Historicly, the Dutch were always disunited, small duchies, who didn't have much naval power, until Austria came by
Where did the ships the Dutch used in the revolt against Spain come from?
Where were the major shipyards these constructions took place (I presume Antwerp?)
What would the Naval force of a smaller independent Dutch state have been like in the 15th Century (e.g. independent Guelders or Friesland)
How did the Dutch take control of the Austrian ships?
The reason why the Dutch could build so many ships and so could counter larger countries with the advantages of economies of scale, is that they used 'public debt' to pay for the ships. It was one of the first countries that used this financial scheme - city states like Venice and ancient Athens did exactly the same, greatly enlarging their financial resources by borrowing the money from the normal citizen, and thus creating a mutual interest reciprocity between state and citizen, who both needed Holland to survive.
Read this article. I say again, public finances were very well managed in Holland: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=B3927FA0BBE343AB1B4F17F9C9835C66.journals?fromPage=online&aid=453239