The colonial dispute was a small part of the Dutch Republic's much wider commercial system. Trade with England and its mainland North American colonies formed only a small portion of Dutch activity, so the 1651 restrictions did not carry equal weight on both sides. Competition over access to colonies and the growing eastern trade mattered more to the Dutch. Caribbean, South American, and Far Eastern commerce generated far more money than the mainland settlements at this stage. The comparison prevents later American wealth from being projected backward onto the First Anglo-Dutch War.
Notable Point · 20:51-22:20
The richer trade lay east and south of mainland America
The Navigation Act mattered more to England than to the Dutch, whose larger contest concerned eastern, Caribbean, and South American trade.