The year 1672, known in the Netherlands as the 'Rampjaar' (Disaster Year), saw a major banking crisis amid a French invasion and naval war with England. The Middelburg bank suspended payments following a series of bank runs, while the Bank of Amsterdam narrowly avoided collapse by maintaining its reserves. The crisis shattered Dutch economic confidence and exposed the fragility of the republic's financial system during wartime.

The Rampjaar inspired a flood of Dutch poetry and pamphlets lamenting the nation's misfortunes, with poets like Joost van den Vondel and Jan Vos reflecting on the fragility of commercial prosperity. The crisis became a recurring theme in Dutch literature, symbolizing the dangers of pride and the unpredictability of fortune, and influenced later economic writings on banking stability.