From Romans To Habsburgs (100 Bc To Ad 1579). Romans under Julius Caesar invaded the region in the first century BC, displacing Celtic and Germanic tribes. The native Germanic tribes had the last laugh in the AD fourth century as their retaliating forces swept through Roman lands in the Low Countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Freedom was short-lived: the Franks supplanted the Romans from the fifth to the eighth century. During this period, towns rose as powerful, independent centers. The House of Burgundy infiltrated the region in the 14th century to establish a centralized yet truncated monarchy. By the 15th century, the Austrian Habsburgs had seized the Dutch crown by marriage. When Philip I of the Habsburgs married into the Spanish royal family, the Netherlands was subjected to another foreign power.
Utrecht And The Start Of The Golden Age (1579-1651). The Netherlands was officially founded in 1579 under the Union of Utrecht, which aimed to form an independent group of provinces and cities led by a States-General. Under Prince William of Orange, the Dutch declared independence from Spain in 1580. This sparked a prolonged struggle and religious debate between the Protestant Netherlands and Catholic Spain. The conflict was settled in 1609 by the Twelve Years’ Truce, which recognized the Netherlands’ sovereignty. But the feisty Spanish kept fighting until Dutchman Frederick Henry defeated them on land, while the Dutch navy near Cuba and along the English coast stopped them at sea. An embarrassed Spain offered the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which acknowledged Dutch independence and pushed for an alliance against growing France.
Age of Exploration, Dutch Golden Age, Dutch East India Company Cape of Good Hope Dutch West India Company New AmsterdamWar Games And Power Struggles (1651-1780). Neighboring European powers hotly resented the domestic and foreign success of the Dutch. England sought recompense by passing Navigation Acts in 1651 and 1660 aimed at severely limiting Dutch incursions on English trade, then by attacking the Dutch navy. The vastly stronger Brits prevailed, forced peace, and secretly drafted the Act of Seclusion, forever banning the independence-seeking Prince of Orange from Dutch politics. Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt managed to rebuild the Netherlands’ military and economy, but bitterness between English and the Dutch remained paramount. With the restoration of King Charles II of England in 1660, the Dutch carefully negotiated an alliance with the French and sabotaged the English fleet in 1667 in the Raid on the Medway.
King Louis XIV William III, Mary, Glorious Revolution,French Rule And Independence (1780-1914). The Netherlands was the second country, after France, to recognize the American Revolution—sparking English anger, another attack, and yet another war. In 1795, French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte invaded, conquering a Netherlands weakened by war and perhaps overly sympathetic to the French Revolution. After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the Treaty of Vienna (1815) established the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Belgium and Luxembourg. Although this new union did not last, with Belgium revolting and gaining independence in 1839, King William I of Orange still managed to rebuild the economy and trade routes. Under William, the Dutch created a constitution establishing the Netherlands as a constitutional monarchy in which parliament held most of the power, leading to the formation of modern political parties. Queen Wilhelmina succeeded to the throne in 1890, breaking the tradition of male ascendancy.
The World Wars (1914-1945). When World War I broke out, the Dutch remained neutral, focusing on trade and economy. Surrounded by combatting nations, their country suffered deprivation as intense as that of WWI’s active participants. World War II again breached Dutch neutrality: the Nazis invaded in May 1940 and occupied the nation for five years. The Dutch suffered horribly. All acts of resistance were punished severely, and the population nearly starved. Jews, including Anne Frank and her family, were sent to concentration camps. Frank’s diary is now a quintessential account of life under Nazi rule and her home was made into a museum in Amsterdam .
The Post-War Era (1945-1990). After the war, Wilhelmina supported sweeping democratic changes for the nation, creating proportional representation in government. The nation also abandoned its policy of neutrality, joining NATO and creating the Benelux economic union with Belgium and Luxembourg. To recover from the devestation of WWII, the government started an economic policy that focused on industrial and commercial expansion.
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) Labour Party (PvdA) Liberal Party (VVD) European Union (EU). Queen Beatrix, Pim Fortuyn Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) Jan Peter Balkenende, Christian Union (CU) International Court of Justice, The Hague
 |
 |
 |
 |
For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube
Foursquare
Newsletter
RSS Feed
Overview