119-689: In Dutch history , the year 1672 is referred to as the Rampjaar ( pronounced [ˈrɑmpjaːr] ; Disaster Year ). In May 1672, following the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War and its peripheral conflict the Third Anglo-Dutch War , France , supported by Münster and Cologne , invaded and nearly overran the Dutch Republic . At the same time, it faced the threat of an English naval blockade in support of
238-685: A Nordwestblock stretching from the Somme to the Weser and survived until the Roman period before being absorbed by their Celtic and Germanic neighbours. During his Gallic Wars , Julius Caesar conquered all of Gaul for Rome, and this included the Netherlands south of the Rhine . He also wrote about his experiences in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico , which is the first surviving written account of
357-784: A peace treaty ending the Eighty Years' War that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia. Münster had been, since its re-Catholicism in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster . Only Roman Catholic worship was permitted, while Calvinism and Lutheranism were prohibited. Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which
476-536: A few cases. In Dutch and Frisian historical tradition, the trading centre of Dorestad declined after Viking raids from 834 to 863; however, since no convincing Viking archaeological evidence has been found at the site (as of 2007), doubts about this have grown in recent years. One of the most important Viking families in the Low Countries was that of Rorik of Dorestad (based in Wieringen ) and his brother
595-682: A good opportunity to crush the Dutch competition in trade and colonies. Additionally, Louis promised Charles a notable sum of money, so enabling him to rule without having to consult the English parliament. In 1670, after the mediation of Charles' sister Henrietta Anne Stuart , wife of Louis's brother the Duc d'Orléans, France and England signed the secret Treaty of Dover . The Dutch were aware that negotiations between England and France were going on, but specific details were not known. Johan de Witt counted on
714-569: A heavy toll in money and lives. The Eighty Years' War was a prolonged struggle for the independence of the Protestant-majority Dutch Republic (the modern Netherlands), supported by Protestant-majority England, against Catholic-dominated Spain and Portugal. The Thirty Years' War was the most deadly of the European wars of religion , centred on the Holy Roman Empire. The war, which developed into four phases, included
833-712: A large number of domestic and foreign players, siding either with the Catholic League or the Protestant Union (later Heilbronn League ). The Peace of Prague (1635) ended most religious aspects of the war, and the French–Habsburg rivalry took over prominence. With between 4.5 million and 8 million dead in the Thirty Years' War alone, and decades of constant warfare, the need for peace became increasingly clear. Peace negotiations between France and
952-515: A large part of the conservative noblemen. Some of the main figures in this multi-generational conflict were William IV , Margaret , William V , William VI, Count of Holland and Hainaut, John and Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy . But perhaps the most well known is Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut . Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia ( German : Westfälischer Friede , pronounced [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə] )
1071-556: A new economic alliance with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Benelux , and all three became founding members of the European Union and NATO . In recent decades, the Dutch economy has been closely linked to that of Germany and is highly prosperous. The four countries adopted the euro on 1 January 2002, along with eight other EU member states. During the last ice age, the Netherlands had a tundra climate with scarce vegetation, and
1190-477: A number of chronicles, the last attacks took place in the first decade of the 11th century and were directed at Tiel and/or Utrecht . These Viking raids occurred about the same time that French and German lords were fighting for supremacy over the middle empire that included the Netherlands, so their sway over this area was weak. Resistance to the Vikings, if any, came from local nobles, who gained in stature as
1309-511: A number of objects, including a curved iron sword. Leading up to the arrival of the Romans, the probably Germanic Harpstedt culture rose in the north possibly migrating from Scandinavia due to climatic deterioration which had separated into a northern group that would later become early Frisians and early Saxons and a southern group that extended into the Rhine which eventually developed into
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#17327647298821428-724: A result. The German kings and emperors ruled the Netherlands in the 10th and 11th century, with the assistance of the Dukes of Lotharingia , and the bishops of Utrecht and Liège. Germany was called the Holy Roman Empire after the coronation of King Otto the Great as emperor. The Dutch city of Nijmegen used to be the spot of an important domain of the German emperors. Several German emperors were born and died there, including for example Byzantine empress Theophanu , who died in Nijmegen. Utrecht
1547-453: A series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland , but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the traders in the cities against the ruling nobility. The Cod faction generally consisted of the more progressive cities of Holland . The Hook faction consisted for
1666-575: A supreme head of government would be harmful to 'True Liberty'. Johan de Witt was appointed Grand Pensionary of Holland and led the States of Holland, the most important province within the Union. The takeover by the regents did not go without protest from the Orangists, but with the economy booming and peace on the Union's borders they had little opportunity to remove the government from office. To appease
1785-503: Is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and a part of France. When their heirs the Catholic kings of Spain took strong measures against Protestantism, the subsequent Dutch revolt led to the splitting in 1581 of the Netherlands into southern and northern parts. The southern " Spanish Netherlands " corresponds approximately to modern Belgium and Luxembourg, and the northern "United Provinces" (or "Dutch Republic) ", which spoke Dutch and
1904-623: Is ruled by another branch of the same dynasty. The Netherlands was neutral during the First World War , but during the Second World War , it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany . The Nazis, including many collaborators, rounded up and killed almost all of the country's Jewish population. When the Dutch resistance increased, the Nazis cut off food supplies to much of the country, causing severe starvation in 1944–1945. In 1942,
2023-483: Is some evidence that the coastal Swifterband people took up pottery and animal husbandry in the rest of the country. Local groups made the switch to animal husbandry sometime between 4800 BC and 4500 BC. By about 4000 BC the Funnelbeaker culture brought farming permanently into the region. This culture extended from Denmark through northern Germany into the northern Netherlands. The Vlaardingen culture continued
2142-790: Is sometimes referred to as Frisia Magna (or Greater Frisia ). In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Frankish chronologies mention this area as the kingdom of the Frisians . This kingdom comprised the coastal provinces of the Netherlands and the German North Sea coast. During this time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. The 7th-century Frisian Kingdom (650–734) under King Aldegisel and King Redbad , had its centre of power in Utrecht . Dorestad
2261-669: Is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster . They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire , closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III , the kingdoms of France and Sweden , and their respective allies among
2380-487: Is the most closely related language to Old English and the modern Frisian dialects are in turn the closest related languages to contemporary English.) By the end of the 6th century, the Frisian territory in the northern Netherlands had expanded west to the North Sea coast and, by the 7th century, south to Dorestad . During this period most of the northern Netherlands was known as Frisia . This extended Frisian territory
2499-547: Is thought to be the language spoken by the Salian Franks . Even though the Franks are traditionally categorized as Weser–Rhine Germanic , Dutch has a number of Ingvaeonic characteristics and is classified by modern linguists as an Ingvaeonic language. Dutch also has a number of Old Saxon characteristics. There was a close relationship between Old Dutch, Old Saxon, Old English and Old Frisian . Because texts written in
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#17327647298822618-472: Is traditionally set in 496. Christianity was introduced in the north after the conquest of Friesland by the Franks. The Saxons in the east were converted before the conquest of Saxony , and became Frankish allies. Hiberno-Scottish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries, particularly Willibrord , Wulfram and Boniface , played an important role in converting the Frankish and Frisian peoples to Christianity by
2737-520: The Carolingians . The Franks who expanded south into Gaul settled there and eventually adopted the Vulgar Latin of the local population. However, a Germanic language was spoken as a second tongue by public officials in western Austrasia and Neustria as late as the 850s. It completely disappeared as a spoken language from these regions during the 10th century. During this expansion to
2856-737: The English Civil War . While supporters of the Dutch Regent favoured diminishing the influence of the House of Orange, by agreeing to the English conditions they intermingled internal and foreign affairs and infuriated the pro-Orange faction. When Charles II was crowned king of England in 1660 during the English Restoration , the Act of Seclusion was declared void, but to the dismay of Holland, Charles affirmed those clauses of
2975-589: The Habsburg Emperor began in Cologne in 1636. These negotiations were initially blocked by Cardinal Richelieu of France, who insisted on the inclusion of all his allies, whether fully sovereign countries or states within the Holy Roman Empire . In Hamburg , Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated a preliminary peace in December 1641. They declared that the preparations of Cologne and
3094-528: The Holy Roman Empire , but neither the empire nor the duchy were governed in a centralized manner. For several centuries, medieval lordships such as Brabant , Holland , Zeeland , Friesland , Guelders and others held a changing patchwork of territories. By 1433, the Duke of Burgundy had assumed control over most of Lower Lotharingia, creating the Burgundian Netherlands . This included what
3213-593: The Lauwers . The Franks then conquered the area east of the Lauwers in 785 when Charlemagne defeated Widukind . The linguistic descendants of the Franks, the modern Dutch -speakers of the Netherlands and Flanders , seem to have broken with the endonym "Frank" around the 9th century. By this time Frankish identity had changed from an ethnic identity to a national identity, becoming localized and confined to
3332-673: The Orangists and the Patriots . The French Revolution spilled over after 1789, and a pro-French Batavian Republic was established in 1795–1806. Napoleon made it a satellite state, the Kingdom of Holland (1806–1810), and later simply a French imperial province. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1813–1815, an expanded " United Kingdom of the Netherlands " was created with the House of Orange as monarchs, also ruling Belgium and Luxembourg. After
3451-630: The Spanish Netherlands daughters of an earlier marriage took precedence before the sons of a later marriage. The way Louis XIV explained this, Maria Theresa, daughter of the first marriage of Philip IV, should inherit the Spanish Netherlands because Philip's son, Charles II was from Philip's second marriage. This went against the interests of the Dutch Republic, who preferred having a weak state as their neighbour to
3570-719: The Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the Habsburgs (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King Louis XIV ). Several scholars of international relations have identified
3689-775: The Wageningen horde , found in the grave of a Bronze Age metalworker. The Elp culture in the north and the Hilversum culture in the south developed during the Bronze Age, with the latter having cultural ties with Britain. The Iron Age brought a measure of prosperity to the people living in the area of the present-day Netherlands with iron ore available throughout the country. Smiths travelled from small settlement to settlement with bronze and iron, fabricating tools on demand, including axes, knives, pins, arrowheads and swords. The Vorstengraf large burial mound contained
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3808-681: The Western Roman Empire collapsed and the Middle Ages began, three dominant Germanic peoples coalesced in the area – Frisians in the north and coastal areas, Low Saxons in the northeast, and the Franks to the south. By 800, the Frankish Carolingian dynasty had once again integrated the area into an empire covering a large part of Western Europe. The region was part of the duchy of Lower Lotharingia within
3927-545: The papal brief Zelo Domus Dei . The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia were: The treaties did not entirely end conflicts arising out of the Thirty Years' War. Fighting continued between France and Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The Dutch-Portuguese War that had begun during the Iberian Union between Spain and Portugal , as part of the Eighty Years' War, went on until 1663. Nevertheless,
4046-551: The sovereign , including city rights , the right to self-government and the right to pass laws. In practice, this meant that the wealthiest cities became quasi-independent republics in their own right. Two of the most important cities were Bruges and Antwerp (in Flanders ) which would later develop into some of the most important cities and ports in Europe. The Hook and Cod Wars ( Dutch : Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten ) were
4165-656: The "younger Harald" (based in Walcheren ), both thought to be nephews of Harald Klak . Around 850, Lothair I acknowledged Rorik as ruler of most of Friesland. And again in 870, Rorik was received by Charles the Bald in Nijmegen , to whom he became a vassal. Viking raids continued during that period. Harald's son Rodulf and his men were killed by the people of Oostergo in 873. Rorik died sometime before 882. Buried Viking treasures consisting mainly of silver have been found in
4284-420: The 19th century, Dutch historians believed that the Franks, Frisians, and Saxons had populated and inhabited the Low Countries, but this theory fell out of favour in the 20th century. Due to the scarcity of written sources, knowledge of this period depends to a large degree on the interpretation of archaeological data. The traditional view of a clear-cut division between Frisians in the north and coast, Franks in
4403-628: The 8th century. Boniface was martyred by the Frisians in Dokkum (754). In the early 8th century the Frisians came increasingly into conflict with the Franks to the south, resulting in a series of wars in which the Frankish Empire eventually subjugated Frisia. In 734, at the Battle of the Boarn , the Frisians in the Netherlands were defeated by the Franks, who thereby conquered the area west of
4522-415: The 9th century had evolved into Old Dutch . A Dutch-French language boundary came into existence (but this was originally south of where it is today). In the Maas and Rhine areas of the Netherlands, the Franks had political and trading centres, especially at Nijmegen and Maastricht . These Franks remained in contact with the Frisians to the north, especially in places like Dorestad and Utrecht . In
4641-413: The Americas. The Dutch East India Company , based on its English counterpart, was founded. During the eighteenth century, the power, wealth and influence of the Netherlands declined. A series of wars with the more powerful British and French neighbours weakened it. The English seized the North American colony of New Amsterdam , and renamed it " New York ". There was growing unrest and conflict between
4760-561: The Batavian rebels. The Frisii probably disappeared from the northern Netherlands with the last reference to them in c. 296, likely due to resettlement to other areas of Roman control and coastal flooding. As climatic conditions improved, there was another mass migration of Germanic peoples into the area from the east. This is known as the " Migration Period " ( Volksverhuizingen ). The northern Netherlands received an influx of new migrants and settlers, mostly Saxons , but also Angles and Jutes . Many of these migrants did not stay in
4879-406: The British occupying key Hollandic cities and the isle of Walcheren ). Louis halted his army to allow the Orangists to take over Holland and come to an arrangement with him. He offered the Dutch peace in exchange for either the southern fortresses, religious freedom for Catholics and six million guilders, or the retention of his present conquests and sixteen million guilders. These demands, especially
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4998-407: The Count of Holland, the Duke of Gelre , the Duke of Brabant and the Bishop of Utrecht. Friesland and Groningen in the north maintained their independence and were governed by the lower nobility. The various feudal states were in a state of almost continual war. Gelre and Holland fought for control of Utrecht . Utrecht, whose bishop had in 1000 ruled over half of what is today the Netherlands,
5117-540: The Danish army in the north. From 1674 to 1678, the French armies managed to advance steadily in the southern Spanish Netherlands and along the Rhine, defeating the badly coordinated forces of the Grand Alliance with regularity. Eventually the heavy financial burdens of the war, along with the imminent prospect of England's reentry into the conflict on the side of the Dutch and their allies, convinced Louis XIV of France to make peace despite his advantageous military position. The resulting Peace of Nijmegen between France and
5236-412: The Duke of Lower Lorraine. In 1083, the name "Holland" first appears in a deed referring to a region corresponding more or less to the current province of South Holland and the southern half of what is now North Holland. Holland's influence continued to grow over the next two centuries. The counts of Holland conquered most of Zeeland but it was not until 1289 that Count Floris V was able to subjugate
5355-432: The Dutch East Indies were conquered by Japan, but prior to this the Dutch destroyed the oil wells for which Japan was desperate. Indonesia proclaimed its independence from the Netherlands in 1945, followed by Suriname in 1975. The post-war years saw rapid economic recovery (helped by the American Marshall Plan ), followed by the introduction of a welfare state during an era of peace and prosperity. The Netherlands formed
5474-417: The Dutch Republic, retaining only Grave and Maastricht. To offset these setbacks, Swedish forces in Swedish Pomerania attacked Brandenburg-Prussia in December 1674 after Louis threatened to withhold their subsidies; this sparked Swedish involvement in the 1675–1679 Scanian War and the Swedish-Brandenburg War whereby the Swedish army tied up the armies of Brandenburg and some minor German principalities plus
5593-521: The Dutch government to appoint William III, who had not yet come of age, to the office of Stadtholder and Captain-General. In February 1672, Johan de Witt finally agreed to appoint William as Captain-General for the duration of a single war campaign. On 12 March 1672 Robert Holmes attacked a Dutch trade convoy, the Smyrna fleet. France, the Electorate of Cologne and the Bishopric of Münster declared war in April. In June, Louis XIV's army, led by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Turenne bypassed
5712-429: The Dutch navy, the English, whose parliament was suspicious of King Charles 's motives in his alliance with France, and with Charles himself wary of French domination of the Spanish Netherlands, settled a peace with the Dutch republic in the Treaty of Westminster in 1674. With England, Cologne, and Münster having made peace with the Dutch and with the war expanding into the Rhineland and Spain, French troops withdrew from
5831-407: The Dutch southern defence through the Spanish Netherlands, the possessions of Münster and Cologne and other French allies and invaded the Dutch from the east. At the IJssel , a short battle was easily won by the French and Groenlo was taken. The whole of the Republic lay open to the French. Panic broke out in the cities in Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht. Lower and middle-class people revolted against
5950-401: The English at sea through the Raid on the Medway and put pressure on the English ally Münster . First Münster and then England were forced to make peace. While France had helped to put pressure on England and Münster they had not committed a major part of their army or fleet. After the death of Philip IV, Louis XIV claimed part of the inheritance for his wife. According to local law in parts of
6069-430: The Frankish empire was divided into three parts, giving rise to West Francia in the west, East Francia in the east, and Middle Francia in the centre. Most of what is today the Netherlands became part of Middle Francia; Flanders became part of West Francia. This division was an important factor in the historical distinction between Flanders and the other Dutch-speaking areas. Middle Francia ( Latin : Francia media )
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#17327647298826188-454: The French ambitions. According to the French ambassador, the Dutch acted from the motto: Gallicus amicus, non vicinus , or "The Frenchman is a good friend, but a bad neighbour". The Dutch again reinforced their fleet, but made insufficient preparations for their army because of a shortage of money. The Regents also distrusted an army that had often been an instrument of the Orange party. With war becoming more and more likely, pressure increased on
6307-457: The French endeavor, though that attempt was abandoned following the Battle of Solebay . A Dutch saying coined that year describes the Dutch people as redeloos ("irrational"), its government as radeloos ("distraught"), and the country as reddeloos ("beyond salvation"). The cities of the coastal provinces of Holland , Zealand and Frisia underwent a political transition: the city governments were taken over by Orangists , opposed to
6426-454: The Frisians in West Friesland (that is, the northern half of North Holland). Around 1000 C.E. there were several agricultural developments (described sometimes as an agricultural revolution) that resulted in an increase in production, especially food production. The economy started to develop at a fast pace, and the higher productivity allowed workers to farm more land or to become tradesmen. Draining of low-lying swampy areas and flood control
6545-440: The Grand Alliance left the Dutch Republic intact and France generously aggrandized in the Spanish Netherlands. During the Eighty Years' War there had been tension in the provinces between adherents of a government ruled by the burgher oligarchy, called regents, and those who favoured a government led by the Prince of Orange. These tensions had escalated in 1650 when William II, Prince of Orange had tried to conquer Amsterdam ,
6664-434: The King imposed unpopular Protestant reforms on Belgium, it left the kingdom in 1830 and new borders were agreed in 1839. After an initially conservative period, following the introduction of the 1848 constitution, the country became a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch . Modern-day Luxembourg became officially independent of the Netherlands in 1839, but a personal union remained until 1890. Since 1890, it
6783-681: The Low Countries. Two such treasures have been found in Wieringen. A large treasure found in Wieringen in 1996 dates from around 850 and is thought perhaps to have been connected to Rorik. The burial of such a valuable treasure is seen as an indication that there was a permanent settlement in Wieringen. Around 879, Godfrid arrived in Frisian lands as the head of a large force that terrorised the Low Countries. Using Ghent as his base, they ravaged Ghent, Maastricht , Liège , Stavelot , Prüm , Cologne , and Koblenz . Controlling most of Frisia between 882 and his death in 885, Godfrid became known to history as Godfrid, Duke of Frisia . His lordship over Frisia
6902-413: The Netherlands The history of the Netherlands extends back long before the founding of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon. For thousands of years, people have been living together around the river deltas of this section of the North Sea coast. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarized border zone of the Roman Empire . As
7021-446: The Netherlands had come under Viking control, in 870 it technically became part of East Francia, which became the Holy Roman Empire in 962. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Vikings raided the largely defenceless Frisian and Frankish towns lying on the coast and along the rivers of the Low Countries . Although Vikings never settled in large numbers in those areas, they did set up long-term bases and were even acknowledged as lords in
7140-438: The Netherlands. The Rhine was a militarized border, frequently destabilized by violent incursions, and Rome recruited soldiers on both sides of it. The tribes of the region were esteemed soldiers in the empire, often serving in the Roman cavalry . The frontier culture was influenced by Roman, Germanic, and Gaulish elements, and trade flourished after Rome's conquest of Gaul. There were still grievances against Roman rule, including
7259-400: The Orangists, and because of their own business interests, the Dutch Regents tried to keep the peace within Europe. When the Republic fought for its independence from Spain, it had allied with France and England. In 1648, as part of the Peace of Westphalia , the Republic made peace with Austria and Spain. France had only made peace with Austria and continued fighting Spain until the Treaty of
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#17327647298827378-458: The Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty . However, some historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to concerns about sovereignty during that time. Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the overlapping Eighty Years' War (begun c. 1568), exacting
7497-456: The Peace of Westphalia did settle many outstanding European issues of the time. Some scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations , including the inviolability of borders and non-interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. This system became known in the literature as Westphalian sovereignty . Most modern historians have challenged
7616-419: The Pyrenees in 1659. A condition of that peace was that Louis XIV would marry Maria Theresa , daughter of Philip IV of Spain . Maria Theresa would also renounce her share of the inheritance in exchange for a large dowry. The dowry, however, was never paid by the Spanish. During the 1650s and 1660s the existing tensions between Dutch trade interests and English trade interests grew. The First Anglo-Dutch War
7735-407: The Republic and Europe against French hegemony. In all the wars of Louis XIV, the Dutch would support his adversaries. In 1688, when faced with an English king who again seemed to side with the French, the Dutch mobilised their full resources in order to invade Britain and overthrow the Catholic Stuart Dynasty (the Glorious Revolution )—an event of immense historical importance. Although a gamble, it
7854-428: The Rhine adopted the Franconian language, feudal system and religion, spreading this new 'Hollandic' identity northward over the centuries (the part of North Holland situated north of Alkmaar is still colloquially known as West Friesland). The rest of Friesland in the north continued to maintain its independence during this time. It had its own institutions (collectively called the " Frisian freedom ") and resented
7973-437: The Salian Franks, while further to the south were peoples influenced by the Hallstatt culture who eventually assimilated into the Celtic La Tène culture with some mixture between the two. This is consistent with Caesar 's account of the Rhine forming the boundary between Celtic and Germanic tribes. Some scholars have speculated that a separate ethnic identity with its own language that was neither Germanic nor Celtic, formed
8092-433: The Treaty of Hamburg were preliminaries of an overall peace agreement. The main peace negotiations took place in Westphalia , in the neighbouring cities of Münster and Osnabrück . Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations. In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the Dutch Republic and Spain who on 30 January 1648 signed
8211-402: The association of this system with the Peace of Westphalia, calling it the 'Westphalian myth'. They have challenged the view that the modern European states system originated with the Westphalian treaties. The treaties do not contain anything in their text about religious freedom, sovereignty, or balance of power that can be construed as international law principles. Constitutional arrangements of
8330-472: The diplomatic front, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain took the side of the Netherlands. In 1673, Bonn fell to a Dutch army. This forced the French to retreat from most of the Republic. England, Münster and Cologne made peace in 1674; the French fought on until 1678. (For the rest of the war, see Franco-Dutch War .) The experience of the Rampjaar had considerable influence on the direction of Dutch foreign policy. William III saw it as his life's work to defend both
8449-415: The financial portions, led to a renewed public outrage and the Dutch mood abruptly changed from defeatism to a dogged determination to resist the French. While negotiations took place, the French failed to prevent the Dutch from inundating the Dutch Waterline . Before the French understood the nature and importance of this defence system, William III's small army withdrew behind it and further French advance
8568-483: The former Kingdom of Burgundy (except for a western portion, later known as Bourgogne ), Provence and the Kingdom of Italy . Middle Francia fell to Lothair I , the eldest son and successor of Louis the Pious , after an intermittent civil war with his younger brothers Louis the German and Charles the Bald . In acknowledgement of Lothair's Imperial title, Middle Francia contained the imperial cities of Aachen ,
8687-544: The government and demanded the appointment of the Prince along with the punishment of those responsible for the war and the state of the army. Johan de Witt and several others resigned and the government of the Regents fell. Partisans of William III took over. One of William's first acts was to strike out the word 'honourably' from Johan de Witt's letter of resignation. Popular sentiment remained unsatisfied and frustrations with
8806-465: The hopeless military situation led to the search for scapegoats. In August, Cornelis de Witt , the less gifted and less popular brother of Johan de Witt , was imprisoned in The Hague on suspicion of treason and plotting to assassinate William. When Johan de Witt visited his brother, the small cavalry security detail present was sent away on the pretext of stopping a group of marauding peasants. Around
8925-549: The hunter-gatherer tradition in coastal areas. By around 2950 BCE, there was a transition from the Funnelbeaker farming culture to the Corded Ware culture which extended across much of northern and central Europe. The expansion of this culture is believed to have involved the movement of people from the direction of Ukraine, bringing Indo-European languages and Copper Age technology. The earliest bronze tools were in
9044-469: The imposition of the feudal system and the patriciate found in other European towns. They regarded themselves as allies of Switzerland. The Frisian battle cry was "better dead than a slave". They later lost their independence when they were defeated in 1498 by the German Landsknecht mercenaries of Duke Albrecht of Saxony-Meissen . The center of power in these emerging independent territories
9163-567: The inhabitants survived as hunter-gatherers. The Swifterbant culture , appearing around 5600 BC were hunter gatherers strongly linked to rivers and open water and related to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture . Agriculture also arrived in areas near the Netherlands somewhere around 5000 BC with the Linear Pottery culture , who were central European farmers with Mediterranean ancestry. Their farms were restricted to southern Limburg and only temporarily established. However, there
9282-466: The interests of 140 Imperial States, and 27 interest groups representing 38 groups. Two separate treaties constituted the peace settlement: The power asserted by Ferdinand III was stripped from him and returned to the rulers of the Imperial States . The rulers of the Imperial States could again choose their own official religions. Catholics and Lutherans were redefined as equal before
9401-563: The language spoken by the Franks are almost non-existent, and Old Dutch texts scarce and fragmentary, not much is known about the development of Old Dutch. Old Dutch made the transition to Middle Dutch around 1150. The Christianity that arrived in the Netherlands with the Romans appears not to have died out completely (in Maastricht , at least) after the withdrawal of the Romans in about 411. The Franks became Christians after their king Clovis I converted to Catholicism, an event which
9520-409: The law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition as an official religion. The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews. The Holy See was very displeased at the settlement, with Pope Innocent X calling it "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time" in
9639-456: The main bastion of the Regents of the De Graeff and Bicker clans. After negotiations, he succeeded in removing a number of his adversaries from office. When William died from smallpox later that year, the republican party came back into power. The Act of Seclusion declared that they would not appoint his son, William III of Orange , or anybody else to the office of Stadholder, stating that
9758-844: The modern Franconia and principally to the French province of Île-de-France . Although the people no longer referred to themselves as "Franks", the Netherlands was still part of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne. Indeed, because of the Austrasian origins of the Carolingians in the area between the Rhine and the Maas, the cities of Aachen, Maastricht, Liège and Nijmegen were at the heart of Carolingian culture. Charlemagne maintained his palatium in Nijmegen at least four times. The Carolingian empire would eventually include France, Germany, northern Italy and much of Western Europe. In 843,
9877-472: The murders were the result of a conspiracy involving, among others, William himself, although direct evidence for his involvement has not been found. The French had advanced from the IJssel to Utrecht . By that time, negotiations had begun. Louis XIV and Charles II of England had intended that William become Sovereign Prince at the head of a Hollandic rump state principality , a joint protectorate (with
9996-470: The naming of colonial Jakarta as " Batavia " in 1619 and the Batavian Republic of 1795. The term "Batavian" is occasionally used to describe the Dutch today, similar to how "Gallic" describes the French. A Frankish identity emerged in the lower and middle Rhine valley during the first half of the 3rd century, forming a confederation of smaller Germanic groups including the descendants of
10115-601: The north. Holland extended its political power over Zeeland. The Crusades were popular in the Low Countries and drew many to fight in the Holy Land . At home, there was relative peace. Viking pillaging had stopped. Both the Crusades and the relative peace at home contributed to trade and the growth in commerce. Cities arose and flourished, especially in Flanders and Brabant . As the cities grew in wealth and power, they started to buy certain privileges for themselves from
10234-586: The northern Netherlands but moved on to England and are known today as the Anglo-Saxons . The newcomers who stayed in the northern Netherlands would eventually be referred to as "Frisians", although they were not descended from the ancient Frisii . These new Frisians settled in the northern Netherlands and would become the ancestors of the modern Frisians . (Because the early Frisians and Anglo-Saxons were formed from largely identical tribal confederacies, their respective languages were very similar. Old Frisian
10353-429: The northern region. The southern Low Countries remained highly populous and developed and was among the most highly urbanized areas in Europe. Because of the east–west flow of the Low Countries' large rivers, they were a military and political barrier between north and south. The southern Low Countries could not exert influence over the north. This division meant that the counts of Holland became politically important in
10472-550: The other Frankish kings. By the 490s, Clovis I had conquered and united all the Frankish territories to the west of the Meuse , including those in the southern Netherlands. He continued his conquests into Gaul . After the death of Clovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia (including the southern Netherlands). A line of kings descended from Theuderic ruled Austrasia until 555, when it
10591-468: The peace agreement, France took steps to isolate the Republic. Sweden and Münster were quickly bribed, but the English public distrusted Louis XIV. The English king, on the other hand, saw war with the Dutch as being in his best interests. He hoped that a defeat of the Republic would lead to the fall of the republican government so that his nephew, William III of Orange, could take power. A war would also be
10710-476: The peace which negatively impacted Dutch trade interests. An English attempt to take over Dutch trade and colonies led to the Second Anglo-Dutch War . After the previous war Johan de Witt had supervised the expansion and improvement of the Dutch navy at the cost of neglecting the Dutch army. With the new fleet and the help of France, with whom they had allied again, the Dutch ultimately defeated
10829-463: The people who lived in the area that is now Holland were originally Frisian . The sparsely populated area was known as "West Friesland" ( Westfriesland ). A common theory states that Frankish migration from either Flanders, Utrecht or both displaced the Frisians in Holland, however no evidence has been found in support of this theory and more recent studies have suggested that Frisians from the mouth of
10948-455: The princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties. The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire:
11067-519: The prison a crowd had gathered, demanding the punishment of the brothers. The prison was stormed — according to some contemporary accounts, after Orangist Cornelis Tromp , an enemy of Johan de Witt, had given the sign — by civil militia. The brothers were taken and murdered by the militia members and their bodies mutilated and partly eaten by the crowd. The names of a few of the murderers became known but they were protected and, in some cases, even rewarded by Prince William. Many modern historians suspect that
11186-701: The region. Caesar mentioned the Menapii living in the river delta, and the Eburones to their southeast towards what is now Limburg. He called the land between the Rhine and Waal "the island of the Batavi" ( insula batavorum ). He portrayed the Rhine as a natural boundary between the Gauls and Germanic peoples on the other side but he understood that peoples such as the Eburones had a kinship with their neighbours over
11305-719: The republican regime of the Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt , ending the First Stadtholderless Period . By late July however, the Dutch position had stabilised , with support from Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I , Brandenburg-Prussia , and Spain ; this was formalised in the August 1673 Treaty of the Hague, which Denmark joined in January 1674. Following further defeats at sea at the hands of
11424-497: The residence of Charlemagne, as well as Rome. In 855, on his deathbed at Prüm Abbey , Emperor Lothair I again partitioned his realm amongst his sons. Most of the lands north of the Alps , including the Netherlands, passed to Lothair II and consecutively were named Lotharingia . After Lothair II died in 869, Lotharingia was partitioned by his uncles Louis the German and Charles the Bald in the Treaty of Meerssen in 870. Although some of
11543-578: The river. Later Roman authors such as Tacitus and Pliny the Elder describe the region north of the Rhine being inhabited by the Frisii , Chamavi and Tubantes . Within the delta lived the Cananefates , Batavians , Sturii , Marsacii , and Frisiavones . The Texuandri , Baetasii and Tungri lived south of the delta. The 450 years of Roman rule profoundly changed the region that would later become
11662-486: The severe crisis, although the Dutch Golden Age is sometimes said to have continued until the end of the century. The art market was as severely affected as other trades. A famous comment by Jan Vermeer 's widow described how he was unable to sell work thereafter. The leading maritime artists, Willem van de Velde the Elder and his son Willem II , both emigrated to London, never to return. History of
11781-403: The south and Saxons in the east has proven historically problematic. Archeological evidence suggests dramatically different models for different regions, with demographic continuity for some parts of the country and depopulation and possible replacement in other parts, notably the coastal areas of Frisia and Holland. The language from which Old Dutch arose is unknown with certainty, but it
11900-417: The south, many Frankish people remained in the north (i.e. southern Netherlands, Flanders and a small part of northern France). A widening cultural divide grew between the Franks remaining in the north and the rulers far to the south in what is now France. Salian Franks continued to reside in their original homeland and the area directly to the south and to speak their original language, Old Frankish , which by
12019-661: The south. Because of this, Johan de Witt allied with the defeated English and Sweden, who had an army nearby in Germany, forming the Triple Alliance . In secret clauses of the treaty they agreed to use force if Louis XIV would not come to terms with Spain. France made peace with Spain, but because the secret clauses of the Triple Alliance were soon made public, Louis XIV felt insulted by the "perfidious" Dutch, who according to him had broken faith. Immediately after
12138-483: The taking of young Batavians as slaves . This led to the Batavian rebellion under Gaius Julius Civilis in 69 AD, which resulted in the burning of several Roman Castellum and the desertion of sections of the northern Roman army. In April 70 AD, legions led by Quintus Petillius Cerialis defeated the rebels. The Batavians were considered the "true" forefathers of the Dutch by 17th and 18th-century writers, inspiring
12257-485: The unpopularity among the English public of a war with a fellow Protestant nation and tried to improve relations with the French. The discussion on the issue of the Spanish Netherlands, however, yielded no consensus between the two countries. France saw the Rhine as its natural border and between France and the Rhine lay the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Generality Lands . The Dutch felt threatened by
12376-407: Was a given, transforming the physical environment, but also requiring institutions and cooperation between areas for water management. Drainage boards ( heemraadschappen ) were established and the "dike count", took on responsibilities not only for water management issues, but also fiscal, policing, and judicial functions. By the end of the thirteenth century, Holland emerged in the dominant position of
12495-520: Was acknowledged by Charles the Fat , to whom he became a vassal. Godfried was assassinated in 885, after which Gerolf of Holland assumed lordship and Viking rule of Frisia came to an end. Viking raids of the Low Countries continued for over a century. Remains of Viking attacks dating from 880 to 890 have been found in Zutphen and Deventer . In 920, King Henry of Germany liberated Utrecht . According to
12614-419: Was also an important city and trading port at the time. The Holy Roman Empire was not able to maintain political unity. In addition to the growing independence of the towns, local rulers turned their counties and duchies into private kingdoms and felt little sense of obligation to the emperor who reigned over large parts of the nation in name only. Large parts of what now comprise the Netherlands were governed by
12733-483: Was among the major products traded at Dorestad, likely from vineyards south of Mainz . It was also widely known because of its mint . Between 600 and around 719 Dorestad was often fought over between the Frisians and the Franks. After Roman government in the area collapsed, the Franks expanded their territories until there were numerous small Frankish kingdoms, especially at Cologne , Tournai , Le Mans and Cambrai . The kings of Tournai eventually came to subdue
12852-533: Was an ephemeral Frankish kingdom that had no historical or ethnic identity to bind its varied peoples. It was created by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire among the sons of Louis the Pious . Situated between the realms of East and West Francia, Middle Francia comprised the Frankish territory between the rivers Rhine and Scheldt , the Frisian coast of the North Sea ,
12971-590: Was blocked by an impassable barrier of water and mud. This small success for the Dutch was followed by others. The Dutch fleet under admiral Michiel de Ruyter had already defeated the Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of Solebay , and on 28 August 1672 the German Bishop of Münster , Bernhard von Galen , withdrew from the siege of Groningen – an event still celebrated annually in Groningen. On
13090-529: Was considered worthwhile, since after the Rampjaar, the possibility of a Catholic and French-dominated Britain was regarded as a mortal threat to the Netherlands. In England, public opinion was already turning against the French but was accelerated by the war of 1672. While Charles II and his successor James II of England still had French sympathies, they had to take into account the English public's distrust of France. The Dutch economy never fully recovered from
13209-505: Was controlled by Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bi-denominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the burghers mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League from 1628 to 1633 and
13328-408: Was expanded significantly after 1200 CE. Before that, towns were built north of the major rivers, Utrecht, Kampen, Deventer, Zwolle, Nijmegen, and Zutphen, but with the expansion of dikes and drainage, cultivable land was created and population expanded. In this period, Holland expanded relative to the other regions. From the thirteenth century onwards, the necessity of controlling water in this northern
13447-631: Was fought between the republics, resulting in a victory for the English. In a secret appendix to the Treaty of Westminster , the Act of Seclusion , Holland declared that it abolished the office of Stadholder and would never allow the States-General of the Netherlands to appoint a member of the House of Orange to the office of Captain-General. Oliver Cromwell , who was Lord Protector of England at that time, insisted on this condition because William II had assisted Charles I (his father-in-law) during
13566-578: Was in the County of Holland . Originally granted as a fief to the Danish chieftain Rorik in return for loyalty to the emperor in 862, the region of Kennemara (the region around modern Haarlem ) rapidly grew under Rorik's descendants in size and importance. By the early 11th century, Dirk III, Count of Holland was levying tolls on the Meuse estuary and was able to resist military intervention from his overlord,
13685-493: Was marginalised as it experienced continuing difficulty in electing new bishops. At the same time, the dynasties of neighbouring states were more stable. Groningen, Drenthe and most of Gelre, which used to be part of Utrecht, became independent. Brabant tried to conquer its neighbours, but was not successful. Holland also tried to assert itself in Zeeland and Friesland, but its attempts failed. The language and culture of most of
13804-496: Was predominantly Protestant, was the predecessor of the modern Netherlands. In the Dutch Golden Age , which had its zenith around 1667, there was a flowering of trade, industry, and the sciences . The Dutch Republic practiced religious toleration and Amsterdam attracted Portuguese Jews , many of whom were merchants, that practiced their religion and engaged in economic activity. A rich worldwide Dutch empire developed in Asia and
13923-482: Was the largest settlement ( emporia ) in northwestern Europe. It had grown around a former Roman fortress. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long and situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede . Although inland, it was a North Sea trading centre that primarily handled goods from the Middle Rhineland . Wine
14042-409: Was then taken by Lutheran Sweden. The peace negotiations had no exact beginning or end, because the 109 delegations never met in a plenary session. Instead, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. The largest number of diplomats were present between January 1646 and July 1647. Delegations had been sent by 16 European states, 66 Imperial States representing
14161-405: Was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I , who inherited all the Frankish realms by 558. He redivided the Frankish territory amongst his four sons, but the four kingdoms coalesced into three on the death of Charibert I in 567. Austrasia (including the southern Netherlands) was given to Sigebert I . The southern Netherlands remained the northern part of Austrasia until the rise of
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