Sweden, whose great days came to
an end with the crushing defeat of Charles XII at Pultova in 1709. Trade
relations had been opened between Holland and Muscovy so early as the
end of the 16th century; and, despite English rivalry, the opening out
of Russia and of Russian trade had been almost entirely in Dutch hands
during the 17th century. The relations between the two countries
became much closer and more important after the accession of the
enterprising and reforming Tsar, Peter the Great. It is well known how
Peter in 1696 visited Holland to learn the art of ship-building and
himself toiled as a workman at Zaandam. As a result of this visit he
carried back with him to Russia an admiration for all things Dutch. He
not only favoured Dutch commerce, but he employed numbers of Hollanders
in the building and training of his fleet and in the construction of
waterways and roads. In 1716-17 Peter again spent a considerable time in
Holland. Nevertheless Dutch policy was again timid and cautious; and no
actual alliance was made with Russia, from dread of entanglements,
although the opportunity seemed so favourable.

It was the same when in this year 1717 Cardinal Alberoni, at the
instigation of Elizabeth of Parma the ambitious second wife of Philip V,
attempted to regain Spain's lost possessions in Italy by an aggressive
policy which threatened to involve Europe in war. Elizabeth's object was
to obtain an independent sovereignty for her sons in her native country.
Austria, France and England united to resist this attempt to reverse the
settlement of Utrecht, and the States were induced to join with them in
a quadruple alliance. It was not, however, their intention to take any
active part in the hostilities which speedily brought Spain to reason,
and led to the fall of Alberoni. But the Spanish queen had not given up
her designs, and she found another instrument for carrying them out in
Ripperda, a Groningen nobleman, who had originally gone to Spain as
ambassador of the States. This able and scheming statesman persuaded
Elizabeth that she might best attain her ends by an alliance with
Austria, which was actually concluded at Vienna on April 1, 1725. This
alliance alarmed France, England and Prussia, but was especially
obnoxious to the Republic, for the emperor had in 1722 erected an East
India Company at Ostend in spite of the prohibition placed by Holland
and Spain in the treaties of 1714-15 upon Belgian overseas commerce. By