The Netherlands produced abundant tulips, and this greenhouse contained many rare varieties. They were precisely what had sparked Tulip Mania in the seventeenth century. A still life painting hung in Rubens's bedroom, and it too depicted tulips.
But the Dutch had not been crushed by it. Drawing on the improvements in flower-growing techniques brought about by Tulip Mania, they developed a flower industry. Georgiana felt that if they were Dutch farmers, promoting sugar refining from beets might not be so difficult, because such an industry perhaps represented a business opportunity in the eyes of a commercial people.
Bonaparte intended to carry out massive construction in Antwerp and transform it completely. Not only the city, but also the port and the docks. Everyone knew that goods would have to be transferred at Antwerp; it would become a storage and distribution center for cargo, bringing many employment opportunities.
Although the ports of Vlissingen and Breskens at the mouth of the Scheldt River were in Dutch hands, they had still invited Bonaparte to "inspect" them. It was said that some works were underway there, mainly to allow armed fleets on the river to take shelter and avoid enemy attacks.
Draft limitations meant they could not carry too many cannons, and without cannons there was no firepower. In addition, a continuous road had to be built from Vlissingen to Antwerp. This place was already very close to the North Sea. In 1792, Amsterdam's sea entrance froze over, causing the British Navy to surrender to cavalry from France who arrived by walking across the ice.
Some auxiliary facilities could also be built, so that when the westerlies began to blow, both merchant ships and warships could take shelter there.
The Netherlands lay in the westerly wind belt, with westerlies blowing all year round. Amsterdam's name