These themes explore the emergence of the seascape as a genre and the rise of the Dutch Republic as a great maritime power in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A growth in exploration and trade led to the increasing affluence of the Dutch merchant class and, consequently, a demand for paintings depicting maritime subjects for domestic interiors. The economy and success of the newly-formed Dutch Republic were inextricably linked with the sea as were the emerging national identity and international reputation of the young state.