Netherlands - Historical Information - International Institute

The Netherlands is rich in history. Timelines for each of the twelve provinces are shown here.

History
The area currently known as the Netherlands is rich with history. The official title of the country is the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). It covers 41,528 square kilometres where approximately 16 million people live today. It is ranked in the top 25 countries with the largest population density per square kilometres!

Netherlands or Nederland literally means “Low Countries”. Approximately 27% of the land lies below sea level and has been vulnerable to flooding for many centuries. To learn more about the major floods that have affected the Netherlands, visit Deltawerken Online. This site is available in Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish.

The Netherlands has endured many wars with countries such as England, France, Spain and Germany. From 50 B.C. to 1588, it had been ruled by the Romans, Charlemagne, Philip the Good, The Habsburgs, Charles V, Philip II, and William of Orange.

In 1588 it became known as the Republic of the United Provinces and retained that title until 1795. From 1795 to 1830, the country under went six title changes! The chart below outlines the time period the country changed titles.

Time Period - Country Title

1588-1795 - The Republic of the United Provinces

1795-1805 - The Batavian Republic

1805-1806 - The Batavian Commonwealth

1806-1810 - The Kingdom of Holland

1810-1813 - Departments of the French Empire

1814-1830 - The Kingdom of the United Netherlands

The Land
The present day Netherlands comprises of twelve provinces: Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland, North Holland (Noord Holland), South Holland (Zuid Holland), Zeeland, Flevoland, Utrecht, North Brabant and Limburg.

Map of the Netherlands – Provinces and Major Cities

The landscape of the country has undergone many changes over the centuries. “Holland”, once a single province, was divided into North Holland and South Holland in 1840. Flevoland, the youngest province, became populated during the 1970’s. This province is comprised of land reclaimed from the South Sea (Zuiderzee). The South Sea ceased to exist in 1933, when theAfsluitdijk was closed off and it became the IJsselmeer. Today it is two lakes, called IJsselmeer and Markermeer. Due to the many changes in the landscape, the use of maps is important when doing research in the Netherlands. It is equally important to use maps from the time period of your ancestor. How the land is shaped today is not the way it was 100 or 200 years ago.

Jurisdictions
Over the centuries the Netherlands had its jurisdictions change a number of times. Knowing the various jurisdictions during the different time periods will assist you with your genealogical research.

Prior to 1543, the present day provinces were under the following jurisdictions:


 * Counties of Holland and Zeeland
 * Bishopric of Utrecht, including the city of Groningen and present day provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe
 * Duchy of Gelre, including most of the present day Limburg
 * Duchy of Brabant, including the southern part of present day Limburg
 * Friesland
 * Groningen, except the city of Groningen

During 1543, these jurisdictions were united under the reign of Charles V, King of Spain and Emperor of Germany. In 1555, Philip II, son of Charles V, reigned over the Netherlands. From 1568 to 1572, the country was at war with France with the rebellion being led by Willem I of Orange and later by his sons. The Dutch had established their own central government and incorporated the liberated provinces from 1572 to 1588.

When the country was known as the Republic of the United Provinces (1588-1795), there were the following seven provinces:


 * Holland
 * Friesland
 * Zeeland
 * Gelderland
 * Utrecht
 * Groningen
 * Overijssel and Drenthe

In 1795, the government of the Republic of the United Provinces was overthrown and replaced by the Batavian Republic. This was the beginning of many changes that were to occur over the next thirty-five years. In 1806, Napoleon’s brother, Louis Bonaparte reigned over the country and created the Kingdom of Holland. Then in 1811 it was annexed to the French Empire until 1814. When France was defeated in the Napoleonic wars, William Frederick, son of William V, returned to the Netherlands and became King William I.

In 1830, the people in the southern area of the Netherlands rebelled and formed the Kingdom of Belgium. The final border disputes were not resolved until 1839. That same year Limburg became a province and the next year, the province of Holland was divided into North Holland and South Holland. This would also be the last time borders changed to shape the present day provinces.

If you would like to learn more about the different periods in Dutch history, visit the HistoryInNL website’s History of the Netherlands from 50 BC to 2005 (De Nederlandse Geschiedenis van 50 v.Chr. tot en met 2005). This site has been developed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Buitenlandse Zaken) and is available in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish.

The Provinces
Each province in the Netherlands has its own history that can affect your genealogical research. A brief timeline of events for each province follows.

Limburg
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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course Research: Dutch Ancestors in the Netherlands offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.