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History of Kingdom of the Netherlands

A sovereign state of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state.. 5 eras, 880 CE to today.

County of Holland, 880 CE–1795 Draft, not yet reviewed

The County of Holland was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1581 onward it was the leading province of the Dutch Republic until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. Its territory corresponds roughly with the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland in the Netherlands.

Seat of power: The Hague

Dutch Republic, 1581–1795 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, also known as the United Provinces, was a confederation and great power that existed from 1588 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. Although the state was small and had only around 1.5 million inhabitants, it controlled a worldwide network of seafaring trade routes. It was a confederation of provinces, each with a high degree of independence from the federal assembly, the States General. Following military defeat by France, the stadtholder was expelled in the Batavian Revolution of 1795, ending the Dutch Republic.

Seat of power: The Hague

Batavian Republic, 1795–1806 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Batavian Republic was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the Dutch throne. The republic was founded with the armed support of the French Revolutionary Army and became a client state. The confederal structure of the old Dutch Republic was permanently replaced by a unitary state. For the first time in Dutch history, the constitution that was adopted in 1798 had a genuinely democratic character.

Seat of power: The Hague

Kingdom of Holland, 1806–1810 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Holland was the short-lived successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican government with a monarchy. Napoleon placed his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, on the throne of the puppet kingdom. The kingdom was dissolved in 1810, after which the Netherlands were annexed by France until 1813.

Seat of power: The Hague

Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1815 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

The Netherlands regained its independence from France in 1813 as the Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands, after having been annexed by the First French Empire in 1810. Slavery was abolished by law in Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean colonies on 1 July 1863. In Suriname, however, many formerly enslaved people were required to continue plantation labour under state supervision for another ten years. By the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as enacted in 1954, a composite state was created, consisting of the Netherlands (proper), Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.

Seat of power: Amsterdam

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.