Question: what group dominated the government and economy of the netherlands after 1648

title: Economic history of the Netherlands (1500–1815)
text: From 1780 on , however , a new conjuncture of internal and external conditions and forces conspired to bring the economy and the political structure of the Republic to a crisis that they could not survive . The Fourth Anglo - Dutch War ended the cloak of neutrality which had protected Dutch shipping for most of the century , in that period obviating the need for naval protection that was now lacking due to many years of neglect of the navy . Trade came temporarily to a standstill , because the British blockade could not be broken , despite the relative success of the Dutch navy in the Battle of Dogger Bank ( 1781 ) . The trade of the VOC was devastated , even apart from the loss of some of its colonies . It experienced a liquidity crisis which exposed its inherent insolvency . The company was too important to let it fail ( also because of the importance of its outstanding debt in the Dutch financial system ) , so that it was kept afloat for more than a decade by emergency aid from the States of Holland , before it was finally nationalized in 1796 . The