History

In the 17th century a small republic of merchants and sailors became one of the richest countries in the world. These are the key dates in its story.

1. 1st century

   The Rhine marks the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. The remains of its forts, the Lower German Limes, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021.

2. 1568

   The Eighty Years’ War begins: led by William of Orange, the provinces rise against the Spanish king.

3. 1579

   The Union of Utrecht unites the northern provinces. The Dutch Republic grows out of this alliance.

4. 1602

   The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is founded, one of the world’s first joint-stock companies. Its shares are traded on the Amsterdam exchange.

5. 1620s

   Dutch settlers found New Amsterdam on Manhattan. In 1664 the English take it and rename it New York.

6. 17th century

   The Golden Age. Amsterdam is the centre of world trade, and the painters Rembrandt and Vermeer and the scientists Huygens and Van Leeuwenhoek are at work.

7. 1648

   The Peace of Münster: Spain recognises the republic’s independence.

8. 1795–1813

   The French period: first the Batavian Republic, then the Kingdom of Holland under Napoleon’s brother Louis, then annexation by France.

9. 1815

   The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is formed under King William I. Belgium breaks away in 1830.

10. 1848

    A new constitution drafted by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke makes the government answerable to parliament rather than to the king.

11. 1932

    The 32 km Afsluitdijk is completed, turning the Zuiderzee sea inlet into the freshwater lake IJsselmeer.

12. 1940–1945

    German occupation. On 14 May 1940 bombing destroys the centre of Rotterdam; in the winter of 1944–45 the west of the country goes hungry. The Netherlands is liberated on 5 May 1945, now a national holiday.

13. 1953

    On the night of 1 February a storm breaks the dikes in the south-west and 1,836 people die. The disaster leads to the Delta Works.

14. 1957

    The Netherlands is one of the six founders of the European Economic Community, forerunner of the EU.

15. 1992

    The treaty creating the European Union is signed in Maastricht.

16. 2001

    The Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.

17. 2002

    The euro replaces the guilder.

18. 2013

    Willem-Alexander becomes king. For more than a century before him the country was ruled by three queens in a row: Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix.