Why was the Netherlands so successful?

From what little I've read, I've noticed that the Netherlands goes from being a peripheral territory in revolt against the Spanish Empire to a great seafaring nation on par with Spain itself. But how did this happen? Why was the Netherlands so successful, and from an alternate history standpoint, could another small northern European state with have done the same thing in its place? Like Denmark, or even Hamburg if it acquired some territory.
 
It had a nice position at the mouth of the Rhine, and could sell a lot of stuff further upstream. It also managed to get itself out of the way from marauding armies to an extent, and by being on the coast, portions of the Netherlands did well by not needing to deal with constant tolls.
 
The Low Countries were always prosperous. The big change was that the center of their wealth had been in the south (particularly Antwerp) before the revolt, but then it shifted north to Amsterdam as a result of it.
 
Also a long tradition of sea-faring and sea-born trade (the Frisians, although continuity can be debated) Furthermore a good central location in western Europe, with access to the Rhine. No real hills or obstacles ensures good fields with large agricultural surplusses, enabling proto-urbanisation. Independence and a rather democratic government, so no extravagant palaces, courts or wars. And that all is combined with rich traders who fled north after the fall of Antwerp.
 
They were very innovative economically speaking, pioneering some of the first joint-stock companies, which gave them a pretty big comparative advantage over their competitors in terms of recuperating any capital losses abroad
 
The Low Countries were quite rich and far from a “periphery” part of Spain’s possessions - quite the contrary, they spent exorbitant amounts of blood and treasure to defend and retain them for a reason
 
The Low Countries also had a long history of needing to construct dikes and levies to secure land. Such land was utilized far more extensively than countries with more and easier accessible land. The Low Lands were the most densely populated part of Europe. The dikes and levies also forced rather cooperative projects that further helped the community, and built up such organizations.
 
Netherlands was one of the most urbanized regions of Europe, it was a mercantile and manufacturing hub. The Spanish overlordship also resulted in the influx of South European and American crops and farming technics, which made Netherlands agricultural first movers for North Europe, the sinking land also resulted in Netherlands being on forefront in land reclaimation, draining and use of wind power.
 
Top