Dutch Democratization

A history of Dutch democratization.

Duchy of Burgundy and the Low Countries

Burgundy was a sort of predecessor state to the Netherlands.

Clovis I conquered the first kingdom of the Burgundians and incorporated it into Francia. When he divided the empire between his sons, a second kingdom of Burgundy quickly emerged. After Pippin of Herstal reunited the Frankish kingdoms, Burgundy was lowered to a duchy.

As East Francia emerged, this duchy remained very wealthy and powerful. The house of Burgundy dominated it within the kingdom of France.

The Burgundian fiefs massively divided over time, and many owed dual fealty to both the king of France and the Holy Roman Emperor. Factions were built and destroyed by mere inheritance law, as various duchies and counties were held together only by personal unions. The core Burgundian State continued to be wealthy and powerful, but became just the 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 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

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