European Kingdoms

The Netherlands / Low Countries / Holland

The oldest traces of the Frisian population (proto-Frisians) in the Low Countries date back to the end of the Bronze Age in 700 BC, which makes the Frisians one of the oldest still-surviving tribes in Europe. Their origin in circa 1000 BC probably lies in southern Scandinavia, along with the other Germanic peoples.

The coastal area around Friesland (Zwin, near Sluis in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and Weser, Bremen) was initially ruled after the collapse of the Roman empire by local Frisian leaders. During this turmoil smaller tribes in the Low Countries, like the Canninifates and the Batavians, merged with the bigger tribe of the Frisians, while some communities joined the Jutish/Saxon migration to southern Britain.

(King lists and detailed additional notes from AD 839 onwards by Dirk van Duijvenbode.)

EXTERNAL LINK:
List of Dutch Sovereigns

Pre-Roman Frisia

This region comprised the coastal area around the upper Netherlands, eastwards to the mouth of the Weser. The western half, which became known as West Frisia, emerged as a distinct region during the feuds of the thirteenth century AD, and evolved into the modern Netherlands. The remainder was then distinguished as East Frisia and was essentially German in character. The list is legendary until the advent of the Roman empire (names backed in lilac). Before Charlemagne's rule, it remains uncertain.

It was from this coastal strip that the combined Saxon and Frisian settlers headed for the southern shores of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. The language of the remaining population is still very closely linked to modern English.

? - 2194 BC

Frya

Traditional founder of the Frisian Commonwealth.

Frisian Folk Mothers

2194 - 2145? BC

Fasta

Medea

Thiania

Hellenia

c.2013 BC

Minna

1631 - ? BC

Rosamond

c.1621 BC

Hellicht

? - 590 BC

Frana

590 - 559 BC

Adela

De facto ruler.

590 - 306 BC

After Frana, the authority of the folk mothers collapses. A period of division follows, with no clear Frisian rulers apparent.

306 - c.270 BC

Gosa

Eventually ruled jointly with the first king of Frisia.

Kings of Frisia (Friso)

304 - 264 BC

Adel I Friso

De facto king.

264 - ? BC

Adel II Atharik

? - 70 BC

Adel III Ubbo

70 BC - AD 11

Adel IV Asinga Ascon

c.60 BC

Prontlik

Folk Mother appointed by Adel IV.

AD 11 - 15

Diocarus Segon

15 - 28

Dibbald Segon

28

The Frisii on the Lower Rhine are driven to revolt against the Roman empire by excessively zealous tax collection.

28 - 47

Tabbo

47

Frisia is appended to the Roman empire. It is classified as a client state.

47 - 58

Asconius

Client king.

47 - 58

Adelbold

Client king.

58

Titus Boiocalus

Anti-Roman usurper.

58

Frisia is re-classified as an allied state of the Roman empire.

Kings of Frisia (Ubbo)

58 - 70

Ubbo

70 - ?

Haron Ubbo

Odilbald

? - 286

Udolph Haron

Kings of Frisia / Friesland (Offo)

The Frisians were bordered to the north-east by the Saxon tribes which began forming a state of their own after the departure of the Romans. Many Saxon groups were accompanied by Frisians when they emigrated to Britain in the fifth to early seventh centuries. During the fifth century, the Frankish tribes which had migrated into northern Gaul were united to form a vast kingdom on the southern borders of Frisian territory, a cause of eventual grief for the Frisian tribes.

286 - ?

Richold I Offo

Odilbold

Richold II

Beroald

Folcwald

? - c.448

Finn

c.448

Hnæf of the Danes is killed at the Fight at Finnesburg in Frisia, as is Finn's eldest son. Finn is subsequently killed by Hengist, Hnæf's Anglian comrade in arms, and his Danish wife, Hildeburh, is returned to her people. Soon afterwards, Hengist leads his people to Britain where he begins the conquest of Kent.

? - 677

Eadgils I

679 - 689

Redbad / Radboud

689 - 719

Friesland is conquered by the Frankish Merovingian kingdom. Redbad continues to resist until his death. The Franks partition the area into three regions: Eastern Friesland (between the rivers Lauwers and Weser - later part of Germany); Middle Friesland (between Vlie and Lauwers); and West Friesland (everything west of the Vlie (the important sea arm, essentially for trading places like Dorestad) - the modern Netherlands).

719 - 734

Eadgils II (or Poppo)

734

The Merovingian empire takes full control. The final two kings are either puppets or Merovingian administrators.

734 - 777

Gundebold (or Poppo)

777 - 806

Radbold II (or Dirk)

800

The East Francian section of the empire inherits Frisia. Frisia remains officially attached to Germany until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The ruling house is demoted to the rank of count.

Counts of Friesland (House of Fries)
AD 839 - 889

839 - 856

Gerulf I

885 - 889

Gerulf II

Counts of West-Frisia (House of Holland)
AD 916 - 1061

Ruled locally in the name of the archbishop of Utrecht, himself governing the area on behalf of the Holy Roman Emperor. Frisia was at this time the whole coastal area from Flanders to the Danish border, including Utrecht. Count Dirk's territory corresponds roughly with the present day provinces of South and North Holland.

916 - 928

Dirk I

928 - 988

Dirk II

m Hildegard of Flanders. First Count of West-Frisia (964).

988 - 993

Arnhulf / Aernhoud of Ghent

993 - 1039

Dirk III Hierosolymitas

1039 - 1049

Dirk IV

Son of Dirk III.

1049 - 1061

Floris / Flores I

Son of Dirk III.

1061

When Floris I dies, his widow, Gertrude, initially governs West-Frisia as regent, until Dirk V can accede to the title of count of Holland.

Counts of Holland (House of Holland)
AD 1061 - 1299

The name 'Holland' only came in use around the year 1100. Before that the region was recognised universally as Western Frisia.

1061 - 1091

Dirk V

Son of Floris I of West-Frisia & Gertrude of Saxony.

1061 - 1064

Geertruida / Geertrui of Saxony

Countess / Gravin. Wife of Floris I. m Robert of Flanders.

1064 - 1074

Robert of Flanders / Robrecht de Fries

m Gertrude. Count of Flanders (1071-1093).

1074 - 1076

Govert met de Bult

House of Lotharingia.

1091 - 1121

Floris / Flores II de Vette (Fat)

Son.

c.1100

The old line of counts had by now become extinct, and internecine feuding erupts, and continues until the region is invaded by Spanish imperial troops at the end of the fifteenth century.

1122 - 1157

Dirk VI

Son.

1157 - 1190

Floris / Flores III

Son.

1190 - 1203

Dirk VII

Son.

1203

Ada

Countess / Gravin. Dau.

1203 - 1222

William I

Son of Floris III.

1222 - 1234

Floris / Flores IV

Son.

1234 - 1256

William II

Son. Rival for the Holy Roman Empire (1247-1256).

1256 - 1296

Floris / Flores V

Son. Murdered.

1277

The separation of East Frisia from West Frisia had been de facto during the internecine feuding of the thirteenth century. The division becomes permanent when the Dollart Estuary, at the mouth of the Elms, is flooded. A line of independent counts is established there by 1400.

1296

Floris is murdered, and his son, Jan, may be involved. If so, it is something he regrets as, according to local legend, he orders the building of Heilig Lambertuskerk in Linden, to the south of Nijmegen, as a penance.

1296 - 1299

Jan / John I of Cuijk

Son. No heir.

1299

Aleid, younger sister of William II, marries Jan of Avesnes, count of Hainaut, in 1246. Their son becomes Jan II of Holland.

Counts of Holland-Hennegau (House of Avesnes)
AD 1299 - 1349

1299 - 1304

Jan II of Avesnes

Count of Hennegau (1280). Grandson of Margaret I of Flanders.

1304 - 1337

William III de Goede

Son.

1337 - 1345

William IV

Son.

1345 - 1349

Margaret / Margaratha of Beieren

Countess / Gravin. Dau of William III. m Louis IV the Bavarian.

1349

William, son of Margaret and Louis IV of Bavaria, becomes William V of Holland. Hennegau ceases to be used in the title.

Counts of Holland (House of Beiers)
AD 1349 - 1433

The Beiers ruled in West Frisia only. An independent line of counts became established in East Frisia which had been divided from the west since the flooding of the Dollart Estuary in 1277, and the region eventually became part of Germany.

1349 - 1389

William V

Son of Margaret.

1389 - 1404

Albert / Albrecht

Son of Margaret.

1404 - 1417

William VI

Son. m Margaret of Burgundy (1385).

1417 - 1433

Jacoba / Jacqueline

Countess / Gravin. Dau. No heir. d.1436.

1417 - 1424

William

John IV, Duke of Brabant (1415-1427). m Jacoba.

1433

With the remarriage of Jacoba to the English Henry of Gloucester, the title passes to the dukes of Burgundy.

Counts of Holland (House of Burgundy)
AD 1433 - 1482

1433 - 1467

Philip I the Good

Duke of Burgundy.

1467 - 1477

Charles I the Bold (Karel I de Stoute)

Duke of Burgundy.

1477 - 1482

Mary of Burgundy (Maria de Rijke)

Duchess of Burgundy.

1482

Mary of Burgundy marries Maximilian of Habsburg in 1477. The county of Holland passes to the Habsburg counts.

Counts of Holland (House of Habsburg)
AD 1482 - 1581

1482 - 1494

Maximilian of Habsburg

Became HRE Emperor (1493). Passed Holland to his son.

1494 - 1506

Philip II de Schone

Became King Philip I of Castile (1504).

1506 - 1515

Maximilian

Regent for Charles II. HRE (1493-1519).

1515 - 1555

Charles II / Karel II

Grandson of Maximilian. Charles I of Spain (1516-1556).

1555 - 1581

Philip III

Philip II of Spain (1556-1598). Deposed by the Dutch.

1555 - 1581

While the Habsburgs rule Holland from Spain, the House of Orange rises to prominence in Holland itself as stadhouders (viceroys), holding the title of prince. The absent Habsburgs are eventually thrown out during a Dutch revolt.

Stadhouder Princes of Holland (House of Orange)
AD 1581 - 1747

1463 - 1475

William VII of Chalon

Prince of Orange.

1475 - 1502

Jean II of Chalon

Prince of Orange.

1502 - 1515

Claudia of Chalon & Orange

Dau. m Hendrik III of Nassau (1515).

1515 - 1538

Hendrik of Nassau

Count of Nassau. Prince of Orange.

1538 - 1544

René of Chalon

Son. Count of Nassau. Prince of Orange.

1544 - 1555

William the Silent of Chalon

Nephew. Count of Nassau. Prince of Orange.

1555

The princes of Orange play no part in Dutch history until this year. William I, count of Nassau, prince of Orange (born in Nassau), is officially proclaimed stadhouder of the counties of Holland and Zeeland & the diocese of Utrecht by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The princes of Orange now rule in the name of the absent Spanish count of Holland, Philip III (King Phillip II of Spain).

1555 - 1584

William I the Silent (de Zwijger)

Led revolt against Spanish Habsburgs. Assassinated 10 July.

1568 - 1648

The War of Liberation against the Spanish Habsburgs ends with the Münster (Westphalia) peace treaty. Europe recognises the independence of the Netherlands.

1581

The Habsburgs are thrown out of the Netherlands. William, who remains stadhouder, now governs Holland along with the Staten Generaal (the representatives of the seven provinces). The Netherlands is officially declared a republic. The Staten-Generaal continues to select members of the House of Orange to govern the Netherlands as stadhouder (even though there is no longer any monarch). They are kings in all but name.

1585 - 1625

Maurits / Maurice

Son.

1591

The city of Nijmegen is conquered by the Dutch stadhouder, freeing it from Habsburg control. Its predominantly Catholic churches are immediately converted to Protestantism.

1606

A Dutch admiral, William Jansz, discovers a landmass in the southern ocean which is eventually named Australia, but no effort is made to colonise it. A few years later Abel Tasman and the Dutch navigator, Visscher, find Tasmania and New Zealand in their search for a commercial route to South America, but very little detail of their voyage is known until the British Captain Cook makes three great voyages from 1768 to chart the entire region.

1609 - 1621

The Spanish Netherlands is exhausted by the war with the northerners. A truce is agreed which all but recognises the legality of the independence of the northern Netherlands.

1614

The Dutch found a commercial trading post on the eastern coast of North America and name it New Amsterdam. Dutch pirates freely operate against the Spanish in the Americas, especially in the vicinity of Hispaniola.

1625 - 1647

Frederick Henry

Son of William I.

1624 - 1625

The first director-general of the Dutch West India Company's colony of New Netherland in the Americas is appointed in 1624. The following year, Dutch forces under Boudewijn Hendrick attack the capital of Puerto Rico, but are forced back by the governor, although they set fire to the city as they retreat.

1641

The Dutch become allied to the African Kongo kingdom as the latter attempt to dislodge the Portuguese slave traders.

1647 - 1650

William II

1650 - 1672

Eerste Stadhouderloze Tijdperk (the First Stadhouderless Era). William III is born eight days after his father's death. As William III is too young to rule, and there is no other Orange to select, the Staten-Generaal do not select a stadhouder at all.

1655

The colony of New Sweden in the Americas has its main settlement at Fort Christina captured by the Dutch in retaliation for a brief Swedish occupation of one of the forts in New Netherland.

1664 - 1667

Under the leadership of the duke of York, the English attack and capture the province of New Netherland in 1664. The act leads to the Second Anglo-Dutch War the following year, which ends with the Netherlands agreeing to the English ownership of the colony in exchange for Suriname.

1672

Several nations declare war on the Netherlands and the people plead for an Orange to lead them. William III is selected.

1672 - 1702

William III

Son. William III of England (1689-1702). No heir.

1673 - 1674

The territory of former Dutch New Amsterdam is seized during the Third Anglo-Dutch war, but is returned to England as part of the Treaty of Westminster in 1674.

1702 - 1747

Tweede Stadhouderloze Tijdperk (the Second Stadhouderless Era). No stadhouder is elected by the Staten-Generaal. In 1747, the French invade and again, the Staten-Generaal popularly elect an Orange to lead the country. A remote cousin of William III's, William of Nassau, stadhouder of Friesland, is elected to the post. In honour of his predecessors he takes the name 'Orange-Nassau' (the Principality of Orange had been returned to France with the Treaties of Utrecht in 1713, but the title had stayed with the Dutch).

Stadhouder Princes of Holland (House of Orange-Nassau)
AD 1747 - 1806

The elected title of stadhouder was changed to erfstadhouder (hereditary stadhouder: 'erf' or 'erven' = 'inherit'). The Netherlands remained a republic until the French conquest of 1795.

1747 - 1751

William IV Friso

Stadhouder of Friesland (now one of the seven provinces).

1751 - 1795

William V the Batavian

Declared war on France (1793). Fled to England (1795).

1794 - 1806

In 1795, only a year after joining the First Coalition against republican France, the country is conquered by the French and is renamed the Batavian Republic (Baatafsche Republiek), modelled on the French system.

1806

The French-controlled kingdom of Holland is created by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Kingdom of Holland (Bonaparte)
AD 1806 - 1813

The French-controlled Kingdom of Holland was created by Napoleon Bonaparte as he extended his new model of controlling his captured territories. He placed one of his brothers on the throne.

1806 - 1810

Louis Bonaparte

Brother of Napoleon.

1810

Napoleon throws his brother out of office and draws Holland directly into the French empire.

1810 - 1813

Napoleon Bonaparte

Emperor of France.

1813

Napoleon is forced out of Germany and greatly weakened in Holland. William I raises Dutch forces as part of the British-led Allied Army.

Kingdom of the Netherlands (House of Orange-Nassau)
AD 1813 - Present Day

1813 - 1840

William I

Son of Prince William V. Sovereign of Holland 1813-1815.

1815

The Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Dutch-German army defeats Napoleon's French army at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June in conjunction with the Prussian army, ending 25 years of war in Europe. By the power of the subsequent Congress of Vienna, William is elevated to the status of king to rule the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, incorporating Holland and Belgium. He is also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

1830

Belgium splits from Dutch rule and the following year proclaims its own kingdom. The country shortens its name to Kingdom of the Netherlands.

1840

William abdicates and three years later dies in Berlin.

1840 - 1848

William II

Son. Nicknamed Little Frog by British in the Peninsula War.

1849 - 1890

William III

Son. His own sons predeceased him.

1890

Under Salic Law, The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg cannot be ruled by a woman, so it is granted to a distant relative of William III's.

1890 - 1948

Wilhelmina

Queen. Dau. m Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

1940 - 1945

In the first full year of the Second World War, Wilhelmina and the Dutch Government flee to London to escape the Nazi German army as it makes a lighting strike on the Netherlands and Belgium, and proclaim a Dutch Government in Exile.

1948

Wilhelmina abdicates to make way for her daughter, Juliana.

1948 - 1980

Juliana

Queen. Dau. m Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.

1948 - 2004

Juliana becomes known as the Bicycling Queen, due to her fondness for cycling alone in public in the days before heavy personal security. Juliana abdicates in 1980 in favour of her daughter and remains Princess Juliana until her death on 19 March 2004 from pneumonia.

1975

The Dutch colony of Suriname in South America gains independence as a republic, but the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba remain possessions.

1980 - Present

Beatrix

Queen. Dau. m Claus von Amsberg.

Alexander / William-Alexander / William IV

Heir. m. Argentinean Máxima Zorreguieta on 2 Feb 2002.