industry. The chapter explores that the Union of Utrecht was more than a defense pact, however. It describes visionary document which included a broad range of provisions, including a monetary union, a unified tax system, and freedom of religion. The tension between provincial unity and provincial particularism is evident in, and an outgrowth of, the Union of Utrecht. The market share of Holland's brewers in provincial export markets declined as the demand for imported beers dropped. By the early eighteenth century, tariff barriers protected less efficient local brewers and the interprovincial beer trade largely dried up. Thus, provincial protectionist trade policies fragmented the beer market and reduced the gains from trade and regional specialization.
