Early settlers of Holland settled along the Rhine River Delta around 300 BC; a land of low marshlands continually overrun by the ever changing river paths as the ocean intruded inland during storms. These peoples were of Germanic and Celtic origin.

The Low Countries are marked by spongy soil and humid air. The area was strongly fortified on two sides with the broad arms of the disparted River Rhine and on the third side, the North Sea. The land of the Netherlands is created by the flow of the Rhine into the ocean, bringing with it the materials from the mountains and higher plains and on the opposite, the tides of the ocean bringing in sand and mud. These forces gradually, through time, raised the land marked by an expanse of shallows and lagoons, which are neither land nor water, but a thin consistency, quaking beneath the foot, only to be drowned by the waves in a storm in the North Sea or flooded by the Rhine. It was the fertility of the land that enticed the first settlers into the area, as well as a safe retreat from pursuit.

About 100 BC, the inhabitants abandoned the area, partly in the warriors rush south to assault the Roman Empire and partly due to a tremendous inundation of the ocean, which submerged man of the huts and drowned many of the inhabitants.

Finding the land empty, a Germanic tribe from the Hercynian forest took possession of the land, naming it Betauw ("Good Meadow"). The Germans took possession of the center of the land while the Belgae possessed the coast, stretching into present Belgium. Holland was possessed by the Frisians, a people of both German and Celtic elements.

The settlers to the Low Country began a process of converting the quick sands and swamps into grazing lands and cornfields. They built and maintained the great dykes to defend themselves from the sea and the river.

The Romans defeated the tribes of Belgium (Gallica Balgica) in 50 BC.

The Roman Empire first writes of the people of the Low Country with the tribe Nervii, on the banks of the Sambre. After a decimating battle, the Nervii were exterminated rather than subdued.

The Batavi also fell to the Roman Empire's might but n 70 A.D., the Germanic tribe, Batavi rebelled against the Romans. The Batavi were joined by the Frisians and the Belgae but though Rome was in it's last days, the might of Rome again subdued the tribes of the rebellion. Later, the whole German race would rise against the Empire, marching on Rome itself.

The Batavian's were blended with the Frisian, the Belgic and the Frank, the Netherlanders, though the Germanic element predominated during the time of Charlemagne.

The Netherlands have been overrun and controlled by foreigners, including the Romans, the Vikings and a feudal system that led to the Duchy of Burgundy.

Archaeological excavations have shown that Antwerp was settled as early as the second or third century A.D. Antwerp, like many Flemish cities, was established around two settlements: the alluvial mound "aanwerp" from which the city derives its name and Caloes about five hundred meters to the south. In the seventh century, a fortification was built on the mound. The Normans destroyed that "castellum" when Antwerp became part of Lorraine.

As part of the Roman Empire, the Netherlands northern border was the river Rhine. North of the Rhine, the kingdoms were independent. About 400 A.D., Rome retreated and the German and Celtic tribes settled in this region. The southern Netherlands came under the authority of the Franks while the Northern Lowlands was known as Fries or Frisia until the defeat of Radboud in 690. By 785, the total territory of the Netherlands was governed by the Franks.

St.Servaas moved the Bishop's seat to Maastricht in 382 A.D., beginning the Catholic religion in the Low Countries.

Charlemagne controlled the Low Countries in 800 A.D. The reign of Charlemagne destroyed the free institutions and government in Holland and substituted feudalism, or the government of the sword. Commerce began to flow and was well established by the 13th century.

The period of 800-900 A.D. were marked by Viking raids, some from the Viking base in Utrecht.

In 922, Viking king, Dirk I landed and established himself in this area after being granted lands in Haarlem by Charles the Simple, the last of the Calovingian line. Count Dirk I also founded the Egmont Benedictine monastery. Dirk I died 939. Simultaneous to the possession of the northern Netherlands by Dirk I, Henry the Fowler of Germany acquired the southern portion of the Low Country. Dirk was preceded by Gerulf II, who ruled 885. Prior to Gerulf II, Gerulf I ruled 839-856. Dirk I was succeeded by Dirk II (953-988).

In the tenth century, Antwerp became a border province (margraviate) of the Holy Roman Empire, the border being the river Scheldt. On the other side of the river, lay Flanders.

The first Count in Holland to use Holland in his title was Dirk III, Count of Holland in 1018.

During the Dark Ages, kings, dukes, counts and bishops established themselves in the Netherlands. Their origin is unknown but it is known that the suppressed the people using strong armies with knights.

During the Middle Ages, the Lowlands were shaped by a group of autonomous Duchies like Gelre, Brabant, Limburg and Flanders and Counties like Holland, Zeeland and Frisia, as well as the Dioceses: Utrecht, Luik (Liege), Keulen (Koln), Metz and others.

Originally the Netherlands and Holland were not the same. The only thing they had in common was that they were both in the Lowlands and that they were a "Vassal" state to the Kings in Germany (the Roman Empire) and the Kings of France and later the Habsburg Empire.

During the Middle Ages, the area that later became the Netherlands was owned by several Counts (Vassals). The first Count of mention was Count Gerolf of Holland who lived 850-896. Until the eleventh century, Holland was called Frisia or Friesland. Other neighboring Counties, Duchies and Dioceses were Gelre, Hengouwen, Burgundy, Flanders, Kennemerland, Rhineland, Kleef (Cleve), Brabant, Luxembourg, Utrecht, Luik (Liege), Keulen (Koln), Metz and others.

Naarden, the original capital of Holland, was founded 800-900 A.D. It is located between Amsterdam and Utrecht. The original name was Naruthi (small river) and originally it was owned by the bishops of Utrecht. It was one of the largest cities in the Netherlands by 1131 and recognized by many as the capital of the Netherlands. Otto I, Emperor of Germany, gave the control of the city to the monks of Eelde, or more particularly to the owner of the monastery, Count Wichman II van Hamaland. The shield for Naarden, a black eagle sitting on a gold background, was given to the city by Otto I.

The eighth through the eleventh century in the Lowlands are obscure. It is known that there was a great deal of internal strife between the Duchies, Counties and Dioceses. The power of the Roman Catholic Church was extremely dominant.

In 1205, van Amstel built the castle near the Amstell and Ij Rivers and in 1222 the Amstel River was dammed and Amstelledamme was created.

The earliest history of the counts of Holland date from about 1230 and were gathered by the monks of the Abbey of Egmond (West Frisia).

In old Dutch, Holland means "Woodland" but there are some theories that it is a Viking name. There is an area in Sweden called "Halland" and its weapon shield closely resembles that of Holland (a lion on a shield). Until the tenth century, the Vikings often visited this area. Prior to being called Holland, the area was known as Frisia and its people, Frisians. Many wars were fought by the counts of Holland against that part still called West-Frisia.

At one time, Holland was an independent country with a Count, its own coinage, measuring units and time.

Most of the counts in Holland took part in the Crusades in the ninth through the twelfth century because the Pope ordered them to do so in return of which they should receive power over their own lands. Many lost their lives in the Crusades, as well as the struggles between the Counties, Duchies and Dioceses. If they survived and returned from the Crusades, they did receive a County somewhere in Europe. The struggles between the nobles, Emperors, Kings, bishops and knights agaist the people would last until the 18th century.

In order to defend themselves against "strange" nobles and their armies, the people built walls around their cities. The stronghold cities of Europe and the Lowlands were born in this fashion.

William I (r1205-1222) died in Egypt during the Crusades. William II reigned 1234-1256 and almost became the Holy Roman Emperor.

The earliest cities in the Lowlands were Dordrecht, Delft, Leiden, Haarlem in Holland, Middleburg in Zeeland, Ghent, Brugge and Brussels in Belgium, Maastricht in Limburg and Keulen, Aken and others in Germany. In 1300, Amsterdam received a charter from the Bishop of Utrecht. In 1334, Oude Kerk was founded in Amsterdam.

Willem I was the first Count who promoted the cities. He was followed by Floris IV who ruled 1222-1234. His successor was Floris V (1256-1296), grandson of William II, who was the king responsible for the treaty between King Edward I of England and King Adolf of Germany in 1294.

Always a fortress town, Naarden has always held the duty of protecting the land against invaders. Count Floris V of Holland and Zeeland built the first stone fortress along the river Vecht. This position ensured control of all trade on the estuary of the river. Count Floris V was stabbed to death in 1296 on the banks of the Naardermeer in a conspiracy by the former landowners, the bishops of Utrecht. Following his death, Naarden fell under the leadership of Bishop William van Mechelin.

By the 1300's commerce was well-established and confederations of trading towns arose with their charters of freedom and leagues of mutual defense, greatly modifying the state of society in Europe. These confederated cities were free republics functioning in the heart of despotic empires. The first to arise into eminence were Ghent and Bruges, with Bruges trading with the East through the Mediterranean. The merchants grew to great wealth, their daughters dressed more richly than the queen of France.

Merchants of Lombardy brought to Burges the wares of Asia from whence they were distributed across Europe. In the next century, Antwerp's waters enjoyed five hundred vessels a day at her ports and 2,000 carriages carrying merchandise into her gates every week. Venice, Verona, Nuremberg and Bruges were the links in the chain to the Eastern trade. In Venice the arts flourished with experts in weaving and embroidered cloth, engraved iron, jewels in gold, silver and brass.

At the end of the fifteenth century, Holland and Flanders had come to rival the East. The countryside was richly cultivated. Their cities numerous, enclosed with strong ramparts and adorned with superb public buildings and sumptuous churches. Ancient charters guaranteed their rights and privileges. Government was by a senate granted legislative, judicial and administrative powers, which was subject to a Supreme Council held at Mechlin. The artisans and weavers were divided into guilds, electing their own deans and rulers. Every workshop could, at a moments notice, be transformed into an army, prepared to defend their city with their life.

Flanders was more prosperous than Holland. Holland concentrated on its internal resources, especially the sea and established the most skillful and adventurous seamen in Europe.

The Spanish Civil War began in 1350 and was to last eighty years. One of the most powerful nations in Europe, Spain controlled a powerful fleet of ships. Many Dutch nationals died at the hands of the Spanish and Naarden was razed to the ground. In 1400, Naarden was rebuilt twenty miles further north than the original city and with an emphasis on defense. Twice during the Napoleonic Wars, Naarden was captured by the French and by the Prussians.

In 1421, the Amsterdam fire occurred and St. Elizabeth was flooded.

Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, took Holland and Zeeland from Jacoba in 1428. He was succeeded in 1467 by Charles the Bold.

In 1477, the death of Charles the Bold led to the intrusion of the Hapsburg power in Austria. Mary of Burgundy, Charles' heir, married Maximillian of the Hapsburg Empire and was forced to concede the Netherlands in favor of Austro-Hungarian control that was to last almost a century.

Spanish domination began in 1555 and lasted until 1581 when the Republic of the United Provinces was created, leading to the Golden Age and the formation of the Dutch East and West India Companies heralding nearly two hundred years of relatively unbroken prosperity.

 

 

 

The Reformation in Holland

The liberties of the Netherlands were in great peril at the outbreak of the Reformation. Under the control of the Burgundo-Austrian monarchs for a century, their rights had steadily been encroached upon. The charters of the cities had become nominal and their senates were subject to the Supreme Court at Mechlin.

Emperor Charles V assumed the throne in 1555 and succeeded by his son, Philip II.

In the thirteenth century, the Church of Rome in the Netherlands was flourishing in power and riches. "The Bishops of Utrecht had become the Popes of the North" and had become virtually independent of Rome. These bishops held all the privileges but none of the responsibilities of the State. While they taxed others, they themselves paid taxes to no one. Immorality was unrestrained among the bishops, for which they were accountable to no one. Anyone who dared to complain was immediately banned by the Church.

References

History of Protestantism in the Netherlands. Vol III Book 18. Wyle, James A.