This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the previous chapters of this book. The book explains The Dutch Republic thrived midst the war-related misery, which dominated much of Europe in the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Before the reasons for this paradox are outlined, it's worth remembering that numerous inhabitants of the northern Netherlands paid a high price during the Dutch Wars of Independence. The Dutch turned out to be masters of exploring and utilizing these opportunities: they constituted the first territorial state to successfully engage in commercialized warfare. Other belligerent states were rarely such reliable employers or customers, and the contrast with the Dutch Republic was striking. In two respects, the northern Netherlands also experienced difficulties in the commercialization of warfare after 1650. First, the Dutch Wars of Independence had advanced the expansion of their position in international trade. Second, the positive distributive effects of war expenditure diminished.