Dutch Democratization

A history of Dutch democratization.

Burgundian State and the Low Countries

The region that 'Burgundy' refers to migrated over time. To the east of the Frankish kingdom was the kingdom of Burgundy. Clovis I conquered the 'first kingdom', but a 'second kingdom' emerged after he divided the empire between his sons. Then it was lowered to a duchy, when Pippin of Herstal reunited the Frankish kingdoms. It remained a very wealthy and powerful realm within East Francia. By the time France emerged, so had a house of Burgundy.

In the 14th century Philip I died without issue, and the duchy reverted to John II. He in turn ceded it to his youngest son Philip II, creating a cadet branch known as Valois-Burgundy. Philip married Margaret III, countess of Flanders, establishing a patchwork domain across eastern and northern France. This so-called Burgundian state accrued wealth and power to rival the main branch in the 15th century.

When Charles Martin died in the Burgundian Wars, his sole daughter Mary should have inherited. Louis XI however aimed to usurp her, instigating the War of Burgundian Succession. Formally the domains were partitioned between France and the Habsburgs, but effective control on the ground remained a complicated issue. Many fiefs owed dual fealty to both the king of France and the Holy Roman Emperor. Inheritance law and marriages saw realms repeatedly divided and joined. Eventually, all that remained was the original county of Flanders.

The larger region came to be known as the Low Countries. By 1543, Charles V has united all provinces through conquest.

Spanish Netherlands

William I (Willem; also known as William the Silent) led the Dutch revolt. This, and the larger Eighty Years War, was simultaneously a war of independence against the Spanish and a religious rebellion against the Inquisition.

The war became extremely draining for the Spanish Empire, leading to the signing of a Twelve Years' Truce in 1609. Before the truce expired, the Thirty Years War had already erupted and demanded greater attention. The war stalemated for decades; in 1648 the Peace of Münster was signed, finally granting the independence of the seven northern provinces. The Southern Netherlands remained a Spanish possession.

Note that the Treaty of Rastatt transferred the Spanish claims to Austria. From 1714 until the Napoleonic Wars, these were known as the Austrian Netherlands.

Republic of the Seven United Netherlands

The republic was officially governed as a confederation of independent provinces. They each had the ability to appoint independent stadtholders, but in practice the prince of Orange was appointed stadtholder over all of them.

The provinces sent representative delegations to the States General. This was chaired by the grand pensionary (raadpensionaris), who also served as primary advisor to the stadtholder.

The major political factions of this period were the Orangists, largely a nobility that depended on the House of Orange, and the Republicans.

William II died days before his only son was born. The First Stadtholderless Period began and the grand pensionary became the highest functional office. De Witt emerged as the dominant political figure and effectively ruled the republic for two decades.

The Second Stadtholderless Period followed the death of William III. Heinsius reigned for much of this period. Following his died in 1720, there was a power struggle between Simon van Slingelandt and Isaac van Hoornbeek. Van Hoornbeek ultimately succeeded and held power up to his death in 1727. Van Slingelandt then led the Netherlands until his death in 1736. Anthonie van der Heim became the final grand pensionary of this period in 1737.

William V established diplomatic relations with the rebelling American colonies. The United Kingdom retaliated with a series of naval attacks known as the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. Following the Treaty of Paris, a movement of Patriots emerged seeking to abolish the stadtholdership. William's brother-in-law, Frederick William II, ordered an invasion to suppress the movement. The movement largely fled to France, where they joined with the rapidly emerging revolution.

Batavian Republic

William participated in the First Coalition, but his army disintegrated by 1795. The Patriots re-emerged in a Batavian Revolution. The the Dutch Republic was overthrown and replaced with the Batavian Republic.

Kingdom of Holland

Napoleon replaced the republic with a monarchy under his brother, Louis I (Lodewijk). This kingdom of Holland was granted control over the Southern Netherlands, re-unifying the provinces.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Following Napoleon's fall, this kingdom was largely retained as the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 1830, riots erupted in Brussels against the reign of William I. Prince William personally met with the rebels and was convinced to support political separation. His father rejected compromise though, and committed to suppressing the revolution. He was unable to retake the city, and appealed to international support in the London Conference. The ultimate decision was instead to recognize Belgian independence. William rejected this decision, and was forced back to diplomatic resolution only through French intervention. Another London Conference was convened in 1838 and the Treaty of London was signed the next year.

Simultaneously, Luxembourg was made an independent grand duchy held in union with the kingdom of the Netherlands.

Throughout World War 2, Wilhelmina led the government in exile from London.

The kingdom attempted to maintain control over its overseas possessions through global decolonization. The primary example is the Netherlands-Indonesia Union, which lasted from 1949 to 1956. Following that union's collapse, the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established.

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