Further fragmentation resulted from the
emergence in the 10th century of a number of feudal, semiautonomous
vassal states owing allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire but enjoying
many privileges. Among the more important of such states were the
bishopric of Utrecht, the duchies of Brabant and Gelre, and the lands
held by the counts of Zeeland and the increasingly powerful counts
of Holland. Consolidation began again after the dukes of Burgundy
gained control in 1348, and under Philip the Bold many of the separate
regions were reunited through marriages and purchases. In 1477, following
the marriage of Philip's granddaughter and heir, Mary of Burgundy,
to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, the Burgundian possessions passed
into Austrian Habsburg and – eventually – Spanish control.
Republic of the NetherlandsIn 1555-56, Philip II of
Spain, an ardent Roman Catholic, inherited
the Netherlands and the rest of the Spanish Empire from Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V. From the beginning, Philip encountered strong anti-Spanish
and anti-Catholic opposition, especially from the Dutch nobility and
from Calvinists in the Protestant northern provinces.
In 1568
the disagreements erupted into a rebellion, the Dutch Revolt, led
by William I, Prince of Orange, resulting in the Eighty Years' War
(1568-1648). In the course of the dispute, the seven northern provinces
(Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Groningen, Friesland, and
Overijssel) formed the United Provinces and proclaimed their independence
from Spain in 1581 – a claim unrecognized by Spain until the
Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The predominantly Catholic southern
provinces remained loyal to Spain and were subsequently distinguished
as the Spanish Netherlands and then, after the War of the Spanish
Succession, as the Austrian Netherlands. In the 17th century trade
and shipping expanded greatly to create
the golden age of the Netherlands. Through the Dutch East India Company
(VOC), formed in 1621, colonial territories were acquired in Ceylon
(Sri Lanka), South Africa, Java, and Sumatra. | |
VOC-ship of the 17th century
Meanwhile, the VOC assisted in the establishment of New Netherland
and the acquisition of territories in Brazil, Curacao, and Saint
Martin. As a result of the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652-1674) control of
the seas was lost to England, along with New Netherland, in exchange
for Suriname. A long period of decline set in during the 18th century.
The end of the republic came in 1795, when the French set up the
Batavian Republic (1795-1806), followed by the Kingdom of Holland
(1806-1810) under Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte, and in 1810
incorporated the lands into the French Empire.
Kingdom of the NetherlandsReunification of the seven United
Provinces with the southern (or
Austrian) provinces as the Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William
I followed Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and was confirmed by the Congress
of Vienna in 1815. The unity of north and south was short-lived, however.
In 1830 the southern provinces withdrew and proclaimed their own independence,
recognized in 1839, as the Kingdom of Belgium.
The benevolent
despotism of William I caused liberal reactions in the Netherlands,
resulting in major democratic revision to the 1814 constitution in
1848 under William II. Under William III (1849-1890), additional
reforms and limits on the monarchy were accomplished through the
leadership of the distinguished Liberal statesman Thorbecke (1798-1872).
When William died, his 10-year-old daughter Wilhelmina inherited
the throne, her mother Emma acting as regent until the queen came
of age in 1898. Although neutral during World War I, the Netherlands
encountered severe economic difficulties and was further weakened
by the Depression of the 1930s. | | Liberalism declined during the interwar
years of the 1920s and '30s, and coalitions of Catholic and Protestant
political parties ruled. In World War II neutrality was again proclaimed,
but German forces overran the nation in May 1940, their occupation
claiming about 240,000 victims, many of them Jews. Much of the country
was in ruins at the end of the war. In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in favour of her daughter,
Juliana, beginning a period of transformation for the Netherlands
from a colonial power to a leading member of the European community.
Indonesia and Suriname gained their independence in 1949 and 1975,
respectively. On Queen Juliana's abdication in 1980, her daughter
Beatrix became the sovereign. PoliticsSince 1977, the country has been governed by a series of coalitions,
first under Andreas van Agt, and from 1982, under Christian Democratic
(CDA) party leader Ruud Lubbers, who was re-elected in 1986 and 1989.
In 1994, the largest bloc of votes went to the labour (PvdA) party
of Wim Kok, who became premier in an alliance with the conservative
(VVD) and centre-left (D66) parties. This 'purple coalition' –
a mixture of (red) socialism and (blue) liberalism – continued
in power after the elections of 1998, but lost the 2002 ballots on
issues such as crime, healthcare and especially immigration. The PvdA
lost almost half of its seats, and also the VVD performed poorly.
The Christian Democratic Party (CDA) under its inexperienced leader
Jan Peter Balkenende, became the largest party in the Lower House.
Pim FortuynBig winner of the 2002 elections was however newcomer LPF, political
vehicle of Pim Fortuyn, a veteran essay writer and university professor,
who was assassinated just a week before ballot boxes opened. Because
the sudden lack of leadership and nonstop infightings, the coalition
(CDA-LPF-VVD) under CDA-premier Jan Peter Balkenende lived only for
80 days. New elections resulted in the LPF losing 18 of its initial
26 seats, bringing the current Balkende-2 cabinet to power, a coalition
of CDA-VVD-D66. |