Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Dutch Golden Age period began in 1588 when the Dutch Republic was formally established and ended in 1672. This timeframe covers decades of violent struggle known as the Eighty Years War which started in 1568.
Trade with Baltic states and Poland called Mothertrade provided bulk resources like grain and wood while serving as the main source of Republic wealth. The Bank of Amsterdam established in 1609 became the precursor to modern central banking systems and supported abundant capital for large fleets and commodity reserves.
More than 550,000 people were brought to America in slavery by Dutch ships according to historical estimates. Approximately 1.7 million people were enslaved by Dutch slavers from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries across Atlantic Indian Ocean slave trades.
University Leiden established in 1575 became a gathering place for intellectuals seeking refuge from religious persecution. French philosopher René Descartes lived Holland from 1628 until 1649 publishing major works in Amsterdam and Leiden while Pierre Bayle died in Rotterdam in 1706.
The Dutch East India Company founded in 1602 became one of history's first multinational corporations financed by shares. This company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade lasting two centuries before becoming the largest commercial enterprise of its century.