The Dutch Tiphys

...also established a voyage to the East Indies The regions of South and Southeast Asia, primarily sought for the spice trade. and the spice-bearing islands by a long circuit around the lands and jutting capes A reference to the sea route around the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, which bypassed the traditional Middle Eastern land routes.. From that time, the customs duties of the Alexandrians Alexandria, Egypt, served as the primary gateway for Eastern goods into the Mediterranean before the age of discovery. were gradually cut away; and that most abundant flow of tax revenue to the Venetians The Republic of Venice previously held a near-monopoly on the distribution of spices in Europe. was diminished in no small part. Indeed, the kings of Portugal original: Lusitaniae brought all this wealth into their own treasury. By that success and opportunity, Spain original: Hispania; this refers to the period when the Spanish and Portuguese crowns were united, giving Spain control over the global spice trade. held almost all of Europe tributary for many years; until at last the New World itself (after it had grown ashamed of such a dire yoke), as the fates turned, constructed spice and pepper warehouses in your very inner chambers at Amsterdam and elsewhere, almost without you realizing it.

Roused by this opportunity, you filled all the seas with your fleets through a zeal for navigation. From this it has come to pass that our men, for whom previously nothing was more precious than idle leisure, now stir all the seas and, where land fails, delight in wandering the Ocean itself, seeking unknown lands. And from this also, such great splendor has come to your cities, and a singular and exceptional cultivation of those arts has shone forth, for the praise of which the Phoenicians The ancient maritime civilization mentioned previously as the originators of navigation and letters. are so greatly celebrated.

For YOU, although you were occupied by a very great and difficult war The Eighty Years' War, the Dutch struggle for independence against the Spanish Empire. by a most powerful enemy on land and sea, nevertheless established the University of Leiden original: Academia Lugduni in Batavis; founded in 1575, it was the first university in the Dutch Republic and a reward for the city's endurance during a Spanish siege., with men most celebrated and learn... The text breaks here; the catchword "ctrina" suggests the next page continues with "learned in doctrine" or "teaching."