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A comment on How did Europe become the richest part of the world?. Parent comment

Re:How did Europe become the richest part of the world? by mafribe on Friday February 17, 2017 @01:20PM (#13670423)
I'd venture a different theory: Germany and Italy were not unified and pacified states at the time (and Switzerland is tiny and doesn't have a coast). In contrast, the European empire builders, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, and the UK were unified, pacified, reasonably large/wealthy and sea-faring.
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Re:How did Europe become the richest part of the world? by dep_b on Friday February 17, 2017 @06:16PM (#13672553)
The Netherlands are tiny and a very young country at that time surrounded by much stronger neighbors. With a good fleet defensible though since a lot of parts can be flooded to prevent invasion.
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Re:How did Europe become the richest part of the world? by icebraining on Friday February 17, 2017 @01:40PM (#13670593)
reasonably large/wealthy

Portugal is small and was quite poor until the colonization started. It did have quite a large maritime coast and tradition, though.

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