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HOLLAND, officially the kingdom of the Netherlands(Koningrijk der Nederlanden), a maritime country in the north-westof Europe. The name Holland is that of the former countship,which forms part of the political, as well as the geographicalcentre of the kingdom (see the next article).
Topography.—Holland is bounded on the E. by Germany,on the S. by Belgium, on the W. and N. by the North Sea, andat the N.E. corner by the Dollart. From Stevensweert southwardto the extreme corner of Limburg the boundary line isformed by the river Maas or Meuse.[1] On the east a naturalgeographical boundary was formed by the long line of marshyfens extending along the borders of Overysel, Drente andGroningen. The kingdom extends from 53° 32′ 21″ (GroningenCape on Rottum Island) to 50° 45′ 49″ N. (Mesch in theprovince of Limburg), and from 3° 23′ 27″ (Sluis in the provinceof Zeeland) to 7° 12′ 20″ E. (Langakkerschans in the provinceof Groningen). The greatest length from north to south, viz.that from Rottum Island to Eisden near Maastricht is 164 m.,and the greatest breadth from south-west to north-east, or fromZwin near Sluis to Losser in Overysel, 144 m. The area is subject to perpetual variation owing, on the one hand, to the erosionof the coasts, and, on the other, to reclamation of land by meansof endiking and drainage operations. In 1889 the total areawas calculated at 12,558 sq. m., and, including the Zuider Zeeand the Wadden (2050 sq. m.) and the Dutch portion of theDollart (23 sq. m.), 14,613 sq. m. In no country in Europe hasthe character of the territory exercised so great an influence onthe inhabitants as in the Netherlands; and, on the other hand,no people has so extensively modified the condition of its territoryas the Dutch. The greatest importance attaches therefore tothe physical conformation of the country.
The coast-line extends in a double curve from south-west to north-east,and is formed by a row of sand dunes, 171 m. in length, fringedby a broad sandy beach descending very gradually intothe sea. In the north and south, however, this line isbroken by the inlets of the sea which form theCoast.Frisian and the SouthHolland and Zeeland islands respectively; but the dunes themselvesare found continued along the seaward side of these islands, thusindicating the original continuity of the coast-line. The breadth ofthe dunes naturally varies greatly, the maximum width of about4375 yds. being found at Schoorl, north-west of Alkmaar. Theaverage height of the individual dune-tops is not above 33 ft., butattains a maximum of 197 ft. at the High Blinkert, near Haarlem.The steepness of the dunes on the side towards the sea is caused bythe continual erosion, probably traceable, in part at least, to thechannel current (which at mean tide has a velocity of 14 or 15 in.per second), and to the strong west or north-west winds which carryoff large quantities of material. This alteration of coast-line appearsat Loosduinen, where the moor or fenland formerly developedbehind the dunes now crops out on the shore amid the sand, beingpressed to the compactness of lignite by the weight of the sanddrifted over it. Again, the remains of the Roman camp Brittenburgor Huis te Britten, which originally lay within the dunes and, afterbeing covered by them, emerged again in 1520, were, in 1694, 1600paces out to sea, opposite Katwijk; while, besides Katwijk itself,several other villages of the west coast, as Domburg, Scheveningen,Egmond, have been removed further inland. The tendency of thedunes to drift off on the landward side is prevented by the plantingof bent-grass (Arundo arenaria), whose long roots serve to bind thesand together. It must be further remarked that both the “dune-pans,”or depressions, which are naturally marshy through theirdefective drainage, and thegeest grounds—that is, the grounds alongthe foot of the downs—have been in various places either plantedwith wood or turned into arable and pasture land; while thenumerous springs at the base of the dunes are of the utmost value tothe great cities situated on the marshy soil inland, the example setby Amsterdam in 1853 in supplying itself with this water havingbeen readily followed by Leiden, the Hague, Flushing, &c.
As already remarked, the coast-line of Holland breaks up into aseries of islands at its northern and southern extremities. Theprincipal sea-inlets in the north are the Texel Gat or Marsdiep andthe Vlie, which lead past the chain of the Frisian Islands into thelarge inland sea or gulf called the Zuider Zee, and the Wadden or“shallows,” which extend along the shores of Friesland andGroningen as far as the Dollart and the mouth of the Ems. Theinland sea-board thus formed consists of low coasts of sea-clayprotected by dikes, and of some high diluvial strata which rise farenough above the level of the sea to make dikes unnecessary, as inthe case of the Gooi hills between Naarden and the Eem, the Veluwehills between Nykerk and Elburg, and the steep cliffs of the Gaasterlandbetween Oude Mirdum and Stavoren. The Dollart was formedin 1277 by the inundation of the Ems basin, more than thirty villagesbeing destroyed at once. The Zuider Zee and the bay in the Frisiancoast known as the Lauwers Zee also gradually came into existencein the 13th century. The extensive sea-arms forming the SouthHolland and Zeeland archipelago are the Hont or West Scheldt, theEast Scheldt, the Grevelingen (communicating with Krammerand the Volkerak) and the Haringvliet, which after being joined bythe Volkerak is known as the Hollandsch Diep. These inlets wereformerly of much greater extent than now, but are gradually closingup owing to the accumulation of mud deposits, and no longer havethe same freedom of communication with one another. At the headof the Hollandsch Diep is the celebrated railway bridge of theMoerdyk (1868–1871) 1607 yds. in length; and above this bridge liesthe Biesbosch (“reed forest”), a group of marshy islands formed bya disastrous inundation in 1421, when seventy-two villages andupwards of 100,000 lives were destroyed.
Besides the dunes the only hilly regions of Holland are the southernhalf of the province of Limburg, the neighbourhood of Nijmwegen,the hills of Utrecht, including the Gooi hills, the Veluweregion in Gelderland, the isolated hills in the middle andeast of Overysel and the Hondsrug rangeRelief and levels.in Drente.The remainder of the country is flat, and shows a regulardownward slope from south-east to north-west, in which directionthe rivers mainly flow. The elevation of the surface of the countryranges between the extreme height of 1057 ft. near Vaals in thefarthest corner of Limburg, and 16-20 ft. below the Amsterdam zero[2]in some of the drained lands in the western half of the country. Infact, one quarter of the whole kingdom, consisting of the provincesof North and South Holland, the western portion of Utrecht asfar as the Vaart Rhine, Zeeland, except the southern part of Zeeland-Flanders,and the north-west part of North Brabant, lies below theAmsterdam zero; and altogether 38% of the country, or all thatpart lying west of a line drawn through Groningen, Utrecht andAntwerp, lies within one metre above the Amsterdam zero and wouldbe submerged if the sea broke down the barrier of dunes and dikes.This difference between the eastern and western divisions of Hollandhas its counterpart in the landscape and the nature of the soil. Thewestern division consists of low fen or clay soil and presents amonotonous expanse of rich meadow-land, carefully drained inregular lines of canals bordered by stunted willows, and dotted overwith windmills, the sails of canal craft and the clumps of elm andpoplar which surround each isolated farm-house. The landscape ofthe eastern division is considered less typical. Here the soil consistsmainly of sand and gravel, and the prevailing scenery is formed ofwaste heaths and patches of wood, while here and there fertilemeadows extend along the banks of the streams, and the land is laidout in the highly regular manner characteristic of fen reclamation(seeDrente).
The entire drainage of Holland is into the North Sea. The threeprincipal rivers are the Rhine, the Maas (Meuse) and the Scheldt(Schelde), and all three have their origin outside thecountry, whilst the Scheldt has its mouth only in Holland,giving its name to the two broad inlets of the seaRivers.which bound theZeeland islands. The Rhine in its course through Holland is merelythe parent stream of several important branches, splitting up intoRhine and Waal, Rhine and Ysel, Crooked Rhine and Lek (whichtakes two-thirds of the waters), and at Utrecht into Old Rhine andVecht, finally reaching the sea through the sluices at Katwijk aslittle more than a drainage canal. The Ysel and the Vecht flow tothe Zuider Zee; the other branches to the North Sea. The Maas,whose course is almost parallel to that of the Rhine, follows in a widecurve the general slope of the country, receiving the Roer, the Markand the Aa. Towards its mouth its waters find their way into allthe channels intersecting the South Holland archipelago. The mainstream joining the Waal at Gorinchem flows on to Dordrecht as theMerwede, and is continued thence to the sea by the Old Maas, theNorth, and the New Maas, the New Maas being formed by thejunction of the Lek and the North. From Gorinchem the NewMerwede (constructed in the second half of the 19th century) extendsbetween dykes through the marshes of the Biesbosch to theHollandsch Diep. These great rivers render very important serviceas waterways. The mean velocity of their flow seldom exceeds 4.9ft., but rises to 6.4 ft. when the river is high. In the lower reaches ofthe streams the velocity and slope are of course affected by the tides.In the Waal ordinary high water is perceptible as far up as ZaltBommel in Gelderland, in the Lek the maximum limits or ordinaryand spring tides are at Vianen and Kuilenburg respectively, in theYsel above the Katerveer at the junction of the Willemsvaart andpast Wyhe midway between Zwolle and Deventer; and in the Maasnear Heusden and at Well in Limburg. Into the Zuider Zee therealso flow the Kuinder, the Zwarte Water, with its tributary the Vecht,and the Eem. The total length of navigable channels is about1150 m., but sand banks and shallows not infrequently impede theshipping traffic at low water during the summer. The smallerstreams are often of great importance. Except where they rise inthe fens they call into life a strip of fertile grassland in the midstof the barren sand, and are responsible for the existence of manyvillages along their banks. Following the example of the greatKampen irrigation canal in Belgium, artificial irrigation is alsopractised by means of some of the smaller streams, especially inNorth Brabant, Drente and Overysel, and in the absence of streams,canals and sluices are sometimes specially constructed to perform thesame service. The low-lying spaces at the confluences of the rivers,being readily laid under water, have been not infrequently chosen assites for fortresses. As a matter of course, the streams are alsoturned to account in connexion with the canal system—the Dommel,Berkel, Vecht, Regge, Holland Ysel, Gouwe, Rotte, Schie, Spaarne,Zaan, Amstel, Dieze, Amer, Mark, Zwarte Water, Kuinder and thenumerous Aas in Drente and Groningen being the most importantin this respect.
It is unnecessary to mention the names of the numerous marshylakes which exist, especially in Friesland and Groningen, and areconnected with rivers or streamlets. Those of Frieslandare of note for the abundance of their fish and their beautyof situation, on which last account the UddelermeerLakes. in Gelderland isalso celebrated. The Rockanje Lake near Brielle is remarkable for
the strong salty solution which covers even the growing reeds with a 
marshes from which the peat has been extracted.
Dikes.—The circumstance that so much of Holland is belowthe sea-level necessarily exercises a very important influenceon the drainage, the climate and the sanitary conditions of thecountry, as well as on its defence by means of inundation. Theendiking of low lands against the sea which had been quietlyproceeding during the first eleven centuries of the Christian era,received a fresh impetus in the 12th and 13th centuries from thefact that the level of the sea then became higher in relation tothat of the land. This fact is illustrated by the broadening ofriver mouths and estuaries at this time, and the beginning ofthe formation of the Zuider Zee. A new feature in diking wasthe construction of dams or sluices across the mouths of rivers,sometimes with important consequences for the villages situatedon the spot. Thus the dam on the Amstel (1257) was the originof Amsterdam, and the dam on the Ye gave rise to Edam. ButHolland’s chief protection against inundation is its long line ofsand dunes, in which only two real breaches have been effectedduring the centuries of erosion. These are represented by thefamous sea dikes called the Westkapelle dike and the HondsbosscheZeewering, or sea-defence, which were begun respectivelyin the first and second halves of the 15th century. The firstextends for a distance of over 4000 yds. between the villagesof Westkapelle and Domburg in the island of Walcheren; thesecond is about 4900 yds. long, and extends from Kamperduinto near Petten, whence it is continued for another 1100 yds.by the Pettemer dike. These two sea dikes were reconstructedby the state at great expense between the year 1860 and 1884,having consisted before that time of little more than a protectedsand dike. The earthen dikes are protected by stone-slopes andby piles, and at the more dangerous points also byzinkstukken(sinking pieces), artificial structures of brushwood laden withstones, and measuring some 400 yds. in circuit, by means ofwhich the current is to some extent turned aside. The Westkapelledike, 12,468 ft. long, has a seaward slope of 300 ft., andis protected by rows of piles and basalt blocks. On its ridge,39 ft. broad, there is not only a roadway but a service railway.The cost of its upkeep is more than £6000 a year, and of theHondsbossche Zeewering £2000 a year. When it is rememberedthat the woodwork is infested by the pile worm (Teredo navalis),the ravages of which were discovered in 1731, the labour andexpense incurred in the construction and maintenance of thesea dikes now existing may be imagined. In other parts of thecoast the dunes, though not pierced through, have become sowasted by erosion as to require artificial strengthening. Thisis afforded, either by means of a so-called sleeping dike (slaperdyk)behind the weak spot, as, for instance, between Kadzandand Breskens in Zeeland-Flanders, and again between ’s Gravenzandeand Loosduinen; or by means of piers or breakwaters(hoofden, heads) projecting at intervals into the sea and composedof piles, or brushwood and stones. The first of such breakwaterswas that constructed in 1857 at the north end of the island ofGoeree, and extends over 100 yds. into the sea at low water.Similar constructions are to be found on the seaward side ofthe islands of Walcheren, Schouwen and Voorne, and between ’sGravenzande and Scheveningen, and Katwijk and Noordwijk.Owing to the obstruction which they offer to drifting sands,artificial dunes are in course of time formed about them, andin this way they become at once more effective and less costlyto maintain. The firm and regular dunes which now run fromPetten to Kallantsoog (formerly an island), and thence northwardsto Huisduinen, were thus formed about the Zyper (1617)and Koegras (1610) dikes respectively. From Huisduinen toNieuwediep the dunes are replaced by the famous Helder sea-wall.The shores of the Zuider Zee and the Wadden, and theFrisian and Zuider Zee islands, are also partially protected bydikes. In more than one quarter the dikes have been repeatedlyextended so as to enclose land conquered from the sea, the workof reclamation being aided by a natural process. Layer uponlayer of clay is deposited by the sea in front of the dikes, untila new fringe has been added to the coast-line on which sea-grassesgrasses begin to grow. Upon these clay-lands (kwelders) horses,cattle and sheep are at last able to pasture at low tide, and incourse of time they are in turn endiked.
River dikes are as necessary as sea dikes, elevated banksbeing found only in a few places, as on the Lower Rhine. Owingto the unsuitability of the foundations, Dutch dikes are usuallymarked by a great width, which at the crown varies between13 and 26 ft. The height of the dike ranges to 40 in. abovehigh water-level. Between the dikes and the stream lie “forelands”(interwaarden), which are usually submerged in winter,and frequently lie 1 or 2 yds, higher than the countrywithin the dikes. These forelands also offer in course of timean opportunity for endiking and reclamation. In this waythe towns of Rotterdam, Schiedam, Vlaardingen and Maasluishave all gradually extended over the Maas dike in order tokeep in touch with the river, and the small town of Delftshavenis built altogether on the outer side of the same dike.
Impoldering.—The first step in the reclamation of land is to “impolder”it, or convert it into a “polder” (i.e. a section of artificiallydrained land), by surrounding it with dikes or quays for the two-foldpurpose of protecting it from all further inundation from outside andof controlling the amount of water inside. Impoldering for its ownsake or on a large scale was impossible as long as the means ofdrainage were restricted. But in the beginning of the 15th centurynew possibilities were revealed by the adaptation of the windmill tothe purpose of pumping water. It was gradually recognized that themasses of water which collected wherever peat-digging had beencarried on were an unnecessary menace to the neighbouring lands,and also that a more enduring source of profit lay in the bed of thefertile sea-clay under the peat. It became usual, therefore, to makethe subsequent drainage of the land a condition of the extraction ofpeat from it, this condition being established by proclamation in 1595.
Drainage.—It has been shown that the western provinces ofHolland may be broadly defined as lying below sea-level. In factthe surface of the sea-clay in these provinces is from 111/2 to 161/2 ft.below the Amsterdam zero. The ground-water is, therefore, relativelyvery high and the capacity of the soil for further absorptionproportionately low. To increase the reservoir capacity of the polder,as well as to conduct the water to the windmills or engines, it isintersected by a network of ditches cut at right angles to each other,the amount of ditching required being usually one-twelfth of the areato be drained. In modern times pumping engines have replacedwindmills, and the typical old Dutch landscape with its countlesshooded heads and swinging arms has been greatly transformed bythe advent of the chimney stacks of the pumping-stations. Thepower of the pumping-engines is taken on the basis of 12 h.p. per1000 hectares for every metre that the water has to be raised, orstated in another form, the engines must be capable of raising nearly9 ℔ of water through 1 yd. per acre per minute. The main ditches,or canals, afterwards also serve as a means of navigation. The levelat which it is desired to keep the water in these ditches constitutesthe unit of water measurement for the polder, and is called thepolder’szomer peil (Z.P.) or summer water-level. In pasture-polders(koepolders) Z.P. is 1 to 11/2 ft. below the level of the polder,and in agricultural polders 21/2 to 31/2 ft. below. Owing to the shrinkageof the soil in reclaimed lands, however, that is, lands which have beendrained after fen or other reclamation, the sides of the polder areoften higher than the middle, and it is necessary by means of smalldams or sluices to make separate water-tight compartments(afpolderingen), each having its own unit of measurement. Somepolders also have a winter peil as a precaution against the increasedfall of water in that season. The summer water-level of the pasturepolders south of the former Y is about 4 to 8 ft. below the Amsterdamzero, but in the Noorderkwartier to the north, it reaches 101/2 ft. belowA. P. in the Beschotel polder, and in reclaimed lands (droogmakerijen)may be still lower, thus in the Reeuwyk polder north of Gouda it is211/4 ft. below.
The drainage of the country is effected by natural or artificialmeans, according to the slope of the ground. Nearly all the poldersof Zeeland and South Holland are able to discharge naturally intothe sea at average low water, self-regulating sluices being used.But in North Holland and Utrecht on the contrary the polderwater has generally to be raised. In some deep polders and drainedlands where the water cannot be brought to the required heightat once, windmills are found at two or even three different levels.The final removal of polder water, however, is only truly effectedupon its discharge into the “outer waters” of the country, that is,the sea itself or the large rivers freely communicating with it; andthis happens with but a small proportion of Dutch polders, suchas those of Zeeland, the Holland Ysel and the Noorderkwartier.
As the system of impoldering extended, the small sluggish riverswere gradually cut off by dikes from the marshy lands throughwhich they flowed, and by sluices from the waters with which theycommunicated. Their level ranges from about 11/2 to 4 ft. abovethat of the pasture polders. In addition, various kinds of canals and endiked or embanked lakes had come into existence, formingaltogether a vast network of more or less stagnant waters. These watersare utilized as the temporary reservoirs of the superfluous polderwater, each system of reservoirs being termed aboezem (bosom orbasin), and all lands watering into the same boezem being consideredas belonging to it. The largest boezem is that of Friesland, whichembraces nearly the whole province. It sometimes happens thata polder is not in direct contact with the boezem to which it belongs,but first drains into an adjacent polder, from which the water isafterwards removed. In the same way, some boezems dischargefirst into others, which then discharge into the sea or rivers. Thisis usually the case where there is a great difference in height betweenthe surface of the boezem and the outer waters, and may be illustratedby the Alblasserwaard and the Rotte boezems in the provincesof South and North Holland respectively. In time of droughtthe water in the canals and boezems is allowed to run back into thepolders, and so serve a double purpose as water-reservoirs. Boezems,like polders, have a standard water-level which may hot be exceeded,and as in the polder this level may vary in the differentparts of an extended boezem. The height of theboezem peil rangesbetween 11/3 ft. above to 15/6 ft. below the Amsterdam zero, thoughthe average is about 1 to 12/3 ft. below. Some boezems, again, whichare less easily controlled, have a “danger water-level” at whichthey refuse to receive any more water from the surrounding polders.The Schie or Delflands boezem of South Holland is of this kind,and such a boezem is termedbesloten or “sequestered,” in contradistinctionto a “free” boezem. A third kind of boezem is thereserve orberg-boezem, which in summer may be made dry and usedfor agriculture, while in winter it serves as a special reserve. Thecenturies of labour and self-sacrifice involved in the making of thiscomplete and harmonious system of combined defence and reclamationare better imagined than described, and even at the presentday the evidences of the struggle are far less apparent than real.
Geology.—Except in Limburg, where, in the neighbourhood ofMaastricht, the upper layers of the chalk are exposed and followedby Oligocene and Miocene beds, the whole of Holland is coveredby recent deposits of considerable thickness, beneath which deepborings have revealed the existence of Pliocene beds similar to the“Crags” of East Anglia. They are divided into theDiestien,corresponding in part with the English Coralline Crag, theScaldisienandPoederlien corresponding with the Walton Crag, and theAmstelien corresponding with the Red Crag of Suffolk. In thesouth of Holland the total thickness of the Pliocene series is onlyabout 200 ft., and they are covered by about 100 ft. of Quaternarydeposits; but towards the north the beds sink down and at thesame time increase considerably in thickness, so that at Utrecht adeep boring reached the top of the Pliocene at a depth of 513 ft.and at 1198 ft. it had not touched the bottom. At Amsterdamthe top of the Pliocene lay 625 ft. below the surface, but the boring,1098 ft. deep, did not reach the base of the uppermost division of thePliocene, viz. theAmstelien. Eastward and westward of Amsterdam,as well as southward, the Pliocene beds rise slowly to the surface,and gradually decrease in thickness. They were laid down in abroad bay which covered the east of England and nearly the wholeof the Netherlands, and was open to the North Sea. There isevidence that the sea gradually retreated northwards during thedeposition of these beds, until at length the Rhine flowed over toEngland and entered the sea north of Cromer. The appearance ofnorthern shells in the upper divisions of the Pliocene series indicatesthe approach of the Glacial period, and glacial drift containingScandinavian boulders now covers much of the country east of theZuider Zee. The more modern deposits of Holland consist ofalluvium, wind-blown sands and peat.[3]
Climate.—Situated in the temperate zone between 50° and 53° N.the climate of Holland shows a difference in the lengths of day andnight extending in the north to nine hours, and there is a correspondinglywide range of temperature; it also belongs to theregion of variable winds. On an average of fifty years the meanannual temperature was 49.8° Fahr.; the maximum, 93.9° Fahr.;the minimum, −5.8° Fahr. The mean annual barometric height is29.93 in.; the mean annual moisture, 81%; the mean annualrainfall, 27.99 in. The mean annual number of days with rain is204, with snow 19, and with thunder-storms 18. The increasedrainfall from July to December (the summer and autumn rains), andthe increased evaporation in spring and summer (5.2 in. more thanthe rainfall), are of importance as regards “poldering” and drainingoperations. The prevalence of south-west winds during ninemonths of the year and of north-west during three (April-June) hasa strong influence on the temperature and rainfall, tides, rivermouths and outlets, and also, geologically, on dunes and sand drifts,and on fens and the accumulation of clay on the coast. The westwinds of course increase the moisture, and moderate both the wintercold and the summer heat, while the east winds blowing over thecontinent have an opposite influence. It cannot be said that theclimate is particularly good, owing to the changeableness of theweather, which may alter completely within a single day. Theheavy atmosphere likewise, and the necessity of living within doorsor in confined localities, cannot but exercise an influence on thecharacter and temperament of the inhabitants. Only of certaindistricts, however, can it be said that they are positively unhealthy;to this category belong some parts of the Holland provinces, Zeeland,and Friesland, where the inhabitants are exposed to the exhalationsfrom the marshy ground, and the atmosphere is often burdenedwith sea-fogs.
Fauna.—In the densely populated Netherlands, with no extensiveforests, the fauna does not present any unusual varieties. The otter,martin and badger may be mentioned among the rarer wild animals,and the weasel, ermine and pole-cat among the more common.In the 18th century wolves still roamed the country in such largenumbers that hunting parties were organized against them; nowthey are unknown. Roebuck and deer are found in a wild statein Gelderland and Overysel, foxes are plentiful in the dry woodedregions on the borders of the country, and hares and rabbits in thedunes and other sandy stretches. Among birds may be reckonedabout two hundred and forty different kinds which are regularinhabitants, although nearly two hundred of these are migratory.The woodcock, partridge, hawk, water-ousel, magpie, jay, raven,various kinds of owls, wood-pigeon, golden-crested wren, tufted larkand titmouse are among the birds which breed here. Birds ofpassage include the buzzard, kite, quail, wild fowl of various kinds,golden thrush, wagtail, linnet, finch and nightingale. Storks areplentiful in summer and might almost be considered the mostcharacteristic feature of the prevailing landscape.
Flora.—The flora may be most conveniently dealt with in the fourphysiographical divisions to which it belongs. These are, namely,the heath-lands, pasture-lands, dunes and coasts. Heath (Ericatetralix) and ling (Calluna vulgaris) cover all the waste sandy regionsin the eastern division of the country. The vegetation of themeadow-lands is monotonous. In the more damp and marshyplaces the bottom is covered with marsh trefoil, carex, smoothequisetum, and rush. In the ditches and pools common yellow andwhite water-lilies are seen, as well as water-soldier (Stratiotes aloides),great and lesser reed-mace, sweet flag and bur-reed. The plantforms of the dunes are stunted and meagre as compared with thesame forms elsewhere. The most common plant here is the stiffsand-reed (Arundo arenaria), called sand-oats in Drente and Overysel,where it is much used for making mats. Like the sand-reed,the dewberry bramble and the shrub of the buckthorn (Hippophaerhamnoides) perform a useful service in helping to bind the sandtogether. Furze and the common juniper are regular dune plants,and may also be found on the heaths of Drente, Overysel andGelderland. Thyme and the small white dune-rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia)also grow in the dunes, and wall-pepper (Sedum acre), fieldfever-wort, reindeer moss, common asparagus, sheep’s fescue grass,the pretty Solomon-seal (Polygonatum officinale), and the broad-leavedor marsh orchis (Orchis latifolia). The sea-plants whichflourish on the sand and mud-banks along the coasts greatly assistthe process of littoral deposits and are specially cultivated in places.Sea-aster flourishes in the Wadden of Friesland and Groningen, theDollart and the Zeeland estuaries, giving place nearer the shoreto sandspurry (Spergularia), or sea-poa or floating meadow grass(Glyceria maritima), which grows up to the dikes, and affords pasturefor cattle and sheep. Along the coast of Overysel and in the Biesboschlake club-rush, or scirpus, is planted in considerable quantitiesfor the hat-making industry, and common sea-wrack (Zosteramarina) is found in large patches in the northern half of the ZuiderZee, where it is gathered for trade purposes during the months ofJune, July and August. Except for the willow-plots found alongthe rivers on the clay lands, nearly all the wood is confined to thesand and gravel soils, where copses of birch and alder are common.
Population.—The following table shows the area and populationin the eleven provinces of the Netherlands:—
| Province | Area in sq. m. | Population 1890. | Population 1900. | Density per sq. m. in 1900. |
| North Brabant | 1,980 | 509,628 | 553,842 | 280 |
| Gelderland | 1,965 | 512,202 | 566,549 | 288 |
| South Holland | 1,166 | 949,641 | 1,144,448 | 981 |
| North Holland | 1,070 | 829,489 | 968,131 | 905 |
| Zeeland | 690 | 199,234 | 216,295 | 313 |
| Utrecht | 534 | 221,007 | 251,034 | 470 |
| Friesland | 1,282 | 335,558 | 340,262 | 265 |
| Overysel | 1,291 | 295,445 | 333,338 | 258 |
| Groningen | 790 | 272,786 | 299,602 | 379 |
| Drente | 1,030 | 130,704 | 148,544 | 144 |
| Limburg | 850 | 255,721 | 281,934 | 332 |
| Total | 12,648 | 4,511,415 | 5,104,137* | 404 |
* This total includes 158 persons assigned to no province.
The extremes of density of population are found in the provincesof North Holland and South Holland on the one hand, andDrente on the other. This divergence is partly explained bythe difference of soil—which in Drente comprises the maximumof waste lands, and in South Holland the minimum—and partlyalso by the greater facilities which the seaward provinces enjoyof earning a subsistence, and the greater variety of their industries.The largest towns are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague,Utrecht, Groningen, Haarlem, Arnhem, Leiden, Nijmwegen,Tilburg. Other considerable towns are Dordrecht, Maastricht,Leeuwarden, Zwolle, Delft, ’s Hertogenbosch, Schiedam,Deventer, Breda, Apeldoorn, Helder, Enschedé, Gouda, Zaandam,Kampen, Hilversum, Flushing, Amersfoort, Middelburg, Zutphenand Alkmaar. Many of the smaller towns, such as Assen,Enschedé, Helmond, Hengelo, Tiel, Venlo, Vlaardingen, Zaandam,Yerseke, show a great development, and it is a noteworthyfact that the rural districts, taken as a whole, have borne anequal share in the general increase of population. This, takenin conjunction with the advance in trade and shipping, thediminution in emigration, and the prosperity of the savingsbanks, points to a favourable state in the condition of the people.
Communications.—The roads are divided into national or royalroads, placed directly under the control of thewater-staat and supportedby the state; provincial roads, under the directcontrol of the states of the provinces, and almost allsupported by the provincial treasuries; communal and polderRoads.roads, maintained by the communal authorities and the polderboards; and finally, private roads. The system of national roads,mainly constructed between 1821 and 1827, but still in process ofextension, brings into connexion nearly all the towns.
The canal system of Holland is peculiarly complete and extendsinto every part of the country, giving to many inland towns almosta maritime appearance. The united length of the canalsexceeds 1500 m. As a matter of course the smallerstreams have been largely utilized in their formation, while theCanals.necessity for a comprehensive drainage system has also contributedin no small degree. During the years 1815–1830 a large part of theextensive scheme of construction inaugurated by King William I.was carried out, the following canals, among others, coming intoexistence in that period: the North Holland ship canal (depth,161/2 ft.) from Amsterdam to den Helder, the Grift canal betweenApeldoorn and Hattem, the Willemsvaart connecting Zwolle withthe Ysel, the Zuid Willemsvaart, or South William’s canal (61/2 ft.),from ’s Hertogenbosch to Maastricht, and the Ternuzen-Ghent shipcanal. After 1849 the canal programme was again taken up by thestate, which alone or in conjunction with the provincial authoritiesconstructed the Apeldoorn-Dieren canal (1859–1869), the drainagecanals of the “Peel” marsh in North Brabant, and of the easternprovinces, namely, the Deurne canal (1876–1892) from the Maas toHelenaveen, the Almelo (1851–1858) and Overysel (1884–1888)canals from Zwolle, Deventer and Almelo to Koevorden, and theStieltjes (1880–1884), and Orange (1853–1858 and 1881–1889) canalsin Drente, the North Williams canal (1856–1862) between Assen andGroningen, the Ems (1866–1876) ship canal from Groningen toDelfzyl, and the New Merwede, and enlarged the canal from Harlingenby way of Leeuwarden to the Lauwars Zee. The large shipcanals to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, called the New Waterwayand the North Sea canal respectively, were constructed in 1866–1872and 1865–1876 at a cost of 21/2 and 3 million pounds sterling, theformer by widening the channel of the Scheur north of Rozenburg,and cutting across the Hook of Holland, the latter by utilizing thebed of the Y and cutting through the dunes at Ymuiden. In 1876an agreement was arrived at with Germany for connecting theimportant drainage canals in Overysel, Drente and Groningen withthe Ems canal system, as a result of which the Almelo-Noordhorn(1884–1888) and other canals came into existence.
The canals differ in character in the different provinces. InZeeland they connect the towns of the interior with the sea or theriver mouths; for example, the one from Middelburg to Veereand Flushing (1866–1878), from Goes to the East Scheldt, and fromZierikzee also to the East Scheldt. The South Beveland (1862–1866)canal connects the East and West Scheldt; similarly in SouthHolland the Voorne canal unites the Haringvliet with the New Maas,which does not allow the passage of large vessels above Brielle;whilst owing lo the banks and shallows in front of Hellevoetsluisthe New Waterway was cut to Rotterdam. Of another characteris the Zederik canal, which unites the principal river of centralHolland, the Lek, at Vianen by means of the Linge with the Merwedeat Gorkum. Amsterdam is connected with the Lek and the Zederikcanal via Utrecht by the Vecht and the Vaart Rhine (1881–1893;depth 10.2 ft.). Again, a totally different character belongs to thecanals in North Brabant, and the east and north-east of Hollandwhere, in the absence of great rivers, they form the only waterwayswhich render possible the drainage of the fens and the export ofpeat; and unite the lesser streams with each other. Thus inOverysel, in addition to the canals already mentioned, the Dedemsvaartconnects the Vecht with the Zwarte Water near Hasselt;in Drente the Smildervaart and Drentsche Hoofdvaart unites Assenwith Meppel, and receives on the eastern side the drainage canalsof the Drente fens, namely, the Orange canal and the HoogeveenVaart (1850–1860; 1880–1893). Groningen communicates with theLauwers Zee by the Reitdiep (1873–1876), while the canal to Winschotenand the Stadskanaal, or State canal (1877–1880), bring itinto connexion with the flourishing fen colonies in the east of theprovince and in Drente. In Friesland, finally, besides the ship canalfrom Harlingen to the Lauwers Zee there are canals from Leeuwardento the Lemmer, whence there is a busy traffic with Amsterdam;and the Caspar Robles or Kolonels Diep, and the Hoendiepconnect it with Groningen.
The construction of railways was long deferred and slowly accomplished.The first line was that between Amsterdam and Haarlem,opened in 1839 by the Holland railway company (HollandschYzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij). In 1845 the state undertookRailways.to develop the railway system, and a company of privateindividuals was formed to administer it under the title of theMaatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatspoorwegen. In 1860, however,the total length of railways was only 208 m., and in that yeara parliamentary bill embodying a comprehensive scheme of constructionwas adopted. By 1872 this programme was nearly completed,and 542 m. of new railway had been added. In 1873 and1875 a second and a third bill provided for the extension of therailway system at the cost of the state, and, in 1876, 1882 and 1890laws were introduced readjusting the control of the various lines,some of which were transferred to the Holland railway. The staterailway system was completed in 1892, and since that time theutmost that the state has done has been to subsidize new undertakings.These include various local lines such as the line Alkmaar-Hoorn(1898), Ede-Barneveld-Nykerk, Enschedé-Ahaus in Germany(1902), Leeuwarden to Franeker, Harlingen and Dokkum, and theline Zwolle-Almelo (junction at Marienberg) Koevorden-Stadskanal-Veendam-Delfzyl,connecting all the fen countries on the easternborders. The electric railway Amsterdam-Zandvoort was openedin 1904. The frame upon which the whole network of the Dutchrailways may be said to depend is formed of two main lines fromnorth and south and four transverse lines from west to east. Thetwo longitudinal lines are the railway den Helder via Haarlem(1862–1867),[4] Rotterdam (1839–1847), and Zwaluwe (1869–1877)to Antwerp (1852–1855), belonging to the Holland railway company,and the State railway from Leeuwarden and Groningen (1870)(junction at Meppel, 1867) Zwolle (1866)—Arnhem (1865)—Nijmwegen(1879)—Venlo (1883)—Maastricht (1865). The fourtransverse lines belong to the State and Holland railways alternatelyand are, beginning with the State railway: (1) the lineFlushing (1872)—Rozendaal (1860)—Tilburg (1863)—Bokstel(whence there is a branch line belonging to the North Brabant andGermany railway company via Vechel to Goch in Germany, openedin 1873)—Eindhoven—Venlo and across Prussian border (1866);(2) the line Hook of Holland—Rotterdam (1893)—Dordrecht (1872–1877)—Elst(1882–1885)—Nijmwegen (1879)—Cleves, Germany(1865); (3) the line Rotterdam—Utrecht (1866–1869) and Amsterdam—Utrecht—Arnhem(1843–1845) to Emmerich in Germany (1856):this line formerly belonged to the Netherlands-Rhine railway company,but was bought by the state in 1890; and finally (4) the lineAmsterdam—Hilversum—Amersfoort—Apeldoorn (1875), whence itis continued (a) via Deventer, Almelo and Hengelo to Salzbergen,Germany (1865); (b) via Zutphen, Hengelo (1865), Enschedé (1866)to Gronau, Germany; (c) via Zutphen (1876) and Ruurlo to Winterswyk(1878). Of these (1) and (2) form the main transcontinentalroutes in connexion with the steamboat service to England (portsof Queenborough and Harwich respectively). Two other lines ofrailway, both belonging to the state, also traverse the country westto east, namely, the line Rozendaal—’s Hertogenbosch (1890)—Nijmwegen,and in the extreme north, the line from Harlingenthrough Leeuwarden (1863) and Groningen (1866) to the border atNieuwe Schans (1869), whence it was connected with the Germanrailways in 1876. The northern and southern provinces are furtherconnected by the lines Amsterdam—Zaandam (1878)—Enkhuizen(1885), whence there is a steam ferry across the Zuider Zee toStavoren, from where the railway is continued to Leeuwarden (1883–1885);the Netherlands Central railway, Utrecht—Amersfoort—Zwoole—Kampen(1863); and the line Utrecht—’s Hertogenbosch(1868–1869) which is continued southward into Belgium by thelines bought in 1898 from the Grand Central Belge railway, namely,via Tilburg to Turnhout (1867), and via Eindhoven (1866) to Hasselt.In 1892 Greenwich mean time was adopted on the railways and inthe post-offices, making a difference of twenty minutes with meanAmsterdam time.
Since 1877 railway communication has been largely supplementedby steam-tramways, which either run along the main roads oracross the country on special embankments, while one of them is carried across the river Ysel at Doesburg on a pontoon bridge.The state first began to encourage the construction of these localTramways.light railways by means of subsidies in 1893, since whensome of the most prominent lines have come into existence,such as Purmerend—Alkmaar (1898), Zutphen—Emmerich(1902), along the Dedemsvaart in Overysel (1902), from’s Hertogenbosch via Utrecht and Eindhoven to Turnhout inBelgium (1898), and especially those connecting the South Hollandand Zeeland islands with the railway, namely, between Rotterdamand Numansdorp on the Hollandsch Diep (1898), and from Bredaor Bergen-op-Zoom, via Steenbergen to St Philipsland, Zierikzeeand Brouwershaven (1900). An electric tramway connects Haarlemand Zandvoort. The number of passengers carried by the steam-tramwaysis relatively higher than that of the railways. The valueof the goods traffic is not so high, owing, principally, to the want ofintercommunication between the various lines on account of differencesin the width of the gauge.
Agriculture.—Waste lands are chiefly composed of the barrenstretches of heaths found in Drente, Overysel, Gelderlandand North Brabant. They formerly served to support largeflocks of sheep and some cattle, but are gradually transformedby the planting of woods, as well as by strenuous efforts atcultivation. Zeeland and Groningen are the two principalagricultural provinces, and after them follow Limburg, NorthBrabant, Gelderland and South Holland. The chief productsof cultivation on the heavy clay soil are oats, barley and wheat,and on the sand-grounds rye, buckwheat and potatoes. Flaxand beetroot are also cultivated on the clay lands. Tobacco,hemp, hops, colza and chicory form special cultures. With thepossible exception of oats, the cereals do not suffice for homeconsumption, and maize is imported in large quantities forcattle-feeding, and barley for the distilleries and breweries.Horticulture and market-gardening are of a high order, andflourish especially on the low fen soil andgeest grounds along thefoot of the dunes in the provinces of North and South Holland.The principal market products are cauliflower, cabbage, onions,asparagus, gherkins, cucumbers, beans, peas, &c. The principalflowers are hyacinths, tulips, crocuses, narcissus and otherbulbous plants, the total export of which is estimated at over£200,000. Fruit is everywhere grown, and there is a specialcultivation of grapes and figs in the Westland of South Holland.The woods, or rather the plantations, covering 6%, consistof (1) the so-called forest timber (opgaandhout; Fr.arbresde haute futaie), including the beech, oak, elm, poplar, birch,ash, willow and coniferous trees; and (2) the copse wood(akkermaal orhakhout), embracing the elder, willow, beech,oak, &c. This forms no unimportant branch of the nationalwealth.
With nearly 35% of the total surface of the country underpermanent pasture, cattle-breeding forms one of the most characteristicindustries of the country. The provinces ofFriesland, North and South Holland, and Utrecht takethe lead as regards both quality and numbers. A smaller,Livestock.hardier kind of cattle and large numbers of sheep are kept uponthe heath-lands in the eastern provinces, which also favour therearing of pigs and bee-culture. Horse-breeding is most importantin Friesland, which produces the well-known black breed of horsecommonly used in funeral processions. Goats are most numerousin Gelderland and North Brabant. Poultry, especially fowls, aregenerally kept. Stock-breeding, like agriculture, has considerablyimproved under the care of the government (state and provincial),which grants subsidies for breeding, irrigation of pasture-lands, theimportation of finer breeds of cattle and horses, the erection offactories for dairy produce, schools, &c.
Fisheries.—The fishing industry of the Netherlands may be saidto have been in existence already in the 13th century, and in thefollowing century received a considerable impetus from the discoveryhow to cure herring by William Beukelszoon, a Zeelandfisherman. It steadily declined during the 17th and 18th centuries,however, but again began to revive in the last half of the 19th century.The fisheries are commonly divided into four particular fishing areas,namely, the “deep-sea” fishery of the North Sea, and the “inner”(binnengaatsch) fisheries of the Wadden, the Zuider Zee, and theSouth Holland and Zeeland waters. The deep-sea fishery may befarther divided into the so-called “great” or “salt-herring” fishery,mainly carried on from Vlaardingen and Maasluis during the summerand autumn, and the “fresh-herring” fishery, chiefly pursued atScheveningen, Katwijk and Noordwijk. The value of the herringfisheries is enhanced by the careful methods of smoking and salting,the export of salted fish being considerable. In the winter thelargest boats are laid up and the remainder take to line-fishing.Middelharnis, Pernis and Zwartewaal are the centres of this branchof fishery, which yields halibut, cod, ling and haddock. The trawlfisheries of the coast yield sole, plaice, turbot, brill, skate, &c., ofwhich a large part is brought alive to the market. In the ZuiderZee small herring, flat fish, anchovies and shrimps are caught,the chief fishing centres being the islands of Texel, Urk andWieringen, and the coast towns of Helder, Bunschoten, Huizen,Enkhuizen, Vollendam, Kampen, Harderwyk, Vollenhove. Theanchovy fishing which takes place in May, June and July sometimesyields very productive results. Oysters and mussels are obtainedon the East Scheldt, and anchovies at Bergen-op-Zoom; whilesalmon, perch and pike are caught in the Maas, the Lek and theNew Merwede. The oyster-beds and salmon fisheries are largely inthe hands of the state, which lets them to the highest bidder. Largequantities of eels are caught in the Frisian lakes. The fisheries notonly supply the great local demand, but allow of large exports.
Manufacturing Industries.—The mineral resources of Hollandgive no encouragement to industrial activity, with the exceptionof the coal-mining in Limburg, the smelting of iron ore in afew furnaces in Overysel and Gelderland, the use of stone andgravel in the making of dikes and roads, and of clay in brickworksand potteries, the quarrying of stone at St Pietersberg,&c. Nevertheless the industry of the country has developedin a remarkable manner since the separation from Belgium.The greatest activity is shown in the cotton industry, whichflourishes especially in the Twente district of Overysel, wherejute is also worked into sacks. In the manufacture of woollenand linen goods Tilburg ranks first, followed by Leiden, Utrechtand Eindhoven; that of half-woollens is best developed atRoermond and Helmond. Other branches of industry includecarpet-weaving at Deventer, the distillation of brandy, ginand liqueurs at Schiedam, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, andbeer-brewing in most of the principal towns; shoe-making andleather-tanning in the Langstraat district of North Brabant;paper-making at Apeldoorn, on the Zaan, and in Limburg;the manufacture of earthenware and faïence at Maastricht,the Hague and Delft, as well as at Utrecht, Purmerend andMakkum; clay pipes and stearine candles at Gouda; margarineat Osch; chocolate at Weesp and on the Zaan; mat-plaitingand broom-making at Genemuiden and Blokzyl; diamond-cuttingand the manufacture of quinine at Amsterdam; andthe making of cigars and snuff at Eindhoven, Amsterdam,Utrecht, Kampen, &c. Shipbuilding is of no small importancein Holland, not only in the greater, but also in the smallertowns along the rivers and canals. The principal shipbuildingyards are at Amsterdam, Kinderdijk, Rotterdam and at Flushing,where there is a government dockyard for building warships.
Trade and Shipping.—To obtain a correct idea of the trade ofHolland, greater attention than would be requisite in the case ofother countries must be paid to the inland traffic. It is impossibleto state the value of this in definite figures, but an estimate may beformed of its extent from the number of ships which it employs inthe rivers and canals, and from the quantity of produce brought tothe public market. In connexion with this traffic there is a largefleet of tug boats; but steam- or petroleum-propelled barges arebecoming more common. Some of the lighters used in the Rhinetransport trade have a capacity of 3000 tons. A great part of thecommercial business at Rotterdam belongs to the commission andtransit trade. The other principal ports are Flushing, Terneuzen(for Belgium), Harlingen, Delfzyl, Dordrecht, Zaandam, Schiedam,Groningen, den Helder, Middelburg, Vlaardingen. Among thenational mail steamship services are the lines to the East and WestIndies, Africa and the United States. An examination of its listsof exports and imports will show that Holland receives from itscolonies its spiceries, coffee, sugar, tobacco, indigo, cinnamon;from England and Belgium its manufactured goods and coals;petroleum, raw cotton and cereals from the United States; grainfrom the Baltic provinces, Archangel, and the ports of the BlackSea; timber from Norway and the basin of the Rhine, yarn fromEngland, wine from France, hops from Bavaria and Alsace; iron-orefrom Spain; while in its turn it sends its colonial wares toGermany, its agricultural produce to the London market, its fishto Belgium and Germany, and its cheese to France, Belgium andHamburg, as well as England. The bulk of trade is carried on withGermany and England; then follow Java, Belgium, Russia, theUnited States, &c. In the last half of the 19th century the totalvalue of the foreign commerce was more than trebled.
Constitution and Government.—The government of the Netherlandsis regulated by the constitution of 1815, revised in 1848and 1887, under which the sovereign’s person is inviolable and the ministers are responsible. The age of majority of thesovereign is eighteen. The crown is hereditary in both themale and the female line according to primogeniture; but itis only in default of male heirs that females can come to thethrone. The crown prince or heir apparent is the first subjectof the sovereign, and bears the title of the prince of Orange. Thesovereign alone has executive authority. To him belong theultimate direction of foreign affairs, the power to declare warand peace, to make treaties and alliances, and to dissolve oneor both chambers of parliament, the supreme command of thearmy and navy, the supreme administration of the state financesand of the colonies and other possessions of the kingdom, andthe prerogative of mercy. By the provisions of the same constitutionhe establishes the ministerial departments, and sharesthe legislative power with the first and second chambers ofparliament, which constitute the states-general and sit atthe Hague. The heads of the departments to whom the especialexecutive functions are entrusted are eight in number—ministersrespectively of the interior, of “water-staat,” trade and industry(that is, of public works, including railways, post-office, &c.),of justice, of finance, of war, of marine, of the colonies andof foreign affairs. There is a department of agriculture, butwithout a minister at its head. The heads of departments areappointed and dismissed at the pleasure of the sovereign, usuallydetermined, however, as in all constitutional states, by thewill of the nation as indicated by its representatives.
The number of members in the first chamber is 50, SouthHolland sending 10, North Holland 9, North Brabant andGelderland each 6, Friesland 4, Overysel, Limburg and Groningeneach 3, Zeeland, Utrecht and Drente each 2. According tothe fundamental law (Grondwet) of 1887, they are chosen bythe provincial states, not only from amongst those who bearthe greatest burden of direct taxation in each province, butalso from amongst great functionaries and persons of high rank.Those deputies who are not resident in the Hague are entitledto receive 16s. 8d. a day during the session. The duration ofparliament is nine years, a third of the members retiring everythree years. The retiring members are eligible for re-election.The members of the second chamber are chosen in the electoraldistricts by all capable male citizens not under 23 years of age,who pay one or more direct taxes, ranging from a minimum ofone guilder (1s. 8d.) towards the income tax. The number ofmembers is 100, Amsterdam returning 9, Rotterdam 5, theHague 3, Groningen and Utrecht 2 members each. Members mustbe at least thirty years old, and receive an annual allowanceof £166, besides travelling expenses. They only, and the government,have the right of initiating business, and of proposingamendments. Their term is four years, but they are re-eligible.All communications from the sovereign to the states-generaland from the states to the sovereign, as well as all measuresrelating to internal administration or to foreign possessions,are first submitted to the consideration of the council of state,which consists of 14 members appointed by the sovereign, whois the president. The state council also has the right of makingsuggestions to the sovereign in regard to subjects of legislationand administration.
The provincial administration is entrusted to the provincialstates, which are returned by direct election by the same electorsas vote for the second chamber. The term is for six years, but one-halfof the members retire every three years subject to re-electionor renewal. The president of the assembly is the royal commissionerfor the province. As the provincial states only meet a few times inthe year, they name a committee of deputy-states which managescurrent general business, and at the same time exercises the rightof control over the affairs of the communes. At the head of everycommune stands a communal council, whose members must be notunder 23 years of age. They are elected for six years (one-third ofthe council retiring every two years) by the same voters as for theprovincial states. Communal franchise is further restricted, however,to those electors who pay a certain sum to the communal rates.The number of councillors varies according to the population between7 and 45. One of the special duties of the council is the supervisionof education. The president of the communal council is theburgomaster, who is named by the sovereign in every instance forsix years, and receives a salary varying from £40 to over £600.Provision is made for paying the councillors a certain fee—called“presence-money”—when required. The burgomaster has thepower to suspend any of the council’s decrees for 30 days. Theexecutive power is vested in a college formed by the burgomasterand two, three or four magistrates (wethouders) to be chosen by andfrom the members of the council. The provinces are eleven innumber.
National Defence.—The home defence system of Holland is amilitia with strong cadres based on universal service. Service inthe “militia” or 1st line force is for 8 years, in the 2nd line for 7.Every year in the drill season contingents of militiamen are calledup for long or short periods of training, and the maximum peacestrength under arms in the summer is about 35,000, of whom halfare permanent cadres and half militiamen. In 1908 12,300 of theyear’s contingent were trained for eight months and more, and5200 for four months. The war strength of the militia is 105,000,that of the second line or reserve 70,000. The defence of the countryis based on the historic principle of concentrating the people andtheir resources in the heart of the country, covered by a wide beltof inundations. The chosen line of defence is marked by a seriesof forts which control the sluices, extending from Amsterdam,through Muiden, thence along the Vecht and through Utrecht toGorinchem (Gorkum) on the Waal. The line continues thence bythe Hollandsche Diep and Volkerak to the sea, and the coast alsois fortified. The army in the colonies numbers in all about 26,000,all permanent troops and for the most part voluntarily enlistedEuropean regulars. The military expenditure in 1908 was £2,331,255.The Dutch navy at home and in Indian waters consists (1909) of9 small battleships, 6 small cruisers and 80 other vessels, manned by8600 officers and men of the navy and about 2250 marines. Recruitingis by voluntary enlistment, with contingent powers ofconscription amongst the maritime population.
Justice.—The administration of justice is entrusted (1) to thehigh council (hooge raad) at the Hague, the supreme court of thewhole kingdom, and the tribunal for all high government officialsand for the members of the states-general; (2) to the five courtsof justice established at Amsterdam, the Hague, Arnhem, Leeuwardenand ’s Hertogenbosch; (3) to tribunals established in eacharrondissement; (4) to cantonal judges appointed over a group ofcommunes, whose jurisdiction is restricted to claims of small amount(under 200 guilders), and to breaches of police regulations, and whoat the same time look after the interest of minors. The high councilis composed of 12 to 14 councillors, a procureur-general and threeadvocates-general. Criminal and correctional procedure wereformerly divided between the courts of justice and the arrondissementtribunals; but this distinction was suppressed by the penalcode of 1886, thereby increasing the importance of the arrondissementcourts, which also act as court of appeal of the cantonalcourts.
Besides the prisons, which include one built on the cellular principleat Breda, the state supports three penal workhouses fordrunkards and beggars. There are also the penal colonies at Veenhuizenin Drente, which were brought from the Society of Charity(Maatschappij vanWeldadigheid) in 1859. The inmates practiseagriculture, as well as various industries for supplying all the requirementsof the colony. The objection raised against theseestablishments is that the prisoners do not represent the real vagabondageof the country, but a class of more or less voluntary inmates.Children under 16 years of age are placed in the three state reformatories,and there is an institution for vagabond women atRotterdam.
Charitable and other Institutions.—Private charities have alwaysoccupied a distinguished position in the Netherlands, and theprinciple of the law of 1854 concerning the relief of the poor is,that the state shall only interfere when private charity fails. Allprivate and religious institutions have to be inscribed before theycan collect public funds. In some cases these institutions areorganized and administered conjointly with the civil authorities.At the head of the charitable institutions stand the agriculturalcolonies belonging to the Society of Charity (seeDrente). Of thenumerous institutions for the encouragement of the sciences andthe fine arts, the following are strictly national—the Royal Academyof Sciences (1855), the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute(1854), the National Academy of the Plastic Arts, the Royal Schoolof Music, the National Archives, besides various other nationalcollections and museums. Provincial scientific societies exist atMiddelburg, Utrecht, ’s Hertogenbosch and Leeuwarden, and thereare private and municipal associations, institutions and collectionsin a large number of the smaller towns. Among societies of generalutility are the Society for Public Welfare (Maatschappij tot nutvan’t algemeen, 1785), whose efforts have been mainly in the directionof educational reform; the Geographical Society at Amsterdam(1873); Teyler’s Stichting or foundation at Haarlem (1778), andthe societies for the promotion of industry (1777), and of sciences(1752) in the same town; the Institute of Languages, Geographyand Ethnology of the Dutch Indies (1851), and the Indian Societyat the Hague, the Royal Institute of Engineers at Delft (1848), theAssociation for the Encouragement of Music at Amsterdam, &c.
Religion.—Religious conviction is one of the most characteristictraits of the Dutch people, and finds expression in a large number ofindependent religious congregations. The bond between church and state which had been established by the synod of Dort (1618)and the organization of the Low-Dutch Reformed Church (NederlandscheHervormde Kerk) as the national Protestant church, practicallycame to an end in the revolution of 1795, and in the revisionof the Constitution in 1848 the complete religious liberty and equalityof all persons and congregations was guaranteed. The presentorganization of the Reformed Church dates from 1852. It is governedby a general assembly or “synod” of deputies from the principaljudicatures, sitting once a year. The provinces are subdivided into“classes,” and the classes again into “circles” (ringen), each circlecomprising from 5 to 25 congregations, and each congregation beinggoverned by a “church council” or session. The provincial synodsare composed of ministers and elders deputed by the classes; andthese are composed of the ministers belonging to the particular classand an equal number of elders appointed by the local sessions. Themeetings of the circles have no administrative character, but aremere brotherly conferences. The financial management in eachcongregation is entrusted to a special court (kerk-voogdij) composedof “notables” and church wardens. In every province there isbesides, in the case of the Reformed Church, a provincial committeeof supervision for the ecclesiastical administration. For thewhole kingdom this supervision is entrusted to a common “collegium”or committee of supervision, which meets at the Hague,and consists of 11 members named by the provincial committee and3 named by the synod. Some congregations have withdrawn fromprovincial supervision, and have thus free control of their ownfinancial affairs. The oldest secession from the Orthodox Churchis that of the Remonstrants, who still represent the most liberalthought in the country, and have their own training college atLeiden. Towards 1840 a new congregation calling itself theChristian Reformed Church (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk) arose asa protest against the government and the modern tendencies of theReformed Church; and for the same reason those who had foundedthe Free University of Amsterdam (1880) formed themselves in 1886into an independent body called theNederlandsche GereformeerdeKerk. In 1892 these two churches united under the name of theReformed Churches (Gereformeerde Kerken) with the doctrine anddiscipline of Dort. They have a theological seminary at Kampen.Other Protestant bodies are the Walloons, who, though possessingan independent church government, are attached to the Low-DutchReformed Church; the Lutherans, divided into the main body ofEvangelical Lutherans and a smaller division calling themselvesthe Re-established or Old Lutherans (Herstelde Lutherschen) whoseparated in 1791 in order to keep more strictly to the Augsburgconfession; the Mennonites founded by Menno Simons of Friesland,about the beginning of the 16th century; the Baptists, whose onlycentral authority is the General Baptist Society founded at Amsterdamin 1811; the Evangelical Brotherhood of Hernhuttersor Moravians, who have churches and schools at Zeist andHaarlem; and a Catholic Apostolic Church (1867) at the Hague.There are congregations of English Episcopalians at the Hague,Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and German Evangelicals at theHague (1857) and Rotterdam (1861). In 1853 the Roman CatholicChurch, which before had been a mission in the hands of papallegates and vicars, was raised into an independent ecclesiasticalprovince with five dioceses, namely, the archbishopric of Utrecht,and the suffragan bishoprics of Haarlem, Breda, ’s Hertogenboschand Roermond, each with its own seminary. Side by side withthe Roman Catholic hierarchy are the congregations of the OldCatholics or Old Episcopalian Church (Oud Bisschoppelijke Clerezie),and the Jansenists (seeJansenism). The Old Catholics, with whomthe Jansenists are frequently confused, date from the 17th century.Besides an archbishop at Utrecht, the Old Catholics have bishopsat Deventer and Haarlem, and a training college at Amersfoort.They numbered in 1905 about 9000 (seeUtrecht). The largeJewish population in Holland had its origin in the wholesale influxof Portuguese Jews at the end of the 16th, and of German Jews inthe beginning of the 17th century. In 1870 they were reorganizedunder the central authority of the Netherlands Israelite Church,and divided into head and “ring” synagogues and associatedchurches. The Roman Catholic element preponderates in thesouthern provinces of Limburg, and North Brabant, but in Friesland,Groningen and Drente the Baptists and Christian Reformed aremost numerous.
Education.—Every grade of education in the Netherlands is underthe control and supervision of the state, being administered by aspecial department under the ministry for the interior. In 1889the state recognized private denominational schools, and in 1900passed a law of compulsory attendance. Infant schools, which aregenerally in the hands of private societies or the municipal authorities,are not interfered with by the state. According to the law of1889 primary education is carried on in the ordinary and in continuationschools for boys and girls (co-education having been longin vogue). These schools are established in every commune, thestate contributing aid at the rate of 25% of the total expenditure.The age of admission is six; and the course is for six years, 7-13being the legal age limits; the fee, from which poverty exempts,is almost nominal. Nature-study, continued in the secondaryschools, is an essential part in the curriculum of these schools, andelementary general history, English, French and German are amongthe optional subjects. While the boys are instructed in woodwork,needlework is taught to the girls, its introduction in 1889 havingbeen the first recognition of practical instruction in any form.Continuation schools (herhalingsscholen) must be organized whereverrequired, and are generally open for six months in winter, pupilsof twelve to fourteen or sixteen attending. Secondary schools wereestablished by the law of 1863 and must be provided by everycommune of 10,000 inhabitants; they comprise the Burgher-Day-and-Eveningschools and the Higher-Burgher schools. The firstnamed schools being mainly intended for those engaged in industrialor agricultural pursuits, the day classes gradually fell intodisuse. The length of the course as prescribed by law is two years,but it is usually extended to three or four years, and the instruction,though mainly theoretical, has regard to the special local industries;the fees, if any, may not exceed one pound sterling per annum.Special mention must be made in this connexion of the school ofengineering in Amsterdam (1878) and the Academy of Plastic Artsat Rotterdam. The higher-burgher schools have either a three ora five years’ course, and the fees vary from £2, 10s. to £5 a year.The instruction given is essentially non-classical and scientific.In both schools certificates are awarded at the end of the course,that of the higher-burgher schools admitting to the natural scienceand medical branches of university education, a supplementaryexamination in Greek and Latin being required for other branches.The gymnasia, or classical schools, fall legally speaking under thehead of higher education. By the law of 1876, every town of 20,000inhabitants, unless specially exempted, must provide a gymnasium.A large proportion of these schools are subsidized by the state tothe extent of half their net cost. The curriculum is classical andphilological, but in the two upper classes there is a bifurcation infavour of scientific subjects for those who wish. The fees varyfrom £5 to £8 a year, but, owing to the absence of scholarships andbursaries, are sometimes remitted, as in the case of the higher-burgherschools. Among the schools which give specialized instruction,mention must be made of the admirable trade schools(ambachtsscholen) established in 1861, and the corresponding industrialschools for girls; the fishery schools and schools of navigation;the many private schools of domestic science, and ofcommerce and industry, among which the municipal school atEnschedé (1886) deserves special mention; and the school of socialwork, “Das Huis,” at Amsterdam (1900). For the education ofmedical practitioners, civil and military, the more important institutionsare the National Obstetrical College at Amsterdam, theNational Veterinary School at Utrecht, the National College forMilitary Physicians at Amsterdam and the establishment at Utrechtfor the training of military apothecaries for the East and WestIndies. The organization of agricultural education under the stateis very complete, and includes a state professor of agriculture forevery province (as well as professors of horticulture in severalcases), “winter schools” of agriculture and horticulture, and astate agricultural college at Wageningen (1876) with courses inhome and colonial agriculture. The total fees at this college, includingboard and lodging, are about £50 a year. According to thelaw of 1898, the state also maintains or subsidizes experimental ortesting-stations. Other schools of the same class are the GerardAdriaan van Swieten schools of agriculture, gardening and forestryin Drente, the school of instruction in butter and cheese making(zuivelbereiding) at Bolsward and the state veterinary college atUtrecht.
There are three state universities in Holland, namely, Leiden(1575), Groningen (1585) and Utrecht (1634). The ancient athenaeumsof Franeker (1585) and Harderwyk (1603) were closed in1811, but that of Amsterdam was converted into a municipaluniversity in 1877. In each of these universities there are fivefaculties, namely, law, theology, medicine, science and mathematics,and literature and philosophy, the courses for which arerespectively four, five, eight, and six or seven years for the twolast named. The fees amount to 200 florins (£16, 13s. 4d.) perannum and are payable for four years. Two kinds of degrees areconferred, namely, the ordinary (candidaats) and the “doctor’s”degrees. Pupils from the higher-burgher schools are only eligiblefor the first. There is also a free (Calvinistic) university at Amsterdamfounded in 1880 and enjoying, since 1905, the right of conferringdegrees. It has, however, no faculties of law or science.The state polytechnic school at Delft (1864) for the study of engineeringin all its branches, architecture and naval construction,has a nominal course of four years, and confers the degree of “engineer.”The fees are the same as those of the universities, and as atthe universities there are bursaries. A national institution atLeiden for the study of languages, geography and ethnology of theDutch Indies has given place to communal institutions of the samenature at Delft and at Leiden, founded in 1864 and 1877. Thecentre of Dutch university life, which is non-residential, is thestudents’ corps, at the head of which is a “senate,” elected annuallyfrom among the students of four years’ standing. Membership ofthe corps is gained after a somewhat trying novitiate, but is the onlypassport to the various social and sports societies.
All teachers in the Netherlands must qualify for their professionby examination. Under the act of 1898 they are trained either inthe state training-colleges, or in state-aided municipal, and private denominational colleges; or else by means of state or privatestate-aided courses of instruction. The age of admission to thisclass of training is from 14 to 18, and the course is for four years.In the last year practice in teaching is obtained at the primary“practice” school attached to each college, and students are alsotaught to make models explanatory of the various subjects of instructionafter the manner of the Swedish Sloyd (Slöjd) system.Assistant-teachers wishing to qualify as head-teachers must havehad two years’ practical experience. Pupil-teachers can only giveinstruction under the supervision of a certificated teacher. Theminimum salary of teachers is determined by law. The teaching,which follows the so-called “Heuristic” method, and the equipmentof schools of every description, are admirable.
Finance.—The following statement shows the revenue andexpenditure of the kingdom for the years 1889, 1900–1901 and1905:—
| Revenue. | |||
| Source | 1889. | 1901. | 1905. |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Excise | 3,678,075 | 4,042,500 | 4,514,998 |
| Direct taxation | 2,300,865 | 2,900,175 | 3,135,665 |
| Indirect taxation | 2,004,745 | 1,805,583 | 1,946,666 |
| Post Office | 539,405 | 865,750 | 1,103,333 |
| Government telegraphs | 106,970 | 187,375 | 211,333 |
| Export and Import duties | 440,247 | 801,500 | 930,912 |
| State domains | 213,186 | 147,000 | 139,000 |
| Pilot dues | 106,079 | 191,667 | 200,000 |
| State lotteries | 54,609 | 54,250 | 52,666 |
| Game and Fisheries | 11,660 | 11,000 | 11,750 |
| Railways | . . | 361,512 | 349,011 |
| Part paid by East Indies on accountofinterestand redemption of public debt | . . | . . | 321,916 |
| Netherland Bank contribution | . . | . . | 160,500 |
| Total[5] | 9,475,337 | 11,394,220 | 14,017,079 |
| Expenditure. | |||
| Object | 1889. | 1901. | 1905. |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| National Debt | 2,727,591 | 2,906,214 | 2,899,770 |
| Department of War | 1,798,698 | 1,893,036 | 2,474,011 |
| ”Waterstaat | 1,790,291 | 2,448,339 | 2,869,951 |
| ”Finance | 1,537,404 | 2,092,343 | 2,297,180 |
| ”Marine | 1,038,536 | 1,388,141 | 1,396,137 |
| ”Interior | 815,188 | 1,330,563 | 1,613,134 |
| ”Justice | 426,343 | 529,159 | 592,073 |
| ”Colonies | 93,829 | 109,768 | 251,150 |
| Dept of Foreign Affairs | 57,312 | 71,101 | 82,403 |
| Royal Household | 54,166 | 66,667 | 66,666 |
| Superior Authorities of the State | 52,476 | 56,792 | 58,251 |
| Unforeseen Expenditure | 1,745 | 4,166 | 4,166 |
| Total[6] | 10,393,579 | 12,896,289 | 14,907,781 |
The total debt in 1905 amounted to £96,764,266, the annualinterest amounted to £3,396,590. During the years 1850–1905,£27,416,651 has been devoted to the redemption of the public debt.The total wealth of the kingdom is estimated at 900 millions sterling.The various provinces and communes have separate budgets. Thefollowing table gives a statement of the provincial and communalfinances:—
| Revenue. | |||
| 1889. | 1901. | 1905. | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Provincial | 722,583 | 455,333 | 718,199 |
| Communal | 6,132,000 | 9,311,666 | 12,750,083 |
| Expenditure. | |||
| 1889. | 1901. | 1905. | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Provincial | 740,333 | 445,333 | 702,718 |
| Communal | 5,683,800 | 8,503,250 | 12,085,250 |
Colonies.—The Dutch colonies in the Malay Archipelago havean area of 600,000 sq. m., with a population of 23,000,000,among which are 35,000 Europeans, 319,000 Chinese, 15,000Arabs, and 10,000 other immigrant Asiatics. The West Indianpossessions of Holland include Dutch Guiana or the governmentof Surinam, and the Dutch Antilles or the government of Curaçoaand its dependencies (St Eustatius, Saba, the southern half ofSt Martin, Curaçoa, Bonaire and Aruba), a total area of 60,000sq. m., with 90,000 inhabitants, of whom a small portion areEuropeans, and the rest negroes and other people of colour,and Chinese.
Bibliography.—The chief place is due to the following geographicalpublications:—Dr H. Blink,Nederland en zijne Bewoners(Amsterdam, 1888–1892), containing a copious bibliography;Tegenwoordige Staat van Nederland (Amsterdam, 1897); R.Schuiling,Aardrijkskunde van Nederland (Zwolle, 1884); A. A.Beekman,De Strijd om het Bestaan (Zutphen, 1887), a manual onthe characteristic hydrography of the Netherlands; and E. Reclus’Nouvelle géographie universelle (1879; vol. iv.). TheGedenboekuitgeven ter gelegenheid van het fijftig-jarig bestaan van het KoninklijkInstituut van Ingenieurs,1847–1897 (’s Gravenhage, 1898), is anexcellent aid in studying technically the remarkable works onDutch rivers, canals, sluices, railways and harbours, and drainageand irrigation works. TheAardrijkskundig Woordenboek vanNederland, by P. H. Witkamp (Arnhem, 1895), is a complete gazetteerwith historical notes, andNomina Geographica Neerlandica, publishedby the Netherlands Geographical Society (Amsterdam, 1885, &c.),contains a history of geographical names.Geschiedenis van denBoereastand en den landbouw in Nederland, H. Blink (Groningen,1902), and the report on agriculture, published at the Hague by theRoyal Commission appointed in 1896, furnish special informationin connexion with this subject. Of more general interest are:Eenehalve Eeuw,1848–1898, edited by Dr P. H. Ritter (Amsterdam,1898), containing a series of articles on all subjects connected withthe kingdom during the second half of the 19th century, written byspecialists; andLes Pays Bas (Leiden, 1899), andLa Hollandegéographique, ethnologique, politique, &c. (Paris, 1900), both worksof the same class as the preceding.
Books of travel include some of considerable topographical aswell as literary interest, from Lodovico Guicciardini (1567) down toEdmondo de Amicis (Holland, translated from the Italian, London,1883); H. Havard,Dead Cities of the Zuider Zee, &c. (translated fromthe French, London 1876), and D. S. Meldrum,Holland and theHollanders (London, 1899) in the 19th century. Mention may alsobe made ofOld Dutch Towns and Villages of the Zuider Zee, by W. J.Tuyn (translated from the Dutch, London, 1901),NieuweWandelingendoor Nederland, by J. Craandijk and P. A.Schipperus(Haarlem, 1888);Friesland Meres and through the Netherlands,by H. M. Doughty (London, 1887);On Dutch Waterways, by G. C.Davis (London, 1887);Hollande et hollandais, by H. Durand(Paris, 1893); andHolland and Belgium by Professor N. G. vanKampen (translated from the Dutch, London, 1860), the last threebeing chiefly remarkable for their fine illustrations. Works ofhistorical and antiquarian interest of a high order areMerkwaardigeKasteelen in Nederland, by J. van Lennep and W. J. Hofdyk (Leiden,1881–1884);Noord-Hollandsche Oudheden, by G. van Arkel andA. W. Weisman, published by the Royal Antiquarian Society (Amsterdam,1891); andOud Holland, edited by A. D. de Vries and N.de Roever (Amsterdam, 1883–1886), containing miscellaneous contributionsto the history of ancient Dutch art, crafts and letters.Natural history is covered by various periodical publications of theRoyal Zoological Society “Natura Artis Magistra” at Amsterdam,and theNatuurlijke Historie van Nederland (Haarlem, 1856–1863)written by specialists, and including ethnology and flora. Militaryand naval defence may be studied inDe vesting Holland, by A. L. W.Seijffardt (Utrecht, 1887), and theHandbook of the Dutch Army,by Major W. L. White, R.A. (London, 1896); ecclesiastical historyinThe Church in the Netherlands, by P. H. Ditchfield (London, 1893);and education in vol. viii. of theSpecial Reports on EducationalSubjects issued by the Board of Education, London. Statistics arefurnished by the annual publication of the Society for Statistics inthe Netherlands, Amsterdam.
History from1579to Modern Times[7]
The political compact known as the Union of Utrecht differedfrom its immediate predecessors, the Pacification of Ghent, theUnion of Brussels and the Perpetual Edict, in itspermanence. The confederacy of the northern provincesof the Netherlands which was effected (29thConsequences of the Union of Utrecht.of January 1579) by the exertions of John of Nassau,was destined to be the beginning of a new nationallife. The foundation was laid on which the Republic of the United Netherlands was to be raised. Its immediate resultswere far from promising. The falling away of the Walloonprovinces and the Catholic nobles from the patriot causethreatened it with ruin. Nothing but the strong personalinfluence and indefatigable labours of the prince of Orangestood in the way of a more general defection. Everywhere,save in staunch and steadfast Holland and Zeeland, a feelingof wavering and hesitation was spreading through the land.In Holland and Zeeland William was supreme, but elsewherehis aims and his principles were misrepresented and misunderstood.He saw that unaided the patriotic party could not hopeto resist the power of Philip II., and he had therefore resolvedto gain the support of France by the offer of the sovereigntySovereignty offered to
the Duke of Anjou.
The Ban against William of Orange.
The Act of Abjuration.
The Apology.of the Netherlands to the duke of Anjou. But Anjouwas a Catholic, and this fact aroused among the Protestantsa feeling that they were being betrayed.But the prince persisted in the policy he felt to be anecessity, and (23rd of Jan. 1581) a treaty was concludedwith the duke, by which he, under certainconditions, agreed to accept the sovereignty of the Netherlandprovinces, except Holland and Zeeland. These two provinceswere unwilling to have any sovereign but Williamhimself, and after considerable hesitation he agreedto become their Count (24th of July 1581). He feltthat he was justified in taking this step because of theBan which Philip had published on the 15th of March1581, in which Orange had been proclaimed a traitor andmiscreant, and a reward offered to any one who would take hislife. His practical answer to the king was the actof Abjuration, by which at his persuasion the representativesof the provinces of Brabant, Flanders,Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland and Utrecht, assembledat the Hague, declared that Philip had forfeited his sovereigntyover them, and that they held themselves henceforth absolvedfrom their allegiance to him. In a written defence,the famousApology, published later in the year, Williamreplied at great length to the charges that had beenbrought against him, and carrying the war into the enemy’scamp, endeavoured to prove that the course he had pursuedwas justified by the crimes and tyranny of the king.
The duke of Anjou was solemnly inaugurated as duke ofBrabant (February 1582), and shortly afterwards as duke ofGelderland, count of Flanders and lord of Friesland.William had taken up his residence at Antwerp inorder to give the French prince his strongest personalAttempt on the Life of Orange by Jean Jaureguy.support, and while there a serious attempt was madeupon his life (March 18th) by a youth named JeanJaureguy. He fired a pistol at the prince close to hishead, and the ball passed under the right ear and out at the leftjaw. It was a terrible wound, but fortunately not fatal. MeanwhileAnjou soon grew tired of his dependent position and ofthe limitations placed upon his sovereignty. He resolved bya secret and sudden attack (17th of January 1583) to makehimself master of Antwerp and of the person of Orange.The assault was made, but it proved an utter failure.The citizens resisted stoutly behind barricades, andthe French were routed with heavy loss. The “FrenchFury” as it was called, rendered the position of Anjou in theNetherlands impossible, and made William himself unpopularin Brabant. He accordingly withdrew to Delft. In the midstof his faithful Hollanders he felt that he could still organizeThe French Fury.resistance, and stem the progress made by Spanish arms andSpanish influence under the able leadership of Alexander ofParma. Antwerp, with St Aldegonde as its burgomaster, wasstill in the hands of the patriots and barred the way to the sea,and covered Zeeland from invasion. Never for one moment didWilliam lose heart or relax his efforts and vigilance; he felt thatwith the two maritime provinces secure the national cause neednot be despaired of. But his own days had now drawn to theirend. The failure of Jaureguy did not deter a young Catholiczealot, by name Balthazar Gérard, from attempting to assassinatethe man whom he looked upon as the arch-enemy ofGod and the king. Under the pretext of seeking a passport,Assassination of William the Silent.Gérard penetrated into the Prinsenhof at Delft, andfiring point blank at William as he left the dininghall, mortally wounded him (10th of July 1584).Amidst general lamentations “the Father of hisCountry,” as he was called, was buried with great state in theNieuwe Kerk at Delft at the public charge.
But though the great leader was dead, he had not striven orworked in vain. The situation was critical, but there was nopanic. Throughout the revolted provinces there was a generaldetermination to continue the struggle to the bitter end. Tomake head, however, against the victorious advance of Parma,before whose arms all the chief towns of Brabant and Flanders,Bruges, Ghent, Brussels and lastly—after a valiant defence—Antwerpitself had fallen, it was necessary to look for the protectionof a foreign ruler. The government, now that the commandingpersonal influence of William was no more, was withoutany central authority which could claim obedience. The States-Generalwere but the delegates of a number of sovereign provinces,Maurice of Nassau.and amongst these Holland by its size and wealth (afterthe occupation by the Spaniards of Brabant andFlanders) was predominant. Maurice of Nassau,William’s second son, had indeed on his father’s deathbeen appointed captain and admiral-general of theUnion, president of the Council of State, and stadholder ofHolland and Zeeland, but he was as yet too young, only seventeen,to take a leading part in affairs. Count Hohenloo took thecommand of the troops with the title of lieutenant-general. Twodevoted adherents of William of Orange, Paul Buys, advocateThe Sovereignty offered to Henry III. and declined.of Holland, and Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, pensionaryof Rotterdam, were the statesmen who at this difficultjuncture took the foremost part in directing the policyof the confederacy. They turned first to France.The sovereignty of the provinces was offered to HenryIII., but the king, harassed by civil discords in hisown country, declined the dangerous honour (1585). Repelledin this direction, the States-General next turned themselves toEngland. Elizabeth was alarmed by the successes of the Spanisharms, and especially by the fall of Antwerp; and, though refusingthe sovereignty, she agreed to send a force of 5000 foot and1000 horse to the aid of the Provinces under the commandof the earl of Leicester, her expenses beingguaranteed by the handing over to her the townsLeicester Governor-general.of Flushing, Brill and Rammekens as pledges (10thof August 1585). Leicester, on landing in Holland, was in thepresence of the States-General and of Maurice of Nassau investedwith the title of governor-general and practically sovereignpowers (February 1586).
The new governor had great difficulties to contend with. Heknew nothing of the language or the character of the people hewas called upon to govern; his own abilities both asgeneral and statesman were mediocre; and he washampered constantly in his efforts by the niggardlinessFailure and withdrawal
of Leicester.and changing whims of his royal mistress. In tryingto consolidate the forces of the Provinces for united action andto centralize its government, he undoubtedly did his best,according to his lights, for the national cause. But he was toohasty and overbearing. His edict prohibiting all commercialintercourse with the enemy at once aroused against him thebitter hostility of the merchants of Holland and Zeeland, whothrived by such traffic. His attempts to pack the council ofState, on which already two Englishmen had seats, with personaladherents and to override the opposition of the provincialstates of Holland to his arbitrary acts, at last made his positionimpossible. The traitorous surrender of Deventer and Zutphenby their English governors, Stanley and York, both Catholics,rendered all Englishmen suspect. The States of Holland underthe leadership of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, took up an attitudeof resolute hostility to him, and the States of Holland dominatedthe States-General. In the midst of these divided councils theimportant seaport of Sluis was taken by Parma. Utterly discredited,Leicester (6th of August 1587) abandoned the task, in which he had met with nothing but failure, and returnedto England.
Nothing could have been worse than the position of the Statesat the beginning of 1588. Had Parma had a free hand, in allprobability he would have crushed out the revoltand reconquered the northern Netherlands. But theJohan van Oldenbarneveldt.attention of the Spanish king was at this time concentratedupon the success of the Invincible Armada.The army of Parma was held in readiness for the invasion ofEngland, and the United Provinces had a respite. They werefortunately able to avail themselves of it. The commandingabilities of Oldenbarneveldt, now advocate of Holland, graduallygathered into his hands the entire administration of the Republic.He became indispensable and, as his influence grew, more andmore did the policy of the provinces acquire unity and consistencyof purpose. At the same time Maurice ofMaurice of Nassau.Nassau, now grown to man’s estate, began to displaythose military talents which were to gain for him thefame of being the first general of his time. ButMaurice was no politician. He had implicit trust in theadvocate, his father’s faithful friend and counsellor, and formany years to come the statesman and the soldier worked inharmony together for the best interests of their country (seeOldenbarneveldt, andMaurice, prince of Orange). At theside of Maurice, as a wise adviser, stood his cousin William Louis,stadholder of Friesland, a trained soldier and good commanderin the field.
After the destruction of the Armada, Parma had been occupiedwith campaigns on the southern frontier against the French,and the Netherlanders had been content to stand onguard against attack. The surprise of Breda by aCampaign
of 1591.stratagem (8th of March 1590) was the only militaryevent of importance up to 1591. But the two stadholders hadnot wasted the time. The States’ forces had been reorganizedand brought to a high state of military discipline and training.In 1591 the States-General, after considerable hesitation, werepersuaded by Maurice to sanction an offensive campaign. Itwas attended by marvellous success. Zutphen was capturedon the 20th of May, Deventer on the 20th of June. Parma,who was besieging the fort of Knodsenburg, was forced to retirewith loss. Hulst fell after a three days’ investment, and finallyNymegen was taken on the 21st of October. The fame ofMaurice, a consummate general at the early age of twenty-four,was on all men’s lips. The following campaign was signalizedDeath of Parma.
New province of Stadt en Landen.by the capture of Steenwyk and Koevorden. On the8th of December 1592 Parma died, and the Stateswere delivered from their most redoubtable adversary.In 1593 the leaguer of Geertruidenburg put the seal on Maurice’sreputation as an invincible besieger. The town fell after aninvestment of three months. Groningen was thechief fruit of the campaign of 1594. With its dependentdistrict it was formed into a new province under thename of Stadt en Landen. William Louis becamethe stadholder (seeGroningen). The soil of the northernNetherlands was at last practically free from the presence ofSpanish garrisons.
The growing importance of the new state was signalized bythe conclusion, in 1596, of a triple alliance between England,France and the United Provinces. It was of shortduration and purchased by hard conditions, but itTriple Alliance of France, England and the United Provinces.implied the recognition by Henry IV. and Elizabethof the States-General, as a sovereign power, withwhom treaties could be concluded. Such a recognitionwas justified by the brilliant successes of the campaignof 1597. It began with the complete rout of a Spanishforce of 4500 men at Turnhout in January, with scarcely anyloss to the victors. Then in a succession of sieges Rheinberg,Meurs, Groenlo, Bredevoort, Enschedé, Ootmarsum, Oldenzaaland Lingen fell into the hands of Maurice.
The relations of the Netherlands to Spain were in 1598 completelychanged. Philip II. feeling death approaching, resolvedto marry his elder daughter, the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia,to her cousin, the Cardinal Archduke Albert of Austria, whoAlbert and Isabel, Sovereigns of the Netherlands.had been governor-general of the Netherlands since 1596,and to erect the Provinces into an independent sovereigntyunder their joint rule. The instrument wasexecuted in May; Philip died in September; themarriage took place in November. In case the marriageshould have no issue, the sovereignty of theNetherlands was to revert to the king of Spain. Thearchdukes (such was their official title) did not make theirjoyeuse entrée into Brussels until the close of 1599. The stepwas taken too late to effect a reconciliation with the rebelprovinces. Peace overtures were made, but the conditionswere unacceptable. The States-General never seriously consideredthe question of giving in their submission to the newsovereigns. The traders of Holland and Zeeland had thrivenmightily by the war. Their ships had penetrated to the Eastand West Indies, and were to be found in every sea. The year1600 saw the foundation of the Chartered East India Company(seeDutch East India Company). The question of freedomof trade with the Indies had become no less vital to the Dutchpeople than freedom of religious worship. To both these concessionsSpanish policy was irreconcilably opposed.
Dunkirk, as a nest of freebooters who preyed upon Dutchcommerce, was made the objective of a daring offensive campaignin 1600 by the orders of the States-General under theinfluence of Oldenbarneveldt in the teeth of the oppositionThe Battle
of Nieuport.of the stadholders Maurice and William Louis.By a bold march across Flanders, Maurice reachedNieuport on the 1st of July, and proceeded to invest it. Thearchduke Albert, however, followed hard on his steps with anarmy of seasoned troops, and Maurice, with his communicationscut, was forced to fight for his existence. A desperate combattook place on the dunes between forces of equal strength andvalour. Only by calling up his last reserves did victory declarefor Maurice. The archduke had to fly for his life. Five thousandSpaniards were killed; seven hundred taken, and one hundredand five standards. To have thus worsted the dreaded Spanishinfantry in open fight was a great triumph for the States troopsand their general, but it was barren of results. Maurice refusedto run further risks and led back his army to Holland. For thefollowing three years all the energies alike of the archdukes andSiege of Ostend.the States-General were concentrated on the siegeof Ostend (15th of July 1601–20th of Sept. 1604), thesolitary possession of the Dutch in Flanders. Theheroic obstinacy of the defence was equalled by the perseveranceof the attack, and there was a vast expenditure, especially onthe side of the Spaniards, of blood and treasure. At last whenreduced to a heap of ruins, Ostend fell before the resolution ofAmbrosio de Spinola, a Genoese banker, to whom the commandof the besiegers had been entrusted (seeSpinola). A monthbefore the surrender, however, another and more commodiousseaport, Sluis, had fallen into the possession of the States armyunder Maurice, and thus the loss of Ostend was discounted.
Spinola proved himself to be a general of a high order, and thecampaigns of 1606 and 1607 resolved themselves into a duelof skill between him and Maurice without much advantageaccruing to either side. But the archdukes’treasury was now empty, and their credit exhausted;both sides were weary of fighting, and serious negotiationsNegotiations for Peace.for peace were set on foot. The disposition of the Spaniardsto make concessions was further quickened by the destructionof their fleet at Gibraltar by the Dutch admiral Heemskerk,(April 1607). But there were many difficulties in the way.The peace party in the United Provinces headed by Oldenbarneveldtwas opposed by the stadholders Maurice and WilliamLouis, the great majority of the military and naval officers,the Calvinist preachers and many leading merchants. TheSpaniards on their side were obdurate on the subjects of freedomof trade in the Indies and of freedom of religious worship. Atlast, after the negotiations had been repeatedly on the point ofbreaking off, a compromise was effected by the mediation ofthe envoys of France and England. On the 9th of April 1609 a truce for twelve years was agreed upon. On all points theDutch demands were granted. The treaty was concluded withThe Twelve Years’ Truce.the Provinces, “in the quality of free States overwhom the archdukes made no pretentions.” Theutipossidetis as regards territorial possession was recognized.Neither the granting of freedom of worshipto Roman Catholics nor the word “Indies” was mentioned,but in a secret treaty King Philip undertook to place no hindrancein the way of Dutch trade, wherever carried on.
One of the immediate results of this triumph of his policy wasthe increase of Oldenbarneveldt’s influence and authority in thegovernment of the Republic. But though Mauriceand his other opponents had reluctantly yielded tothe advocate’s skilful diplomacy and persuasiveTheological strife in Holland.
Arminius and Gomarus.arguments, a soreness remained between the statesmanand the stadholder which was destined never to be healed. Thecountry was no sooner relieved from the pressure of externalwar than it was torn by internal discords. After a brief interferencein the affairs of Germany, where the intricate questionof the Cleves-Jülich succession was already preparing the wayfor the Thirty Years’ War, the United Provinces became immersedin a hot and absorbing theological struggle with which weremixed up important political issues. The provinceof Holland was the arena in which it was fought out.Two professors of theology at Leiden, Jacobus Arminius(seeArminius) and Franciscus Gomarus, became theleaders of two parties, who differed from one another uponcertain tenets of the abstruse doctrine of predestination.Gomarus supported the orthodox Calvinist view; Arminiusassailed it. The Arminians appealed to the States of Holland(1610) in a Remonstrance in which their theological positionwas defined. They were henceforth known as “Remonstrants”;Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants.their opponents were styled “Contra-Remonstrants.”The advocate and the States ofHolland took sides with the Remonstrants, Mauriceand the majority of the States-General (four provincesout of seven) supported the Contra-Remonstrants. It becamea question of the extent of the rights of sovereign princes underthe Union. The States-General wished to summon a nationalsynod, the States of Holland refused their assent, and madelevies of local militia (waard-gelders) for the maintenance of order.The States-General (9th of July 1618) took up the challenge,and the prince of Orange, as captain-general, was placed at thehead of a commission to go in the first place to Utrecht, whichsupported Oldenbarneveldt, and then to the various cities ofWaard-gelders.Holland to insist on the disbanding of thewaard-gelders.On the side of Maurice, whom the armyobeyed, was the power of the sword. The oppositioncollapsed; the recalcitrant provincial states were purged; andthe leaders of the party of state rights—the advocate himself,Hugo de Groot (seeGrotius), pensionary of Rotterdam, andHoogerbeets, pensionary of Leiden, were arrested and throwninto prison. The whole proceedings were illegal, and the illegalitywas consummated by the prisoners being brought before aOldenbarneveldt executed.special tribunal of 24 judges, nearly all of whom werepersonal enemies of the accused. The trial wasmerely a preliminary to condemnation. The advocatewas sentenced to death, and executed (13th of May1619) in the Binnenhof at the Hague. The sentences of Grotiusand Hoogerbeets were commuted to perpetual imprisonment.
Meanwhile the National Synod had been summoned and hadmet at Dort on the 13th of November 1618. One hundredmembers, many of them foreign divines, composedthis great assembly, who after 154 sittings gave theirseal to the doctrines of the Netherlands Confession andSynod of Dort.the Heidelberg Catechism. The Arminians were condemned,their preachers deprived, and the Remonstrant party placedunder a ban (6th of May 1619).
In 1621 the Twelve Years’ Truce came to an end, and warbroke out once more with Spain. Maurice, after the death ofOldenbarneveldt, was supreme in the land, but he missedsorely the wise counsels of the old statesman whose tragic endhe had been so largely instrumental in bringing about. HeRenewal of the war.
Death of Maurice.and Spinola found themselves once more at the headof the armies in the field, but the health of the stadholderwas undermined, and his military genius wasunder a cloud. Deeply mortified by his failure to relieve Breda,which was blockaded by Spinola, Maurice fell seriouslyill, and died on the 23rd of April 1625. He wassucceeded in his dignities by his younger brotherFrederick Henry (seeFrederick Henry, prince of Orange),who was appointed stadholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht,Overyssel and Gelderland, captain and adjutant-general of theUnion and head of the Council of State. Frederick Henry was asa general scarcely inferior to Maurice, and a far more able statesman.The moderation of his views and his conciliatory temperdid much to heal the wounds left by civil and religious strife,and during his time the power and influence of the stadholderateThe period of Frederick Henry.attained their highest point. Such was his popularityand the confidence he inspired that in 1631 his greatoffices of state were declared hereditary, in favour ofhis five-year-old son, by theActe de Survivance. Hedid much to justify the trust placed in him, for the period ofFrederick Henry is the most brilliant in the history of the DutchRepublic. During his time the East India Company, which hadfounded the town of Batavia in Java as their administrativecapital, under a succession of able governor-generalsThe East and West India Companies.almost monopolized the trade of the entireOrient, made many conquests and established a networkof factories and trade posts stretching from the Cape ofGood Hope to Japan (seeDutch East India Company). TheWest India Company, erected in 1621, though framed on thesame model, aimed rather at waging war on the enemies’ commercethan in developing their own. Their fleets for some yearsbrought vast booty into the company’s coffers. The Mexicantreasure ships fell into the hands of Piet Heyn, the boldest oftheir admirals, in 1628; and they were able to send armiesacross the ocean, conquer a large part of Brazil, and set up aflourishing Dutch dominion in South America (see Dutch WestIndia Company). The operations of these two great charteredcompanies occupy a place among memorable events of FrederickHenry’s stadholderate; they are therefore mentioned here, butfor further details the special articles must be consulted.
When Frederick Henry stepped into his brother’s place, hefound the United Provinces in a position of great danger and ofcritical importance. The Protestants of Germanywere on the point of being crushed by the forces of theAustrian Habsburgs and the Catholic League. It layPolicy of Frederick Henry.with the Netherlands to create a diversion in the favourof their co-religionists by keeping the forces of the SpanishHabsburgs fully occupied. But to do so with their flank exposedto imperialist attack from the east, was a task involving graverisks and possible disaster. In these circumstances, FrederickHenry saw the necessity of securing French aid. It was securedby the skilful diplomacy of Francis van Aarssens (q.v.) buton hard conditions. Richelieu required the assistance of theDutch fleet to enable him to overcome the resistance of theHuguenot stronghold of La Rochelle. The far-sighted stadholder,despite popular opposition, by his powerful personal influenceinduced the States-General to grant the naval aid, and thusobtain the French alliance on which the safety of the republicdepended.
The first great military success of Frederick Henry was in1629. His capture of Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-duc), hithertosupposed to be impregnable, after a siege of fivemonths was a triumph of engineering skill. Weselalso was taken by surprise this same year. In 1631 aSieges of Hertogenbosch and Maestricht.large Spanish fleet carrying a picked force of 6000soldiers, for the invasion of Zeeland, was completelydestroyed by the Dutch in the Slaak and the troops madeprisoners. The campaign of the following year was madememorable by the siege of Maestricht. This important frontiertown lying on both sides of the river Meuse was taken by theprince of Orange in the teeth of two relieving armies, Spanish and Imperialist, whose united forces were far larger than his own.This brilliant feat of arms was the prelude to peace negotiations,which led to a lengthy exchange of diplomatic notes.No agreement, however, was reached. The death ofthe Infanta Isabel in November 1633, and the reversionof the Netherlands to the sovereignty of theDeath of the Infanta Isabel.kingof Spain, rendered all efforts to end the war, for the time being,fruitless.
At this juncture a strengthening of the French alliance seemedto the prince not merely expedient, but necessary. He hadto contend against a strong peace party in Hollandheaded by the pensionary Pauw, but with the aid ofthe diplomatic skill of Aarssens all opposition wasovercome. Pauw was replacedAlliance
with France.as pensionary byJacob Cats, and the objections of Richelieu were met andsatisfied. A defensive and offensive alliance with France wasconcluded early in 1635 against the king of Spain, and eachparty bound itself not to make a peace or truce without theassent of the other. A large French force was sent into theNetherlands and placed under the command of the prince ofOrange. The military results of the alliance were during thefirst two campaigns inconsiderable. The Cardinal InfantFerdinand had been appointed governor of the Netherlands,and he proved himself an excellent general, and there weredissensions in the councils of the allies. In 1637 the stadholderwas able to add to his fame as an invincible besieger of cities.His failure to relieve Breda had hastened the death of Maurice.Capture
of Breda.It fell in 1625 into the hands of Spinola after a blockadeof eleven months; it was now retaken by FrederickHenry after a siege of eleven weeks, in the face ofimmense difficulties. The reluctance of the States of Holland,and of Amsterdam in particular, to grant adequate suppliescaused the campaigns of 1638 and 1639 to be in the main defensiveand dilatory. An attempted attack on Antwerp was foiledby the vigilance of the Cardinal Infant. A body of 6000 menunder Count William of Nassau were surprised and utterlycut to pieces. The year 1639, which had begun with abortivenegotiations, and in which the activity of the stadholder hadbeen much hampered by ill-health, was not to end, however,without a signal triumph of the Dutch arms, but it was to beon sea and not on land. A magnificent Spanish armada consistingof 77 vessels, manned by 24,000 soldiers and sailors under thecommand of Admiral Oquendo, were sent to the Channel inSeptember with orders to drive the Dutch from the narrowseas and land a large body of troops at Dunkirk. Attacked byBattle of
the Downs.a small Dutch fleet under Admiral Marten Tromp,the Spaniards sheltered themselves under the EnglishDowns by the side of an English squadron. Trompkept watch over them until he had received largereinforcements, and then (21st of October) boldly attacked themas they lay in English waters. Oquendo himself with sevenvessels escaped under cover of a fog; all the rest of the fleetwas destroyed. This crushing victory assured to the Dutchthe command of the sea during the rest of the war. The navalpower of Spain never in fact recovered from the blow.
The triumph of Tromp had, however, a bad effect on publicfeeling in England. The circumstances under which the battleof the Downs was won were galling to the pride ofthe English people, and intensified the growingunfriendliness between two nations, one of whomEnglish and Dutch Commercial Rivalry.
Marriage of William and Mary.possessed and the other claimed supremacy uponthe seas. The prosperity of the world-wide Dutchcommerce was looked upon with eyes of jealousy across theChannel. Disputes had been constantly recurring betweenDutch and English traders in the East Indies and elsewhere,and the seeds were already sown of that stern rivalry which wasto issue in a series of fiercely contested wars. But in1639–1640 civil discords in England stood in the wayof a strong foreign policy, and the adroit Aarssenswas able so “to sweeten the bitterness of the pill”as to bring King Charles not merely to “overlook the scandalof the Downs,” but to consent to the marriage of the princessroyal with William, the only son of the stadholder. The weddingof the youthful couple (aged respectively 14 and 10 years)took place on the 12th of May 1641 (seeWilliam II., princeof Orange). This royal alliance gave added influence andposition to the house of Orange-Nassau.
About this time various causes brought about a change inthe feelings which had hitherto prevented any possibility ofpeace between Spain and the United Netherlands.The revolt of Portugal (December 1640) weakenedthe Spanish power, and involved the loss to Spain ofChanged relations of the United Provinces with France and Spain.the Portuguese colonies. But it was in the Portuguesecolonies that the conquests of the Dutch East andWest India Companies had been made, and thequestion of the Indies as between Netherlander andSpaniard assumed henceforth quite a different complexion.Aarssens, the strongest advocate of the French alliance, passedaway in 1641, and his death was quickly followed by those ofRichelieu and Louis XIII. The victory of Condé at Rocroyopened the eyes of Frederick Henry to the danger of a Frenchconquest of the Belgian provinces; and, feeling his healthgrowing enfeebled, the prince became anxious before his deathto obtain peace and security for his country by means of anaccommodation with Spain. In 1643 negotiations were openedwhich, after many delays and in the face of countless difficulties,were at length, four years later, to terminate successfully.
The course of thepourparlers would doubtless have runmore smoothly but for the infirm health and finally the deathof the prince of Orange himself. Frederick Henryexpired on the 14th of March 1647, and was buriedby the side of his father and brother in Delft. InDeath of Frederick Henry—his last campaigns.his last campaigns he had completed with signalsuccess the task which, as a military commander, hehad set himself,—of giving to the United Provinces a thoroughlydefensible frontier of barrier fortresses. In 1644 he capturedSas de Ghent; in 1645 Hulst. That portion of Flanders whichskirts the south bank of the Scheldt thus passed into the possessionof the States, and with it the complete control of all thewaterways to the sea.
The death of the great stadholder did not, however, long delaythe carrying out of the policy on which he had set his heart,of concluding a separate peace with Spain behind theback of France, notwithstanding the compact of 1635with that power. A provisional draft of a treaty hadThe Peace
of Münster.already been drawn up before the demise of FrederickHenry, and afterwards, despite the strenuous opposition of thenew prince of Orange (who, under theActe de Survivance, hadinherited all his father’s offices and dignities) and of two of theprovinces, Zeeland and Utrecht, the negotiations were by thepowerful support of the States of Holland and of the majorityof the States-General, quickly brought to a successful issue. Thetreaty was signed at Münster on the 30th of January 1648. Itwas a peace practically dictated by the Dutch, and involveda complete surrender of everything for which Spain had soComplete triumph of
the Dutch.long fought. The United Provinces were recognizedas free and independent, and Spain dropped all herclaims; theuti possidetis basis was adopted in respectto all conquests; the Scheldt was declared entirelyclosed—a clause which meant the ruin of Antwerp for the profitof Amsterdam; the right to trade in the East and West Indieswas granted, and all the conquests made by the Dutch fromthe Portuguese were ceded to them; the two contracting partiesagreed to respect and keep clear of each other’s trading grounds;each was to pay in the ports of the other only such tolls as nativespaid. Thus, triumphantly for the revolted provinces, the eightyyears’ war came to an end. At this moment the republic of theUnited Netherlands touched, perhaps, the topmost point of itsprosperity and greatness.
No sooner was peace concluded than bitter disputes arosebetween the provincial States of Holland and the prince ofOrange, supported by the other six provinces, upon the questionof the disbanding of the military forces. William was a youngman (he was twenty-one at the time of his father’s death) ofThe form of Government in the United Provinces. the highest abilities and of soaring ambition. He was totallyopposed to the peace with Spain, and wished to bring abouta speedy resumption of the war. With this view heentered into secret negotiations for a French alliancewhich, as far as can be gathered from extant records,had for its objects the conquest and partition by theallies of the Belgic provinces, and joint action inEngland on behalf of Charles II. As a preliminarystep William aimed at a centralization of the powers of governmentin the United Provinces in his own person. He saw clearlythe inherent defects of the existing federation, and he wishedto remedy a system which was so complicated as to be at timesalmost unworkable. The States-General were but the delegates,the stadholders the servants, of a number of sovereign provinces,each of which had different historical traditions and a differentform of government, and one of which—Holland—in wealth andimportance outweighed the other six taken together. Betweenthe States of Holland and the States-General there was constantThe position of Holland and Amsterdam.jealousy and friction. And yet strangely enoughthe States of Holland themselves were not reallyrepresentative of the people of that province, but onlyof the limited, self-coopting burgher aristocracies ofcertain towns, each of which with its rights and libertieshad a quasi-independence of its own. Foremost amongthese was the great commercial capital, Amsterdam, whose richburgher patriciate did not scruple on occasion to defy theauthority of the States-General, the stadholder and even of theStates of Holland themselves.
The States of Holland had, in the years that followed thetruce of 1609, measured their strength with that of the States-General,but the issue had been decided conclusivelyin favour of the federal authority by the sword ofMaurice. The party and the principles of Oldenbarneveldt,The position in 1650.however, though crushed, were not extinguished,and though Frederick Henry by his personal influenceand prudent statesmanship had been able to surmount thedifficulties placed in his way, he had had to encounter at timesstrong opposition, and had been much hampered in the conductboth of his campaigns and of his policy. With the conclusionof the peace of Münster and the death of the veteran stadholderthe struggle for predominance in the Union between the Orange-federalistand the Hollander States-rights parties was certainto be renewed. The moment seemed to be favourable for theassertion of provincial sovereignty because of the youth andinexperience of the new prince of Orange. But William II.,though little more than a boy, was endowed with singularcapacity and great strength of will, and he was intent uponambitious projects, the scope of which has been already indicated.The collision came, which was perhaps inevitable. The States-GeneralThe question of disbanding the forces.in the disbanding of the forces wished toretain thecadres of the regiments complete in case of arenewal of the war. The States of Holland objected,and, although the army was a federal force, gave ordersfor the general disbanding of the troops in the pay ofthe province. The officers refused to obey any orders but thoseof the council of State of the Union. The provincial states, ontheir part, threatened them with loss of pay. At this juncturethe States-General, as in 1618, appointed a commission headedby the prince of Orange to visit the towns of Holland, andprovide for the maintenance of order and the upholding of theUnion. Both parties put themselves in the wrong, the provinceby refusing its quota to the federal war-sheet, the generalityby dealing with individual towns instead of with the states ofthe province. The visitation was a failure. The town councils,though most of them willing to receive William in his capacityas stadholder, declined to give a hearing to the commission.The Prisoners of Loevenstein.Amsterdam refused absolutely to admit either stadholderor commission. In these circumstances Williamresolved upon strong measures. Six leading membersof the States of Holland were seized (30th ofJuly 1650) and imprisoned in Loevenstein Castle, and troopsunder the command of William Frederick, stadholder of Friesland,were sent to surprise Amsterdam. But the town councilhad been warned, and the gates were shut and guarded. Thecoup d’état nevertheless was completely successful. The anti-Orangeparty, remembering the fate of Oldenbarneveldt, werestricken with panic at the imprisonment of their leaders. TheStates of Holland and the town council of Amsterdam gave intheir submission. The prisoners were released, and public thankswere rendered to the prince by the various provincial states for“his great trouble, care and prudence.” William appeared tobe master of the situation but his plans for future action wereSudden Death of William II.never to be carried into effect. Busily engaged insecret negotiations with France, he had retired to hishunting seat at Dieren, when he fell ill with smallpoxon the 27th of October. A few days later he expiredat the Hague (6th of November), aged but twenty-four years.A week after his death, his widow, the princess Mary of England,gave birth to a son who, as William III., was to give added lustreto the house of Orange.
The anti-Orange particularist party, which had just suffereddecisive defeat, now lifted up its head again. At the instance ofHolland a Grand Assembly was summoned, consistingof delegates from all the provinces, to consider thestate of the Union, the army and religion. It met atThe Grand Assembly.the Hague on the 18th of January 1651. The conclusionsarrived at were that all sovereign powers resided in theprovinces, and that to them severally, each within its ownborders, belonged the control of the military forces and ofreligion. There was to be no captain-general of the Union. Allthe provinces, except Friesland and Groningen, which remainedtrue to William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz, agreed to leave theoffice of stadholder vacant. The practical result was the establishmentof the hegemony of Holland in the Union, and thehanding over of the control of its policy to the patrician oligarchieswho formed the town councils of that province.
Such a system would have been unworkable but for the factthat with the revival of the political principles of Oldenbarneveldt,there was found a statesman of commandingability to fill the office in which the famous advocateof Holland had for so many years been “minister ofThe office
of Grand Pensionary.all affairs” in the forming state. The title of advocatehad indeed been replaced by that of grand pensionary (RaadPensionaris), but the duties assigned to the office remained thesame, the only change of importance being that the advocatewas appointed for life, the grand pensionary for a term of fiveyears. The grand pensionary was nominally the paid servantof the States of Holland, but his functions were such as to permita man of talent and industry in the stadholderless republic toexercise control in all departments of policy and of government.All correspondence passed through his hands, he wrote alldespatches, conducted the debates over which he presided, keptthe minutes, drafted the resolutions, and wasex officio theleader and spokesman of the delegates who represented theProvince of Holland in the States-General. Such was theJohn de Witt.position to which John de Witt, a young man oftwenty-eight years of age, belonging to one of themost influential patrician families of Dordrecht (hisfather, Jacob de Witt, was one of the prisoners of Loevenstein)was appointed in 1653. From that date until 1672 it was hisbrain and his will that guided the affairs of the United Netherlands.He was supreme in the States of Holland, and Hollandwas dominant in the States-General (seeJohn de Witt).
The death of William II. had left the Dutch republic at thevery highest point of commercial prosperity, based upon analmost universal carrying trade, and the strictestsystem of monopoly. Friction and disputes hadfrequently arisen between the Dutch and the EnglishDisputes between English
and Dutch Traders.traders in different parts of the world, and especiallyin the East Indies, culminating in the so-called“Massacre of Amboyna”; and the strained relations betweenthe two nations would, but for the civil discords in England,have probably led to active hostilities during the reign ofCharles I. With the accession of Cromwell to power the breach was widened. A strong party in the Provinces were unfriendlyto the Commonwealth, and insults were offered in the Hagueto the English envoys. The parliament replied by passing thememorable Navigation Act (Oct. 1651), which struck a deadlyblow at the Dutch carrying trade. It was the beginning of thatstruggle for supremacy upon the seas which was to end, afterthree great wars, in the defeat of the weaker country.Naval struggle with England.The first English war lasted from May 1652 to April1654, and within fifteen months twelve sea-fights tookplace, which were desperately contested and withvarying success. The leaders on both sides—the NetherlandersTromp (killed in action on the 10th of August 1653) and deRuyter, the Englishmen Blake and Monk—covered themselveswith equal glory. But the losses to Dutch trade were so seriousthat negotiations for peace were set on foot by the burgher partyof Holland, and Cromwell being not unwilling, an agreementPeace of Westminster.was reached in the Treaty of Westminster, signed onthe 5th of April 1654. The Dutch conceded thestriking of the flag and compensation for Englishclaims against the Dutch in the East Indies and elsewhere.The act of Seclusion, which barred the young prince ofOrange from holding the office of stadholder and of captain-general,had been one of the conditions on which Cromwell hadinsisted. The consent of the States-General was refused, but bya secret treaty Holland, under the influence of deAct of Seclusion.Witt, accepted it in their own name as a sovereignprovince. The popular feeling throughout the UnitedProvinces was strongly antagonistic to the act of Seclusion,by which at the dictation of a foreign power a ban of exclusionwas pronounced against the house of Orange-Nassau, to whichthe republic owed its independence.
In 1658, the States-General interfered to save the Danes fromCharles Gustavus of Sweden. In 1659 a treaty of peace wasconcluded between France, England and the UnitedProvinces with a view to the settlement of the Dano-Swedishquestion, which ended in securing a northernWar with Sweden.peace in 1660, and in keeping the Baltic open for Dutch trade.The foreign affairs of the republic were throughout these yearsably conducted by de Witt, and the position of Dutch colonialexpansion in the Eastern seas made secure and firm. Anadvantageous peace with Portugal was made in 1662.
Meanwhile the Commonwealth in England had been followedin 1660 by the restoration of the monarchy. To conciliate thenew king the act of Seclusion was repealed, and theeducation of the young prince of Orange was undertakenby the States of Holland under the superintendenceSecond English war.of de Witt. But Charles owed a grudgeagainst Holland, and he was determined to gratify it. TheNavigation Act was re-enacted, old grievances revived, andfinally the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized in timeof peace (1664) and its capital, New Amsterdam, renamed NewYork. War broke out in 1665, and was marked by a series ofterrific battles. On the 13th of June 1665 the Dutch admiralObdam was completely defeated by the English under theduke of York. The four days’ fight (11th-14th of June 1666)ended in a hard-won victory by de Ruyter over Monk, but laterin this year (August 3rd) de Ruyter was beaten by Ayscueand forced to take refuge in the Dutch harbours. He had hisrevenge, for on the 22nd of June 1667 the Dutch fleet underde Ruyter and Cornelius de Witt made their way up the Medwayas far as Chatham and burnt the English fleet as it lay at anchor.Negotiations between the two countries were already in progressPeace of Breda.
The Triple Alliance.and this event hastened a settlement. The peace ofBreda was signed (31st of July 1667) on terms onthe whole favourable to the Dutch. New Netherlandwas retained by England in exchange for Suriname. In thefollowing year by the efforts of Sir William Temple the muchvaunted Triple Alliance was concluded between GreatBritain, the United Provinces and Sweden to checkthe ambitious designs of Louis XIV. The instabilityof Charles II., who sold himself to Louis by the treatyof Dover (1670), speedily rendered it of no effect, and left theUnited Provinces to face unaided the vengeance of the Frenchking.
From 1668 to 1672 Louis made ready to destroy the Dutch,and so well had his diplomacy served him that they were left withouta friend in Europe. In 1672 the storm broke: theEnglish without a declaration of war tried, unsuccessfully,to intercept the Dutch Mediterranean fleet;The French invasion.and the French at the same time set forth in apparentlyirresistible strength to overcome the despised traders of Holland.The States were ill-prepared on land though their fleet wasstrong and ready; party spirit had become intensely bitter asthe prince of Orange (seeWilliam III.) grew to man’s estate,and the ruling burgher party, knowing how great was thepopularity of William, especially in the army, had purposelyneglected their land forces. Town after town fell before theFrench armies, and to de Witt and his supporters there seemedto be nothing left but to make submission and accept the bestterms that Louis XIV. would grant. The young prince aloneWilliam III. Stadholder and Captain-general.
The third English war.
Murder of the Brothers de Witt.rose to the height of the occasion, and set his face against suchcowardly counsels, and he had the enthusiastic supportof the great majority of the people. Amidst generalacclamation William was elected stadholder, first ofZeeland, then of Holland, and was appointed captain-generalof the Union (June 1672). Meanwhile thefleet under de Ruyter had encountered a combined Englishand French force in Solebay (7th of June), and after adesperate fight, in which the French had but slackly supportedtheir allies, had more then held its own. William,in his turn, with an army wholly insufficient to meetthe French in the open field, was able to persuadehis countrymen to open the dikes and by floodingthe land to prevent its occupation by the enemy. The courageand resourcefulness of their youthful leader inspiredthe people to make heroic sacrifices for their independence,but unfortunately such was the revulsion offeeling against the grand pensionary, that he himselfand his brother Cornelius were torn in pieces by an infuriatedmob at the Hague (20th of August).
William, now supreme in the States, while on land strugglingwith chequered success against the superior forces of theFrench, strove by his diplomacy, and not in vain, togain allies for the republic. The growing power ofFrance caused alarm to her neighbours, and Sweden,Peace of Westminster.Denmark, Spain and the emperor lent a willing earto the persuasions of the stadholder and were ready to aid hisefforts to curb the ambition of Louis. On sea in 1673 de Ruyter,in a series of fiercely contested battles, successfully maintainedhis strenuous and dogged conflict against the united Englishand French fleets. In England the war was exceedingly unpopular,and public opinion forced Charles II. to conclude peace.The treaty of Westminster, which provided that all conquestsshould be restored, was signed on the 14th of February 1674.The French now found themselves threatened on many sides,The war with France.
Death of de Ruyter.
Peace of Nymwegen.and were reduced to the defensive. The prince, however,suffered a defeat at Seneff, and was in 1674prevented from invading France. The war, nevertheless,during the following years was on the wholeadvantageous to the Dutch. In 1676 a Dutch squadron foughttwo hard but indecisive battles with a superior French force,off Stromboli (8th of January) and off Messina (22nd of April).In the last-named fight Admiral de Ruyter was badlywounded and died (29th of April). In 1677 negotiationsfor peace went on, and were forwarded by themarriage, at the close of the year, of William of Orange withhis cousin the princess Mary, daughter of the duke of York.At last (August 1678) a peace was concluded at Nymwegenby which the Dutch secured the integrityand independence of their country. All the conquestsmade by the French were given up.
The aggressive policy of Louis XIV. in the years that followedthe peace of Nymwegen enabled William to lay the foundationsof the famous confederacy which changed the whole aspect of European politics. The league of Augsburg (1686), whichfollowed the revocation of the edict of Nantes, placed OrangeLeague of Augsburg.at the head of the resistance to French domination.The league was formed by the emperor, Spain, Sweden,the United Provinces and by several German states.In England William and Mary were looked upon as the naturalsuccessors to the throne on the death of James II., and Williamkept up close relations with the malcontents in Church andState, who disliked the arbitrary and papistical policy of hisfather-in-law. But with the birth of a prince of Wales thesituation was changed, and William determined to interveneactively in English affairs. His opportunity came when LouisXIV., having declared war against the Empire, had invaded thePalatinate. The opposition of Amsterdam to an EnglishRevolution
of 1688.expedition, in the absence of danger from the side ofFrance, was overcome. The Revolution of 1688ensued, and England became, under William’s strongrule, the chief member of the Great Coalition againstFrench aggression. In the Grand Alliance of 1689–1690 he wasaccused of sacrificing Dutch to English interests, but therecan be no doubt that William loved his native country betterthan his adopted one, and was a true patriot. If the UnitedProvinces suffered in prosperity through their close relationsThe Grand Alliance.with and subordination to Great Britain during along series of years, it was due not to the policy ofWilliam, but to the fact that the territory of therepublic was small, open to attack by great militarypowers, and devoid of natural resources. The stadholder’sauthority and popularity continued unimpaired, despite ofhis frequent absences in England. He had to contend, like hispredecessors, with the perennial hostility of the burgher aristocracyof Amsterdam, and at times with other refractory towncouncils, but his power in the States during his life was almostautocratic. His task was rendered lighter by the influence andability of Heinsius, the grand pensionary of Holland,William and Heinsius.a wise and prudent statesman, whose tact and moderationin dealing with the details and difficulties of internaladministration were conspicuous. The stadholdergave to Heinsius his fullest confidence, and the pensionary onhis part loyally supported William’s policy and placed hisservices ungrudgingly at his disposal (seeHeinsius).
The conduct of the war by the allies was far from successful.In 1690 (July 1st) Waldeck was defeated by Luxemburg atFleurus; and the Anglo-Dutch fleet was so severelyhandled by Tourville (10th July) off Beachy Headthat for two years the command of the sea remainedWar with France.in the possession of the French. A striking victory off Cape laHogue (29th of May 1692) restored, however, supremacy tothe allies. On land the combined armies fared ill. In 1691the French took Mons, and in 1692 Namur, in which year aftera hard-fought battle William was defeated at Steenkirk and in1693 at Neerwinden. But William’s military genius never shoneso brightly as in the hour of defeat; he never knew what it wasto be beaten, and in 1695 his recapture of Namur was a realtriumph of skill and resolution. At last, after long negotiations,exhaustion compelled the French king to sign the peace ofPeace of Ryswick.
Death of William III.Ryswick in 1697, in which William was recognizedby France as king of England, the Dutch obtaininga favourable commercial treaty, and the right togarrison the Netherland barrier towns. This peace, however, didno more than afford a breathing space during which Louis XIV.prepared for a renewal of the struggle. The great question ofthe Spanish succession was looming in all men’s eyes, andthough partition treaties between the interestedpowers were concluded in 1698 and 1700, it is practicallycertain that the French king held himself little boundby them. In 1701 he elbowed the Dutch troopsout of the barrier towns; he defied England by recognizingJames III. on the death of his father; and it was clearthat another war was imminent when William III. died in1702.
In 1672 the stadholdership in five provinces had been madehereditary in the family of the prince of Orange, but Williamdied childless, and the republican burgher party was strongenough to prevent the posts being filled up. Williamhad wished that his cousin, Count John WilliamStadholderless Government.Friso of Nassau, stadholder of Friesland and Groningen,should succeed him, but his extreme youth andthe jealousy of Holland against a “Frisian” stood in the wayof his election. The result was a want of unity in counsel andaction among the provinces, Friesland and Groningen standingaloof from the other five, while Holland and Zeeland had to payfor their predominance in the Union by being left to bear thebulk of the charges. Fortunately there was no break of continuityin the policy of the States, the chief conduct of affairs remaining,until his death in 1720, in the capable and tried hands of thegrand pensionary Heinsius, who had at his side a number ofexceptionally experienced and wise counsellors—among theseSimon van Slingeland, for forty-five years (1680–1725) secretaryof the council of state, and afterwards grand pensionary ofHolland (1727–1736), and Francis Fagel, who succeeded hisfather in 1699 as recorder (Griffier) of the States-General, andheld that important office for fifty years. The tradition ofWilliam III. was thus preserved, but with the loss of the firmhand and strong personality of that great ruler the UnitedProvinces were relegated to a subordinate place in the councilsof the nations, and with the gradual decadence of its navythe Dutch republic ceased to rank as a power to be reckonedwith.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, which broke out in 1702,Dutch troops took part in the campaigns of Marlborough andEugene, and had their share in winning the greatvictories of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde(1708) and Malplaquet (1709). At the peace ofWar of the Spanish Succession.Utrecht, concluded in 1713, the interests of theNetherlands were but half-heartedly supported bythe English plenipotentiaries, and the French were able to obtainfar more favourable terms than they had the power to exact.But they were compelled to abandon all claim to the SpanishNetherlands, which were formally handed over to the UnitedProvinces, as trustees, to be by them, after the conclusion of asatisfactory barrier treaty, given up to the emperor,and be known henceforth as the Austrian Netherlands.The peace of Utrecht taught the Dutch that the greatpowers around them, while ready to use their resources forTreaty of Utrecht.war, would not scruple to abandon them when they wantedpeace; they, therefore, determined henceforth to stand clearof all foreign complications. With 1713 the influence of theUnited Netherlands upon European politics comes almost toan end.
The ruling party in the States took an active part in securingGeorge I. on the throne of England; and they succeeded incoming to an agreement both with France and withAustria over the difficulties connected with the barriertowns, and were thus able in tranquillity to concentratePeace policy.their energies upon furthering the interests of their trade. Underthe close oligarchical rule of the patrician families, who filledall offices in the town councils, the States of Holland, in whichthe influence of Amsterdam was dominant, and which in theirturn exercised predominance in the States-General, became moreand more an assembly of “shopkeepers” whose policy was tomaintain peace for the sake of the commerce on which theythrived. For thirty years after the peace of Utrecht the Provinceskept themselves free from entanglement in the quarrels ofOstend East India Company.their neighbours. The foundation of the Ostend EastIndia Company (seeOstend Company), however,by the emperor Joseph II. in 1723, at once arousedthe strong opposition of the Amsterdam merchantswho looked upon this invasion of their monopoly with alarm,and declared that the Ostend Company had been set up incontravention to the terms of Article V. of the treaty of Münster.In maintaining this position the States had the support ofEngland, but it was not until 1731 that they succeeded inobtaining the suppression of the company by consenting to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI. Thisstep led in 1743 to their being involved in the War of theWar of the Austrian Succession.
Revolution
of 1747.
William IV.Austrian Succession, and thus being drawn into hostilitieswith France, which invaded the barrier country.In 1744 they formed with Great Britain, Austria andSaxony, a Quadruple Alliance, and put a contingentof troops in the field. The Dutch took an active part in thecampaign of 1745 and suffered heavily at Fontenoy, after whichbattle Marshal Saxe overran the Austrian Netherlands. TheFrench captured all the barrier towns, and in 1747entered Dutch Flanders and made an easy conquest.The United Provinces, as in 1672, seemed to lie at themercy of their enemies, and as in that eventful year,popular feeling broke down the opposition of the burgheroligarchies, and turned to William IV., prince of Orange, as thesaviour of the state. John William Friso had diedyoung in 1711, leaving a posthumous son, WilliamCharles Henry Friso, who was duly elected stadholderby the two provinces, Friesland and Groningen, which werealways faithful to his family, and in 1722 he became also, thoughwith very limited powers, stadholder of Gelderland. The otherprovinces, however, under pressure from Holland, bound themselvesnot to elect stadholders, and they refused to revive theoffice of captain-general of the Union. By the conquest ofDutch Flanders Zeeland was threatened, and the states of thatprovince, in which there were always many Orange partisans,elected (April 1747) William stadholder, captain-general andadmiral of Zeeland. The example once given was infectious,and was followed in rapid succession by Holland, Utrecht andOverysel. Finally the States-General (May 4) appointed theprince, who was the first member of his family to be stadholderof all the seven provinces, captain and admiral-general ofthe Union, and a little later these offices were declared hereditaryin both the male and female lines.
William IV., though not a man of great ability, was sincerelyanxious to do his utmost for securing the maintenance of peace,and the development of the resources and commercialprosperity of the country, and his powerful dynasticPeace of Aix-la-Chapelle.connexions (he had married Anne, eldest daughterof George II.) gave him weight in the councils ofEurope. The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, in which theinfluence of Great Britain was exerted on behalf of the States,though it nominally restored the old condition of things, leftthe Provinces crippled by debt, and fallen low from their oldposition among the nations. At first the stadholder’s effortsto promote the trade and welfare of the country were hamperedby the distrust and opposition of Amsterdam, and other strongholdsDeath of William IV.
Anne of England Regent.of anti-Orange feeling, and just as his goodintentions were becoming more generally recognized,William unfortunately died, on the 22nd of October1751, aged forty years, leaving his three-year-old son,William V., heir to his dignities. The princess Anne of Englandbecame regent, but she had a difficult part to play, and on theoutbreak of the Seven Years’ War in which theProvinces were determined to maintain neutrality,her English leanings brought much unpopularity uponher. She died in 1759, and for the next seven yearsthe regency passed into the hands of the States, and thegovernment was practically stadholderless.
In 1766 William V. was declared to be of age; and his accessionto power was generally welcomed. He was, however, a weakman, without energy or resolution, and he allowedhimself to be entirely led by his old guardian theWilliam V.duke of Brunswick, and by his wife Frederica Wilhelminaof Prussia, a woman of marked ability, to whom he entirelydeferred. In the American War of Independence William’ssympathies were strongly on the English side, while thoseof the majority of the Dutch people were with the revoltedcolonies. It is, however, certain that nothing would have driventhe Provinces to take part in the war but for the overbearingattitude of the British government with regard to the right ofneutral shipping upon the seas, and the heavy losses sustainedby Dutch commerce at the hands of British privateers. TheThe Armed Neutrality.famous agreement, known as the “Armed Neutrality,” withwhich in 1780 the States of the continent at theinstigation of Catherine II. of Russia replied to themaritime claims put forward by Great Britain drew theProvinces once more into the arena of European politics.Every effort was made by the English to prevent the Dutchfrom joining the league, and in this they were assisted by thestadholder, but at last the States-General, though only by thebare majority of four provinces against three, determined tothrow in their lot with the opponents of England.War with England.Nothing could have been more unfortunate, for thecountry was not ready for war, and party spirit was toostrong for united action to be taken or vigorous preparationsto be made. When war broke out Dutch commerce wasdestroyed, and the Dutch colonies were at the mercy of theEnglish fleet without the possibility of a blow being struck intheir defence. An indecisive, but bravely fought action withAdmiral Parker at the Dogger Bank showed, however, that theDutch seamen had lost none of their old dogged courage, and didmuch to soothe the national sense of humiliation. In the negotiationsPeace of Paris.of the Treaty of Paris (1783) the Dutch foundthemselves abandoned by their allies, and compelledto accept the disadvantageous but not ungenerousterms accorded to them by Great Britain. They had to sacrificesome of their East Indian possessions and to concede to theEnglish freedom of trade in the Eastern seas.
One result of this humiliating and disastrous war was thestrengthening of the hands of the anti-Orange burgher-regents,who had now arrogated to themselves the name of“patriots.” It was they, and not the stadholder, whoThe “Patriot” Party.
Intervention
of the King of Prussia.
Difficulty with the Emperor.had been mainly responsible for the Provinces joining“the Armed Neutrality,” but the consequences of thewar, in which this act had involved them, was largely visitedupon the prince of Orange. The “patriot” party did theirutmost to curtail his prerogatives, and harass him with pettyinsults, and at last the Prussian king was obliged tointerfere to save his niece, who was even more unpopularthan her weak husband, from being drivenfrom the country. In 1784 the emperor Joseph II.took advantage of the dissensions in the Provinces toraise the question of the opening of the Scheldt. He himselfwas, however, no more prepared for attack than the Republicfor defence, but the Dutch had already sunk so low,that they agreed to pay a heavy indemnity to inducethe Austrians to drop a demand they were unable toenforce. To hold the mouth of the Scheldt andprevent at all costs a revival of Antwerp as a commercial porthad been for two centuries a cardinal point of Dutch policy.This difficulty removed, the agitation of the “patriots” againstthe stadholderate form of government increased in violence, andWilliam speedily found his position untenable. An insult offeredto the prince of Orange in 1787 led to an invasionof the country by a Prussian army. Amsterdamcapitulated, the country was occupied, and the patriotPrussian Invasion.
Restoration
to power of William V.leaders declared incapable of holding any office. The Orangeparty was completely triumphant, and William V., under theprotection of Prussia and England, with which statesthe United Provinces were compelled to ally themselves,was restored to power. It was, however, impossibleto make the complicated and creaking machinery ofthe constitution of the worn-out republic of the United Netherlandswork smoothly, and in all probability it would have beenwithin a very short time replaced by an hereditary monarchy,had not the cataclysm of the French Revolution swept it awayfrom its path, never to be revived.
When war broke out between the French revolutionarygovernment and the coalition of kings, the Provincesremained neutral as long as they could. It was not tillDumouriez had overrun all the Austrian NetherlandsThe French invade the Netherlands.in 1792, and had thrown open the passage of the Scheldt,that they were drawn into the war. The patriot party sided with the French, but for various reasons the conquest of thecountry was delayed until 1795. In the closing monthsof 1794 Pichegru, at the head of a large and victorious army,invaded the Provinces. The very severe frost of that winter gavehis troops an easy passage over all the rivers and low-lyinglands; town after town fell before him; he occupiedAmsterdam, and crossing the ice with his cavalrytook the Dutch fleet, as it lay frost-bound at theTexel. The stadholder and his family fled to England,Overthrow of the Stadholderate.
Flight of William V.
The Batavian Republic.
Changes of Government.and the disorganized remnants of the allied forces underthe duke of York retreated into Germany. The “patriots,” asthe anti-Orange republicans still styled themselves,received the French with open arms and public rejoicings,and the government was reorganized so asto bring it into close harmony with that of Paris. The stadholderate,the offices of captain and admiral-general, and all theancient organization of the United Netherlands were abolished,and were transformed into the Batavian Republic, in closealliance with France. But the Dutch had soon causeto regret their revolutionary ardour. French alliancemeant French domination, and participation in thewars of the Revolution. Its consequences were thetotal ruin of Dutch commerce, and the seizure of all the Dutchcolonies by the English. Internally one change of governmentsucceeded another; after the States-General came anational convention; then in 1798 a constituentassembly with an executive directory; then chambersof representatives; then a return to the earlier systemsunder the names of the eight provincial and one central Commissions(1801). These changes were the outcome of a gradualreaction in a conservative direction.
The peace of Amiens gave the country a little rest, and theDutch got back the Cape of Good Hope and their West Indiancolonies; it was, however, but the brief and deceptiveinterlude between two storms; when war beganagain England once more took possession of all sheConstitution of 1805.had restored. In 1805 the autocratic will of NapoleonBonaparte imposed upon them a new constitution, and RutgerJan Schimmelpenninck (1765–1825) was made, under theancient title of grand pensionary, head of the government.In the next year the French emperor added Holland,as the United Provinces were now named, to the ring ofdependent sovereignties, by means of which he sought tobuild up a universal empire, and he forced his brother LouisLouis Bonaparte King of Holland.
The Sovereign Prince.
Creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Hundred Days.to be the unwilling king of an unwilling people. The newking was a man of excellent intentions and did hisbest to promote the interest of his subjects, but findinghimself unable to protect them from the despoticoverlordship of his brother, after a four years’ reign,Louis abdicated. In 1810 the Northern Netherlands by decreeof Napoleon were incorporated in the French empire, and hadto bear the burdens of conscription and of a crushing weight oftaxation. The defeat of Leipzig in 1813 was the signal for ageneral revolt in the Netherlands; the prince of Orange (sonof William V.) was recalled, and amidst generalrejoicing accepted at Amsterdam the offer of thesovereignty under a free constitution (Dec. 1, 1813),with the title of sovereign prince. On the downfallof Napoleon the great powers determined to create in the LowCountries a powerful state, and by the treaty of London (June14, 1814) the Belgians were united with the Dutchprovinces to form the kingdom of the Netherlands,which was also to include the bishopric of Liège andthe duchy of Bouillon, and the prince of Orange wasplaced upon the throne on the 15th of March 1815 asWilliam I., king of the Netherlands (seeWilliam I., king of the Netherlands). The ancestral possessions of theHouse of Nassau were exchanged for Luxemburg, of whichterritory King William in his personal capacitybecame grand duke. The carrying out of the treatywas delayed by the Hundred Days’ campaign,which for a short time threatened its very existence. Thedaring invasion of Napoleon, however, afforded the Dutch andBelgian contingents of the allied army the opportunity to fightside by side under the command of William, prince of Orange,eldest son of the new king, who highly distinguished himself byhis gallantry at Quatre Bras, and afterwards at Waterloo wherehe was wounded (seeWilliam II., king of the Netherlands).The Congress of Vienna confirmed theWilliam I. crowned at Brussels.
Constitution of the Netherlands.arrangements made by the treaty of London, andWilliam I. was crowned king of the Netherlands atBrussels on the 27th of September 1815. Under the constitutionthe king, as hereditary sovereign, possessed full executivepowers, and the initiative in proposing laws. He hadthe power of appointing his own council of state.The legislative body bore the time-honoured title ofStates-General, and was divided into an UpperChamber nominated by the king, and a Lower Chamberelected by the people. Freedom of worship, freedom of thepress, and political equality were principles of the constitution,guaranteed to all.
The union of the Dutch and Belgian provinces, like so manyof the territorial arrangements of the Congress of Vienna, wasan attempt to create a strong state out of diverseand jarring elements. It was an artificial union,Difference between the Dutch and Belgic provinces.which nothing but consummate tact and statesmanshipcould have rendered permanent and solid. Northand south were divided from one another by religiousbelief, by laws and usages, by material interests, andby two centuries and a half of widely severed nationallife. The Belgians were strict Catholics, the Dutch CalvinisticProtestants. The Dutch were chiefly a commercial and seafaringpeople, with interests in distant lands and colonialpossessions; the Belgians were agriculturists, except wheretheir abundance of minerals made them manufacturers. Thenational traits of the Dutch were a blend of German and English,the national leaning of the Belgians was towards France andFrench ideals. Nevertheless the materials were there out ofwhich a really broad-minded and conciliatory handling of religionand racial difficulties might have gradually built up a Netherlandnation able to hold from its population and resourcesa considerable place among European powers. For it must notbe forgotten that some two-thirds of the Belgian people are byorigin and language of the same race as the Dutch. But whendifficulties and differences arose between North and South, asthey were sure to arise, they were not dealt with wisely. Theking had good intentions, but his mind was warped by Dutchprejudices, and he was ill-advised and acted unadvisedly. TheThe Belgian Revolution.
Reign of William II.
Accession of William III.
The Constitution of 1848.consequences were the Belgian Revolution of 1830,which ended in the intervention of the great powers,and the setting up, in 1831, of Belgium as an independentkingdom. The final settlement of outstandingquestions between the two countries was not reached till 1839(for an account of the Belgian Revolution, seeBelgium). KingWilliam I. in the following year, having become unpopularthrough his resistance to reform, resigned his crown tohis son William II., who reigned in peace till hisdeath in 1849, when he was succeeded by his eldestson William III. (seeWilliam III., king of the Netherlands).His accession marked the beginning of constitutional governmentin the Netherlands. William I. had been toa large extent a personal ruler, but William II.,though for a time following in his father’s steps, hadbeen moved by the revolutionary outbreaks of 1848to concede a revision of the constitution. The fundamentallaw of 1848 enacted that the first chamber of the States-Generalshould be elected by the Provincial Estatesinstead of being appointed by the king, and that thesecond chamber should be elected directly by allpersons paying a certain amount in taxation. Ministerswere declared responsible to the States-General, and a liberalmeasure of self-government was also granted. During the longreign of William III. (1849–1890) the chief struggles of partiesin the Netherlands centred round religious education. On the one side are the liberals, divided into moderates andprogressives, the representatives to a large extent of the commercialtowns. Opposed to them is the coalition ofPolitical parties in the Netherlands.the orthodox Protestant conservatives, styled anti-revolutionaries,supported by the Calvinistic peasantry,and the Catholics, who represent about one-third ofthe population and have their headquarters in Dutch Brabant,Dutch Flanders and Limburg. There is also in the Netherlandsa small, but very strenuous socialist party, which was foundedby the active propaganda of an ex-pastor Domela-Nieuwenhuis.It draws its chief strength from Amsterdam and certain countrydistricts of Friesland.
The liberals were in power from 1871 to 1888 continuously,but a Catholic-anti-revolutionary ministry under Baron Mackayheld office from 1888 to 1891, and again a coalitionministry was formed in 1901 with Dr Kuyper at itshead. From 1894 to 1897 a ministry of moderateReligious education.liberals supported by a large part of the Catholicand anti-revolutionary parties were in power. The constitutionof 1848 made it the duty of the state to provide free primarysecular education, but it allowed to members of all creeds theliberty of establishing private schools, and this was carried intoeffect by a law passed in 1857 by the joint efforts of the liberalsand Catholics against the opposition of the orthodox Calvinists.But the long liberal ascendancy closed the ranks of the Catholic-Calvinistcoalition, and united them against the neutral schools,and in 1889 they were able to pass a law enabling not only theunsectarian public schools, but all private schools organizedby societies and bodies recognized by the law to receive subventionsfrom the state. In 1890 there were 3000 public schoolswith 450,000 scholars and 1300 private schools with 195,000scholars.
The subject of the extension of the franchise has also beenthe cause of violent party strife and controversy. It was takenin hand as early as 1872, but as a revision of the constitutionwas necessary, no change was actually carried out till 1887.The law of that year lowered the qualification of the payer ofa direct tax to 10 fl. Votes were given to all householderspaying a certainminimum house duty, and to all lodgers whohad for a given time paid aminimum of rent, also to all whopossessed certain educational and social qualifications, whosedefinition was left to be specified by a later law. The passingof such a law was deferred by the coalition (Catholic-Orthodox)ministry of 1888–1891. The liberal ministry of 1891 attemptedto deal with the question, and a proposal was made by theminister Tak van Poortvliet, which almost amounted to universalExtension of the suffrage.suffrage. The educational qualification was to beable to write, the social that of not receiving charitablerelief. This proposal caused a cleavage right throughall parties. It was supported by the radical left, bya large portion of the Orthodox-Calvinists under Dr Kuyper,and by some Catholics; it had against it the moderate liberals,the aristocratic section of the Orthodox-Calvinists, the bulk ofthe Catholics, and a few radicals under an influential leadervan Houten. After a fierce electoral fight the Takkians werevictors at the first polls, but were beaten at the second ballots.Of the 46 Takkians, 35 were liberals; of the 54 anti-Takkians,24 were Catholics. A moderate liberal ministry was formed(1894) and in 1896 carried into law what was known as thevan Houten project. It gave the right of voting to all Dutchmenover twenty-five years of age, who paid 1 fl. in direct taxation;were householders or lodgers as defined in 1887, or tenants ofa vessel of, at least, 24 tons; were the recipients of certainsalaries or had certain deposits in the public funds or savingsbanks. By this reform the number of electors, which had beenraised in 1887 from 140,000 to 300,000, was augmented toMilitary service.700,000. The question of universal military servicehas also divided parties. The principle of personalservice has been strongly opposed by the Catholicsand conservatives, but became the law of the land in 1898, thoughexemptions were conceded in favour of ecclesiastics and certainclasses of students.
The long-continued and costly wars with the sultan of Achinhave during a series of years been a source of trouble to Dutchministries. In 1871–1872 Great Britain, in exchangefor certain possessions of Holland on the coast ofGuinea, agreed to recognize the right of the DutchThe Achin war.to occupy the north of Sumatra. The sultan ofAchin opposed by force of arms the efforts of the Dutch to maketheir occupation effective, and has succeeded in maintaining avigorous resistance, the Dutch colonial troops suffering severelyfrom the effects of the insalubrious climate. Until 1871 thesurplus derived from the colonial budget had been turned intoa deficit, and the necessity of imposing fresh taxes to meet thewar expenses has led to the downfall both of individual ministriesand of cabinets.
William III. dying in 1890 was succeeded by his only survivingchild, Wilhelmina. The new queen being a minor, her mother,the queen-dowager Emma, became regent. Oneeffect of the accession of Queen Wilhelmina was theseverance of the bond between the Netherlands andQueen Wilhelmina.Luxemburg. The grand duchy, being hereditaryonly in the male line, passed to the nearest agnate, the duke ofNassau. In 1898 the queen, having reached the age of eighteen,assumed the government. She married in 1901 Prince Henry ofMecklenburg. The outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 led toa strong outburst of sympathy among the Dutch on behalf oftheir kinsmen in South Africa, and there were times during thewar, especially after President Kruger had fled from theTransvaal in a Dutch war vessel and had settled in Holland,when it was a task of some difficulty for the Dutch governmentto prevent the relations between Great Britain and the Netherlandsfrom becoming strained. The ministry, however, underDr Kuyper were able to keep the popular feeling in favour ofthe Boers in restraint, and to maintain towards Great Britaina correct attitude of strict neutrality. In 1903 the governmenttook strong measures to prevent a threatened general strike ofrailway employees, the military were called out, and occupied thestations. A bill was passed by the States-General declaringrailway strikes illegal. The elections of 1905 for the SecondChamber gave the liberals a narrow majority of four. Dr Kuyperaccordingly resigned, and a moderate liberal cabinet was formedby Th. H. de Meester. The fact that up to 1908 the queen hadnot become a mother gradually caused some public concern asto the succession; but in 1909 Queen Wilhelmina, amid nationalrejoicings, gave birth to a princess.
Bibliography.—See (for the general history) J. Wagenaar,Vaderlandsche historie, to 1751 (21 vols., 1749–1759); continuationby Az. P. Loosjes, from 1751–1810 (48 vols., 1786–1811); W.Bilderdijk,Geschiedenis der Vaderlands (13 vols., 1832–1853);Groen G. van Prinsterer,Handboek der Geschiedenis van het Vaderland(6th ed., 1895); (for particular periods): L. ab Aitzema,Saken van spaet en oorlogh in ende om trent de Vereenigde Nederlanden(1621–1668) (15 vols., 1657–1671); continuation by Lambert vanden Bos (Lambertus Sylvius) (4 vols., 1685–1699). The work ofAitzema contains a large number of important diplomatic and otherdocuments; A. de Wicquefort,Histoire des provinces des Pays-Basdepuis la paix de Munster (1648–1658) (2 vols., 1719–1743); in thesevolumes will be also found a rich collection of original documents;R. Fruin,Tien jaren uit den tactig jarigen oorlog (1588–1598), (6th ed.,1905), a standard work; J. L. Motley,History of the United Netherlands(1584–1609), (4 vols., 1860–1868); P. J. Blok,History of thePeople of the Netherlands, vol. iii. (1568–1621) (trans. by Ruth Putnam,1900);Cambridge Modern History, vol. iii. ch. xix. and vol. iv. ch. xxv.(see the bibliographies); Ant. L. Pontales,Vingt années de républiqueparlementaire au 17me siècle. Jean de Witt, grand pensionnairede Hollande (1884); E. C. de Gerlache,Histoire du royaume desPays-Bas 1814–1830 (3 vols., 1859); Bosch J. de Kemper,Geschiedenisvan Nederland na 1830 (5 vols., 1873–1882); also thefollowing important works: Groen G. van Prinsterer,Archives oucorrespondance inédite de la maison d’Orange-Nassau, 2e série (1584–1688)(5 vols., 1857–1860); J. de Witt,Brieven (1652–1669) (6 vols.,1723–1725); A. Kluit,Historie der Hollandsche Staatsregering tot1795 (5 vols., 1802–1805); G. W. Vreede,Inleiding tot eene geschiedenisder Nederlandsche diplomatic (6 vols., 1850–1865); J. C. deJonge,Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewesen, (6 vols., 1833–1848);E. Luzac,Holland’s Rijkdom (4 vols., 1781); R. Fruin,Geschiedenis der Staatsinstellingen in Nederland tot den val der Republick,edn. Colenbrander (1901); N. G. van Kampen,Geschiedenisder Nederlanders buiten Europa (4 vols., 1833); W. J. A. Jonckbloet, Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (2 vols. 1881); C. BuskenHüet,Het Land van Rembrandt-studien over de Nordnederlandschebeschaving in de 17 e eeuw (2 vols., 1886); L. D. Petit,Repertoriumder verhandelingen en bijdragen betreffende de geschiedenis des Vaterlandsin tijdschriften en mengel werken tot op 1900 verschenen, 2 parts(1905); other parts of this valuablerepertorium are in course ofpublication. (G. E.)
