The Dutch Republic of 1650, being a formidable commercial, financial and naval power at the time, faced many imperialist challenges which led to the end of its golden age in 1713. The security of the Dutch Republic was constantly facing wars due to the weak military capabilities of merchants, which was seen by the Dutch as a sign of an impending series of military conflicts and by foreign nations as a way to conquer the republic. The richest province, Holland at the time, gave rise to rivalries and jealous and unequal provinces who all saw Holland as a threat and also fought to get ahead of the others. The prosperity of the Dutch Republic began to plummet as trade was damaged, leading to the destruction of the empire, and the Dutch saw this as a reason why there was great competition between the Republic and the English. Due to all the wars that the Dutch Republic was involved in, they were not able to deal with the wars because Holland was the only province with some money and could not win against larger nations like England which could become a threat. In combat and naval warfare, the Dutch were significantly outmatched in terms of power. The estimated losses of Dutch ships seized by the English for merchant shipping during the three Anglo-Dutch Wars were around 2,000 to 2,700. The Dutch, in contrast, seized only around 500 ships ( Document 3). This particularly shows that the Dutch were not able to defend themselves against foreign nations, especially the English. This also shows that the English posed a huge threat to the Dutch Republic as they could easily defeat the Dutch in battle. Likewise, the Dutch were unable to commit any support to their East India Company. This point of view of the administrator is correct because he is a member of the office which presides over the business. Due to the drastic challenges that the Dutch Republic went through, its golden age quickly came to an end. Their profits quickly turned to losses, as the prosperity of the provinces was soon rivaled by larger nations that had conquered and dominated trade in Europe. While many nations wished to take control of the Republic, the Dutch were soon weakened by wars considered harmful by the population of the country as well as those of surrounding countries. The jealousy of the provinces also caused conflicts that weakened the unification of the entire Dutch Republic. Overwhelmed by the challenges they faced at the time, the Dutch quickly experienced a downward spiral, leading to the end of their golden age within a year. 1713.