Chapter V: CHLODWIG KARL VICTOR, prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst (6)

The aggressive policy of Louis XIV. in the years that followed the peace of Nymwegen enabled William to lay the foundations of the famous confederacy which changed the whole aspect of European politics. The league of Augsburg (1686), which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes, placed Orange 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 natural successors to the throne on the death of James II., and William kept up close relations with the malcontents in Church and State, who disliked the arbitrary and papistical policy of his father-in-law. But with the birth of a prince of Wales the situation was changed, and William determined to intervene actively in English affairs. His opportunity came when Louis XIV., having declared war against the Empire, had invaded the Palatinate. The opposition of Amsterdam to an English expedition, in the absence of danger from the side of France, was overcome. The Revolution of 1688 ensued, and England became, under William's strong rule, the chief member of the Great Coalition against French aggression. In the Grand Alliance of 1689-1690 he was accused of sacrificing Dutch to English interests, but there can be no doubt that William loved his native country better than his adopted one, and was a true patriot. If the United Provinces suffered in prosperity through their close relations with and subordination to Great Britain during a long series of years, it was due not to the policy of William, but to the fact that the territory of the republic was small, open to attack by great military powers, and devoid of natural resources. The stadholder's authority and popularity continued unimpaired, despite of his frequent absences in England. He had to contend, like his predecessors, with the perennial hostility of the burgher aristocracy of Amsterdam, and at times with other refractory town councils, but his power in the States during his life was almost autocratic. His task was rendered lighter by the influence and ability of Heinsius, the grand pensionary of Holland, a wise and prudent statesman, whose tact and moderation in dealing with the details and difficulties of internal administration were conspicuous. The stadholder gave to Heinsius his fullest confidence, and the pensionary on his part loyally supported William's policy and placed his services ungrudgingly at his disposal (see HEINSIUS).

War with France.

Peace of Ryswick.

Death of William III.

The conduct of the war by the allies was far from successful. In 1690 (July 1st) Waldeck was defeated by Luxemburg at Fleurus; and the Anglo-Dutch fleet was so severely handled by Tourville (10th July) off Beachy Head that for two years the command of the sea remained in the possession of the French. A striking victory off Cape la Hogue (29th of May 1692) restored, however, supremacy to the allies. On land the combined armies fared ill. In 1691 the French took Mons, and in 1692 Namur, in which year after a hard-fought battle William was defeated at Steenkirk and in 1693 at Neerwinden. But William's military genius never shone so brightly as in the hour of defeat; he never knew what it was to be beaten, and in 1695 his recapture of Namur was a real triumph of skill and resolution. At last, after long negotiations, exhaustion compelled the French king to sign the peace of Ryswick in 1697, in which William was recognized by France as king of England, the Dutch obtaining a favourable commercial treaty, and the right to garrison the Netherland barrier towns. This peace, however, did no more than afford a breathing space during which Louis XIV. prepared for a renewal of the struggle. The great question of the Spanish succession was looming in all men's eyes, and though partition treaties between the interested powers were concluded in 1698 and 1700, it is practically certain that the French king held himself little bound by them. In 1701 he elbowed the Dutch troops out of the barrier towns; he defied England by recognizing James III. on the death of his father; and it was clear that another war was imminent when William III. died in 1702.

Stadholderless Government.

In 1672 the stadholdership in five provinces had been made hereditary in the family of the prince of Orange, but William died childless, and the republican burgher party was strong enough to prevent the posts being filled up. William had wished that his cousin, Count John William Friso of Nassau, stadholder of Friesland and Groningen, should succeed him, but his extreme youth and the jealousy of Holland against a "Frisian" stood in the way of his election. The result was a want of unity in counsel and action among the provinces, Friesland and Groningen standing aloof from the other five, while Holland and Zeeland had to pay for their predominance in the Union by being left to bear the bulk of the charges. Fortunately there was no break of continuity in the policy of the States, the chief conduct of affairs remaining, until his death in 1720, in the capable and tried hands of the grand pensionary Heinsius, who had at his side a number of exceptionally experienced and wise counsellors--among these Simon van Slingeland, for forty-five years (1680-1725) secretary of the council of state, and afterwards grand pensionary of Holland (1727-1736), and Francis Fagel, who succeeded his father in 1699 as recorder (_Griffier_) of the States-General, and held that important office for fifty years. The tradition of William III. was thus preserved, but with the loss of the firm hand and strong personality of that great ruler the United Provinces were relegated to a subordinate place in the councils of the nations, and with the gradual decadence of its navy the Dutch republic ceased to rank as a power to be reckoned with.

War of the Spanish Succession.

Treaty of Utrecht.

In the War of the Spanish Succession, which broke out in 1702, Dutch troops took part in the campaigns of Marlborough and Eugene, and had their share in winning the great victories of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708) and Malplaquet (1709). At the peace of Utrecht, concluded in 1713, the interests of the Netherlands were but half-heartedly supported by the English plenipotentiaries, and the French were able to obtain far more favourable terms than they had the power to exact. But they were compelled to abandon all claim to the Spanish Netherlands, which were formally handed over to the United Provinces, as trustees, to be by them, after the conclusion of a satisfactory barrier treaty, given up to the emperor, and be known henceforth as the Austrian Netherlands. The peace of Utrecht taught the Dutch that the great powers around them, while ready to use their resources for war, would not scruple to abandon them when they wanted peace; they, therefore, determined henceforth to stand clear of all foreign complications. With 1713 the influence of the United Netherlands upon European politics comes almost to an end.

Peace policy.

Ostend East India Company.

War of the Austrian Succession.

Revolution of 1747.

William IV.

The ruling party in the States took an active part in securing George I. on the throne of England; and they succeeded in coming to an agreement both with France and with Austria over the difficulties connected with the barrier towns, and were thus able in tranquillity to concentrate their energies upon furthering the interests of their trade. Under the close oligarchical rule of the patrician families, who filled all offices in the town councils, the States of Holland, in which the influence of Amsterdam was dominant, and which in their turn exercised predominance in the States-General, became more and more an assembly of "shopkeepers" whose policy was to maintain peace for the sake of the commerce on which they thrived. For thirty years after the peace of Utrecht the Provinces kept themselves free from entanglement in the quarrels of their neighbours. The foundation of the Ostend East India Company (see OSTEND COMPANY), however, by the emperor Joseph II. in 1723, at once aroused the strong opposition of the Amsterdam merchants who looked upon this invasion of their monopoly with alarm, and declared that the Ostend Company had been set up in contravention to the terms of Article V. of the treaty of Munster. In maintaining this position the States had the support of England, but it was not until 1731 that they succeeded in obtaining the suppression of the company by consenting to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI. This step led in 1743 to their being involved in the War of the Austrian Succession, and thus being drawn into hostilities with France, which invaded the barrier country. In 1744 they formed with Great Britain, Austria and Saxony, a Quadruple Alliance, and put a contingent of troops in the field. The Dutch took an active part in the campaign of 1745 and suffered heavily at Fontenoy, after which battle Marshal Saxe overran the Austrian Netherlands. The French captured all the barrier towns, and in 1747 entered Dutch Flanders and made an easy conquest. The United Provinces, as in 1672, seemed to lie at the mercy of their enemies, and as in that eventful year, popular feeling broke down the opposition of the burgher oligarchies, and turned to William IV., prince of Orange, as the saviour of the state. John William Friso had died young in 1711, leaving a posthumous son, William Charles Henry Friso, who was duly elected stadholder by the two provinces, Friesland and Groningen, which were always faithful to his family, and in 1722 he became also, though with very limited powers, stadholder of Gelderland. The other provinces, however, under pressure from Holland, bound themselves not to elect stadholders, and they refused to revive the office of captain-general of the Union. By the conquest of Dutch Flanders Zeeland was threatened, and the states of that province, in which there were always many Orange partisans, elected (April 1747) William stadholder, captain-general and admiral of Zeeland. The example once given was infectious, and was followed in rapid succession by Holland, Utrecht and Overysel. Finally the States-General (May 4) appointed the prince, who was the first member of his family to be stadholder of all the seven provinces, captain and admiral-general of the Union, and a little later these offices were declared hereditary in both the male and female lines.

Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Death of William IV.

Anne of England Regent.

William IV., though not a man of great ability, was sincerely anxious to do his utmost for securing the maintenance of peace, and the development of the resources and commercial prosperity of the country, and his powerful dynastic connexions (he had married Anne, eldest daughter of George II.) gave him weight in the councils of Europe. The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, in which the influence of Great Britain was exerted on behalf of the States, though it nominally restored the old condition of things, left the Provinces crippled by debt, and fallen low from their old position among the nations. At first the stadholder's efforts to promote the trade and welfare of the country were hampered by the distrust and opposition of Amsterdam, and other strongholds of anti-Orange feeling, and just as his good intentions were becoming more generally recognized, William unfortunately died, on the 22nd of October 1751, aged forty years, leaving his three-year-old son, William V., heir to his dignities. The princess Anne of England became regent, but she had a difficult part to play, and on the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in which the Provinces were determined to maintain neutrality, her English leanings brought much unpopularity upon her. She died in 1759, and for the next seven years the regency passed into the hands of the States, and the government was practically stadholderless.

William V.

The Armed Neutrality.

War with England.

Peace of Paris.

In 1766 William V. was declared to be of age; and his accession to power was generally welcomed. He was, however, a weak man, without energy or resolution, and he allowed himself to be entirely led by his old guardian the duke of Brunswick, and by his wife Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia, a woman of marked ability, to whom he entirely deferred. In the American War of Independence William's sympathies were strongly on the English side, while those of the majority of the Dutch people were with the revolted colonies. It is, however, certain that nothing would have driven the Provinces to take part in the war but for the overbearing attitude of the British government with regard to the right of neutral shipping upon the seas, and the heavy losses sustained by Dutch commerce at the hands of British privateers. The famous agreement, known as the "Armed Neutrality," with which in 1780 the States of the continent at the instigation of Catherine II. of Russia replied to the maritime claims put forward by Great Britain drew the Provinces once more into the arena of European politics. Every effort was made by the English to prevent the Dutch from joining the league, and in this they were assisted by the stadholder, but at last the States-General, though only by the bare majority of four provinces against three, determined to throw in their lot with the opponents of England. Nothing could have been more unfortunate, for the country was not ready for war, and party spirit was too strong for united action to be taken or vigorous preparations to be made. When war broke out Dutch commerce was destroyed, and the Dutch colonies were at the mercy of the English fleet without the possibility of a blow being struck in their defence. An indecisive, but bravely fought action with Admiral Parker at the Dogger Bank showed, however, that the Dutch seamen had lost none of their old dogged courage, and did much to soothe the national sense of humiliation. In the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris (1783) the Dutch found themselves abandoned by their allies, and compelled to accept the disadvantageous but not ungenerous terms accorded to them by Great Britain. They had to sacrifice some of their East Indian possessions and to concede to the English freedom of trade in the Eastern seas.

The "Patriot" Party.

Intervention of the King of Prussia.

Difficulty with the Emperor.

Prussian Invasion.

Restoration to power of William V.

One result of this humiliating and disastrous war was the strengthening 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, who had been mainly responsible for the Provinces joining "the Armed Neutrality," but the consequences of the war, in which this act had involved them, was largely visited upon the prince of Orange. The "patriot" party did their utmost to curtail his prerogatives, and harass him with petty insults, and at last the Prussian king was obliged to interfere to save his niece, who was even more unpopular than her weak husband, from being driven from the country. In 1784 the emperor Joseph II. took advantage of the dissensions in the Provinces to raise the question of the opening of the Scheldt. He himself was, however, no more prepared for attack than the Republic for defence, but the Dutch had already sunk so low, that they agreed to pay a heavy indemnity to induce the Austrians to drop a demand they were unable to enforce. To hold the mouth of the Scheldt and prevent at all costs a revival of Antwerp as a commercial port had been for two centuries a cardinal point of Dutch policy. This difficulty removed, the agitation of the "patriots" against the stadholderate form of government increased in violence, and William speedily found his position untenable. An insult offered to the prince of Orange in 1787 led to an invasion of the country by a Prussian army. Amsterdam capitulated, the country was occupied, and the patriot leaders declared incapable of holding any office. The Orange party was completely triumphant, and William V., under the protection of Prussia and England, with which states the United Provinces were compelled to ally themselves, was restored to power. It was, however, impossible to make the complicated and creaking machinery of the constitution of the worn-out republic of the United Netherlands work smoothly, and in all probability it would have been within a very short time replaced by an hereditary monarchy, had not the cataclysm of the French Revolution swept it away from its path, never to be revived.

The French invade the Netherlands.

Overthrow of the Stadholderate.

Flight of William V.

The Batavian Republic.

Changes of Government.

When war broke out between the French revolutionary government and the coalition of kings, the Provinces remained neutral as long as they could. It was not till Dumouriez had overrun all the Austrian 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 the country was delayed until 1795. In the closing months of 1794 Pichegru, at the head of a large and victorious army, invaded the Provinces. The very severe frost of that winter gave his troops an easy passage over all the rivers and low-lying lands; town after town fell before him; he occupied Amsterdam, and crossing the ice with his cavalry took the Dutch fleet, as it lay frost-bound at the Texel. The stadholder and his family fled to England, and the disorganized remnants of the allied forces under the duke of York retreated into Germany. The "patriots," as the anti-Orange republicans still styled themselves, received the French with open arms and public rejoicings, and the government was reorganized so as to bring it into close harmony with that of Paris. The stadholderate, the offices of captain and admiral-general, and all the ancient organization of the United Netherlands were abolished, and were transformed into the Batavian Republic, in close alliance with France. But the Dutch had soon cause to regret their revolutionary ardour. French alliance meant French domination, and participation in the wars of the Revolution. Its consequences were the total ruin of Dutch commerce, and the seizure of all the Dutch colonies by the English. Internally one change of government succeeded another; after the States-General came a national convention; then in 1798 a constituent assembly with an executive directory; then chambers of representatives; then a return to the earlier systems under the names of the eight provincial and one central Commissions (1801). These changes were the outcome of a gradual reaction in a conservative direction.

Constitution of 1805.

Louis Bonaparte King of Holland.

The Sovereign Prince.

Creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Hundred Days.

William I. crowned at Brussels.

Constitution of the Netherlands.

The peace of Amiens gave the country a little rest, and the Dutch got back the Cape of Good Hope and their West Indian colonies; it was, however, but the brief and deceptive interlude between two storms; when war began again England once more took possession of all she had restored. In 1805 the autocratic will of Napoleon Bonaparte imposed upon them a new constitution, and Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (1765-1825) was made, under the ancient 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 of dependent sovereignties, by means of which he sought to build up a universal empire, and he forced his brother Louis to be the unwilling king of an unwilling people. The new king was a man of excellent intentions and did his best to promote the interest of his subjects, but finding himself unable to protect them from the despotic overlordship of his brother, after a four years' reign, Louis abdicated. In 1810 the Northern Netherlands by decree of Napoleon were incorporated in the French empire, and had to bear the burdens of conscription and of a crushing weight of taxation. The defeat of Leipzig in 1813 was the signal for a general revolt in the Netherlands; the prince of Orange (son of William V.) was recalled, and amidst general rejoicing accepted at Amsterdam the offer of the sovereignty under a free constitution (Dec. 1, 1813), with the title of sovereign prince. On the downfall of Napoleon the great powers determined to create in the Low Countries a powerful state, and by the treaty of London (June 14, 1814) the Belgians were united with the Dutch provinces to form the kingdom of the Netherlands, which was also to include the bishopric of Liege and the duchy of Bouillon, and the prince of Orange was placed upon the throne on the 15th of March 1815 as William I., king of the Netherlands (see WILLIAM I., king of the Netherlands). The ancestral possessions of the House of Nassau were exchanged for Luxemburg, of which territory King William in his personal capacity became grand duke. The carrying out of the treaty was delayed by the Hundred Days' campaign, which for a short time threatened its very existence. The daring invasion of Napoleon, however, afforded the Dutch and Belgian contingents of the allied army the opportunity to fight side by side under the command of William, prince of Orange, eldest son of the new king, who highly distinguished himself by his gallantry at Quatre Bras, and afterwards at Waterloo where he was wounded (see WILLIAM II., king of the Netherlands). The Congress of Vienna confirmed the arrangements made by the treaty of London, and William I. was crowned king of the Netherlands at Brussels on the 27th of September 1815. Under the constitution the king, as hereditary sovereign, possessed full executive powers, and the initiative in proposing laws. He had the power of appointing his own council of state. The legislative body bore the time-honoured title of States-General, and was divided into an Upper Chamber nominated by the king, and a Lower Chamber elected by the people. Freedom of worship, freedom of the press, and political equality were principles of the constitution, guaranteed to all.

Difference between the Dutch and Belgic provinces.

The Belgian Revolution.

Reign of William II.

Accession of William III.

The Constitution of 1848.

Political parties in the Netherlands.

The union of the Dutch and Belgian provinces, like so many of the territorial arrangements of the Congress of Vienna, was an attempt to create a strong state out of diverse and jarring elements. It was an artificial union, which nothing but consummate tact and statesmanship could have rendered permanent and solid. North and south were divided from one another by religious belief, by laws and usages, by material interests, and by two centuries and a half of widely severed national life. The Belgians were strict Catholics, the Dutch Calvinistic Protestants. The Dutch were chiefly a commercial and seafaring people, with interests in distant lands and colonial possessions; the Belgians were agriculturists, except where their abundance of minerals made them manufacturers. The national traits of the Dutch were a blend of German and English, the national leaning of the Belgians was towards France and French ideals. Nevertheless the materials were there out of which a really broad-minded and conciliatory handling of religion and racial difficulties might have gradually built up a Netherland nation able to hold from its population and resources a considerable place among European powers. For it must not be forgotten that some two-thirds of the Belgian people are by origin and language of the same race as the Dutch. But when difficulties and differences arose between North and South, as they were sure to arise, they were not dealt with wisely. The king had good intentions, but his mind was warped by Dutch prejudices, and he was ill-advised and acted unadvisedly. The 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 independent kingdom. The final settlement of outstanding questions between the two countries was not reached till 1839 (for an account of the Belgian Revolution, see BELGIUM). King William I. in the following year, having become unpopular through his resistance to reform, resigned his crown to his son William II., who reigned in peace till his death in 1849, when he was succeeded by his eldest son William III. (see WILLIAM III., king of the Netherlands). His accession marked the beginning of constitutional government in the Netherlands. William I. had been to a large extent a personal ruler, but William II., though for a time following in his father's steps, had been moved by the revolutionary outbreaks of 1848 to concede a revision of the constitution. The fundamental law of 1848 enacted that the first chamber of the States-General should be elected by the Provincial Estates instead of being appointed by the king, and that the second chamber should be elected directly by all persons paying a certain amount in taxation. Ministers were declared responsible to the States-General, and a liberal measure of self-government was also granted. During the long reign of William III. (1849-1890) the chief struggles of parties in the Netherlands centred round religious education. On the one side are the liberals, divided into moderates and progressives, the representatives to a large extent of the commercial towns. Opposed to them is the coalition of the orthodox Protestant conservatives, styled anti-revolutionaries, supported by the Calvinistic peasantry, and the Catholics, who represent about one-third of the population and have their headquarters in Dutch Brabant, Dutch Flanders and Limburg. There is also in the Netherlands a small, but very strenuous socialist party, which was founded by the active propaganda of an ex-pastor Domela-Nieuwenhuis. It draws its chief strength from Amsterdam and certain country districts of Friesland.

Religious education.

The liberals were in power from 1871 to 1888 continuously, but a Catholic-anti-revolutionary ministry under Baron Mackay held office from 1888 to 1891, and again a coalition ministry was formed in 1901 with Dr Kuyper at its head. From 1894 to 1897 a ministry of moderate liberals supported by a large part of the Catholic and anti-revolutionary parties were in power. The constitution of 1848 made it the duty of the state to provide free primary secular education, but it allowed to members of all creeds the liberty of establishing private schools, and this was carried into effect by a law passed in 1857 by the joint efforts of the liberals and Catholics against the opposition of the orthodox Calvinists. But the long liberal ascendancy closed the ranks of the Catholic-Calvinist coalition, and united them against the neutral schools, and in 1889 they were able to pass a law enabling not only the unsectarian public schools, but all private schools organized by societies and bodies recognized by the law to receive subventions from the state. In 1890 there were 3000 public schools with 450,000 scholars and 1300 private schools with 195,000 scholars.

Extension of the suffrage.

Military service.

The subject of the extension of the franchise has also been the cause of violent party strife and controversy. It was taken in hand as early as 1872, but as a revision of the constitution was necessary, no change was actually carried out till 1887. The law of that year lowered the qualification of the payer of a direct tax to 10 fl. Votes were given to all householders paying a certain _minimum_ house duty, and to all lodgers who had for a given time paid a _minimum_ of rent, also to all who possessed certain educational and social qualifications, whose definition was left to be specified by a later law. The passing of such a law was deferred by the coalition (Catholic-Orthodox) ministry of 1888-1891. The liberal ministry of 1891 attempted to deal with the question, and a proposal was made by the minister Tak van Poortvliet, which almost amounted to universal suffrage. The educational qualification was to be able to write, the social that of not receiving charitable relief. This proposal caused a cleavage right through all parties. It was supported by the radical left, by a 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 of the Catholics, and a few radicals under an influential leader van Houten. After a fierce electoral fight the Takkians were victors 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 the van Houten project. It gave the right of voting to all Dutchmen over twenty-five years of age, who paid 1 fl. in direct taxation; were householders or lodgers as defined in 1887, or tenants of a vessel of, at least, 24 tons; were the recipients of certain salaries or had certain deposits in the public funds or savings banks. By this reform the number of electors, which had been raised in 1887 from 140,000 to 300,000, was augmented to 700,000. The question of universal military service has also divided parties. The principle of personal service has been strongly opposed by the Catholics and conservatives, but became the law of the land in 1898, though exemptions were conceded in favour of ecclesiastics and certain classes of students.

The Achin war.

The long-continued and costly wars with the sultan of Achin have during a series of years been a source of trouble to Dutch ministries. In 1871-1872 Great Britain, in exchange for certain possessions of Holland on the coast of Guinea, agreed to recognize the right of the Dutch to occupy the north of Sumatra. The sultan of Achin opposed by force of arms the efforts of the Dutch to make their occupation effective, and has succeeded in maintaining a vigorous resistance, the Dutch colonial troops suffering severely from the effects of the insalubrious climate. Until 1871 the surplus derived from the colonial budget had been turned into a deficit, and the necessity of imposing fresh taxes to meet the war expenses has led to the downfall both of individual ministries and of cabinets.

Queen Wilhelmina.

William III. dying in 1890 was succeeded by his only surviving child, Wilhelmina. The new queen being a minor, her mother, the queen-dowager Emma, became regent. One effect of the accession of Queen Wilhelmina was the severance of the bond between the Netherlands and Luxemburg. The grand duchy, being hereditary only in the male line, passed to the nearest agnate, the duke of Nassau. In 1898 the queen, having reached the age of eighteen, assumed the government. She married in 1901 Prince Henry of Mecklenburg. The outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 led to a strong outburst of sympathy among the Dutch on behalf of their kinsmen in South Africa, and there were times during the war, especially after President Kruger had fled from the Transvaal in a Dutch war vessel and had settled in Holland, when it was a task of some difficulty for the Dutch government to prevent the relations between Great Britain and the Netherlands from becoming strained. The ministry, however, under Dr Kuyper were able to keep the popular feeling in favour of the Boers in restraint, and to maintain towards Great Britain a correct attitude of strict neutrality. In 1903 the government took strong measures to prevent a threatened general strike of railway employees, the military were called out, and occupied the stations. A bill was passed by the States-General declaring railway strikes illegal. The elections of 1905 for the Second Chamber gave the liberals a narrow majority of four. Dr Kuyper accordingly resigned, and a moderate liberal cabinet was formed by Th. H. de Meester. The fact that up to 1908 the queen had not become a mother gradually caused some public concern as to the succession; but in 1909 Queen Wilhelmina, amid national rejoicings, gave birth to a princess.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--See (for the general history) J. Wagenaar,
_Vaderlandsche historie_, to 1751 (21 vols., 1749-1759); continuation
by 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 van den Bos (Lambertus
Sylvius) (4 vols., 1685-1699). The work of Aitzema contains a large
number of important diplomatic and other documents; A. de Wicquefort,
_Histoire des provinces des Pays-Bas depuis la paix de Munster_
(1648-1658) (2 vols., 1719-1743); in these volumes 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 the People 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 annees de
republique parlementaire au 17me siecle. Jean de Witt, grand
pensionnaire de Hollande_ (1884); E. C. de Gerlache, _Histoire du
royaume des Pays-Bas 1814-1830_ (3 vols., 1859); Bosch J. de Kemper,
_Geschiedenis van Nederland na 1830_ (5 vols., 1873-1882); also the
following important works: Groen G. van Prinsterer, _Archives ou
correspondance inedite de la maison d'Orange-Nassau_, 2^e serie
(1584-1688) (5 vols., 1857-1860); J. de Witt, _Brieven (1652-1669)_ (6
vols., 1723-1725); A. Kluit, _Historie der Hollandsche Staatsregering
tot 1795_ (5 vols., 1802-1805); G. W. Vreede, _Inleiding tot eene
geschiedenis der Nederlandsche diplomatic_ (6 vols., 1850-1865); J. C.
de Jonge, _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, _Geschiedenis
der Nederlanders buiten Europa_ (4 vols., 1833); W. J. A. Jonckbloet,
_Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Letterkunde_ (2 vols. 1881); C. Busken
Huet, _Het Land van Rembrandt-studien over de Nordnederlandsche
beschaving in de 17^e eeuw_ (2 vols., 1886); L. D. Petit, _Repertorium
der verhandelingen en bijdragen betreffende de geschiedenis des
Vaterlands in tijdschriften en mengel werken tot op 1900 verschenen_,
2 parts (1905); other parts of this valuable _repertorium_ are in
course of publication. (G. E.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] At Maastricht, however, a portion lies on the left bank of the
river, measured, according to the treaty with Belgium, 19th of April
1839, art. 4, by an average radius of 1200 Dutch fathoms (7874 ft.)
from the outer glacis of the fortress.

[2] The datum plane, or basis of the measurement of heights, is
throughout Holland, and also in some of the border districts of
Germany, the _Amsterdamsch Peil_ (A.P.), or Amsterdam water-level,
and represents the average high water-level of the Y at Amsterdam at
the time when it was still open to the Zuider Zee. Local and
provincial "peils" are, however, also in use on some waterways.

[3] See J. Lorie, _Contributions a la geologie des Pays-bas_
(1885-1895), _Archives du Mus. Teyler_ (Haarlem), ser. 2, vol. ii.
pp. 109-240, vol. iii. pp. 1-160, 375-461, vol. iv. pp. 165-309 and
_Bull. soc. belge geol._ vol. iii. (1889); _Mem._ pp. 409-449; F. W.
Harmer, "On the Pliocene Deposits of Holland," &c., _Quart. Journ.
Geol. Soc., London_, vol. lii. (1896) pp. 748-781, pls. xxxiv., xxxv.

[4] The dates indicate the period of construction of the different
sections.

[5] For the history of the Netherlands previous to the confederacy of
the northern provinces in 1579 see NETHERLANDS.

HOLLAND, COUNTY AND PROVINCE OF.--The first mention of Holland in any document is found in an imperial _gift brief_ dated May 2nd, 1064. In this the phrase "_omnis comitatus in Hollandt_" occurs, but without any further description of the locality indicated. A comparison with other documentary evidence, however, leads to the identification of Holland with the _forestum Merweda_, or the bush-grown fenland lying between the Waal, the old Meuse and the Merwe. It is the district surrounding the town of Dordrecht. A portion of the original Holland was submerged by a great inundation in 1421, and its modern appellation of Biesbosch (reed-forest) is descriptive of what must have been the condition of the entire district in early times. The word Holland is indeed by many authorities thought to be a corruption of Holt-land (it was sometimes so spelt by 13th-century writers) and to signify wood-land. The earliest spelling is, however, Holland, and it is more probable that it means lowlying-land (hol = hollow), a derivation which is equally applicable to the district in Lincolnshire which bears the same name.

The first Count of Holland.

The title count of Holland appears to have been first borne by the Frisian count Dirk III., who founded Dordrecht (about 1015) and made it his residence (see below). It was not, however, till late in the 11th century that his successors adopted the style "_Hollandensis comes_" as their territorial designation (it is found for the first time on a seal of Dirk V. 1083), and that the name Holland became gradually extended northwards to connote all the land subject to the rule of the counts between Texel and the Maas.

Dirk I.

Dirk II.

Extent of his dominions.

Arnulf.

Dirk III.

Foundation of Dordrecht.

Defeat of Godfrey of Lorraine.

Beginning of the County of Holland.

The beginnings of the history of this feudal state (the later Holland) centre round the abbey of Egmont in whose archives its records have been preserved. In 922 Charles the Simple gave in full possession to a count in Frisia, Dirk by name (a shortened form of Diederic, Latin Theodoricus), "the church of Egmont with all that belonged to it from Swithardeshage to Kinhem." This man, usually known as Dirk I., died about 939 and was succeeded by his son of the same name. Among the records of the abbey of Egmont is a document by which the emperor Arnulf gave to a certain count Gerolf the same land "between Swithardeshage and Kinhem," afterwards held by Dirk I. It is generally assumed that this Gerolf was his father, otherwise their deed of gift would not have been preserved among the family papers. Dirk II. was the founder of the abbey of Egmont. His younger son Egbert became archbishop of Treves. His elder son Arnulf married Liutgardis, daughter of Siegfried of Luxemburg and sister-in-law of the emperor Henry II. He obtained from the emperor Otto III., with whom he was in great favour in 983, a considerable extension of territory, that now covered by the Zuider Zee and southward down to Nijmwegen. In the deed of gift he is spoken of as holding the three countships of Maasland, Kinhem or Kennemerland and Texla or Texel; in other words his rule extended over the whole country from the right bank of the Maas or Meuse to the Vlie. He appears also to have exercised authority at Ghent. He died in 988. Arnulf was count till 993, when he was slain in battle against the west Frisians, and was succeeded by his twelve-year-old son Dirk III. During the guardianship of his mother, Liutgardis, the boy was despoiled of almost all his possessions, except Kennemerland and Maasland. But no sooner was he arrived at man's estate than Dirk turned upon his enemies with courage and vigour. He waged war, successfully with Adelbold, the powerful bishop of Utrecht, and made himself master not only of his ancestral possessions, but of the district on the Meuse known as the Bushland of Merweda (_forestum Merweda_), hitherto subject to the see of Utrecht. In the midst of this marshy tract, at a point commanding the courses of the Meuse and the Waal, he built a castle (about 1015) and began to levy tolls. Around this castle sprang up the town of Thuredrecht or Dordrecht. The possession of this stronghold was so injurious to the commerce of Tiel, Cologne and the Rhenish towns with England that complaints were made by the bishop of Utrecht and the archbishop of Cologne to the emperor. Henry II. took the part of the complainants and commissioned Duke Godfrey of Lorraine to chastise the young Frisian count. Duke Godfrey invaded Dirk's lands with a large army, but they were impeded by the swampy nature of the country and totally defeated with heavy loss (July 29, 1018). The duke was himself taken prisoner. The result was that Dirk was not merely confirmed in his possession of Dordrecht and the Merweda Bushland (the later Holland) but also of the territory of a vassal of the Utrecht see, Dirk Bavo by name, which he conquered. This victory of 1018 is often regarded as the true starting-point of the history of the county of Holland. Having thus established his rule in the south, Dirk next proceeded to bring into subjection the Frisians in the north. He appointed his brother Siegfrid or Sikka as governor over them. In his later years Dirk went upon a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from which he returned in 1034; and ruled in peace until his death in 1039.

Dirk IV.

Quarrel with Flanders about Zeeland.

His son, Dirk IV., was one of the most enterprising of his warlike and strenuous race. He began the long strife with the counts of Flanders, as to the lordship over Walcheren and other islands of Zeeland; the quarrel was important, as dealing with the borderland between French and German overlordship. This strife, which lasted 400 years, did not at first break out into actual warfare, because both Dirk and Baldwin V. of Flanders had a common danger in the emperor Henry III., who in 1046 occupied the lands in dispute. Dirk allied himself with Godfrey the Bearded of Lorraine, who was at war with the emperor, and his territory was invaded by a powerful imperial fleet and army (1047). But Dirk entrenched himself in his stronghold at Vlaardingen, and when winter came on he surrounded and cut off with his light boats a number of the enemy's ships, and destroyed a large part of their army as they made their way amidst the marches, which impeded their retreat. He was able to recover what he had lost and to make peace on his own terms. Two years later he was again assailed by a coalition headed by the archbishop of Cologne and the bishop of Utrecht. They availed themselves of a very hard winter to penetrate into the land over the frozen water. Dirk offered a stout resistance, but, according to the most trustworthy account, was enticed into an ambuscade and was killed in the fight (1049). He died unmarried and was succeeded by his brother Floris I.

Floris I.

Dirk V.

Robert the Frisian guardian to his stepson

Godfrey the Hunchback of Lorraine conquers Holland.

The Bishop of Utrecht surrenders it to Dirk V.

Floris II.

Dirk VI.

Floris, like his predecessors, was hard-fighting and tenacious. He gradually recovered possession of his ancestral lands. He found a formidable adversary in the able and warlike William, who, becoming bishop of Utrecht in 1054, was determined to recover the lost possessions of his see; and in 1058, in alliance with Hanno, archbishop of Cologne, Egbert, margrave of Brandenburg, the bishop of Liege and others, invaded the Frisian territory. At first success attended the invaders and many places fell into their hands, but finally they were surprised and defeated near Dordrecht. The counts of Guelders and Louvain were among the prisoners that fell into the hands of Floris. The attack was renewed in 1061. In a battle at Nederhemert Floris met with his death in the hour of victory. He is said to have been killed as, wearied with pursuing, he lay asleep under a tree. He was succeeded by his son, Dirk V., a child, under the guardianship of his mother, Gertrude of Saxony. Bishop William seems now to have seized his opportunity and occupied all the territory that he claimed. In this he was confirmed by two charters of the emperor Henry IV. (April 30 and May 2, 1064). Among the possessions thus assigned to him is found _comitatus omnis in Hollandt cum omnibus ad bannum regalem pertinentibus_. An examination of these documents shows the possessions of Dirk as _in Westflinge et circa oras Rheni_, i.e. west of the Vlie and around the mouths of the Rhine. Gertrude and her son appear to have withdrawn to the islands of Frisia (Zeeland), leaving William in undisturbed occupation of the disputed lands. In 1063 Gertrude contracted a marriage with Robert, the second son of Baldwin V. of Flanders, a man famous for his adventurous career (see FLANDERS). On his marriage his father invested him with Imperial Flanders, as an apanage including the islands of Frisia (Zeeland) west of the Scheldt. He now became guardian to his stepson, in whose inheritance lay the islands east of the Scheldt. Robert thus, in his own right and that of Dirk, was ruler of all Frisia (Zeeland), and thus became known among his Flemish countrymen as Robert the Frisian. The death of his brother Baldwin VI. in 1070 led to civil war in Flanders, the claim of Robert to the guardianship of his nephew Arnulf being disputed by Richilde, the widow of Baldwin. The issue was decided by the decisive victory of Robert at Cassel (February 1071) when Arnulf was killed and Richilde taken prisoner (see Flanders). While Robert was thus engaged in Flanders, an effort was made to recover "the County of Holland" and other lands now held by William of Utrecht. The people rose in revolt, but by command of the emperor Henry IV. were speedily brought back under episcopal rule by an army under the command of Godfrey the Hunchback, duke of Lower Lorraine. Again in 1076, at the request of the bishop, Duke Godfrey visited his domains in the Frisian borderland. At Delft, of which town tradition makes Godfrey the founder, the duke was treacherously murdered (February 26, 1076). William of Utrecht died on the 17th of the following April. Dirk V., now grown to man's estate, was not slow to take advantage of the favourable juncture. With the help of Robert (his stepfather) he raised an army, besieged Conrad, the successor of William, in the castle of Ysselmonde and took him prisoner. The bishop purchased his liberty by surrendering all claim to the disputed lands. Henceforth the Frisian counts became definitively known as counts of Holland. Dirk V. died in 1091 and was succeeded by his son Floris II. the Fat. This count had a peaceful and prosperous reign of thirty-one years. After his death (1122) his widow, Petronilla of Saxony, governed in the name of Dirk VI., who was a minor. The accession of her half-brother, Lothaire of Saxony, to the imperial throne on the death of Henry V. greatly strengthened her position. The East Frisian districts, Oostergoo and Westergoo, were by Lothaire transferred from the rule of the bishops of Utrecht to that of the counts of Holland (1125). These Frisians proved very troublesome subjects to Dirk VI. In 1132 they rose in insurrection under the leadership of Dirk's own brother, Floris the Black. The emperor Conrad III. (1138), who was of the rival house of Hohenstaufen, gave back these Frisian districts to the bishop; it was in truth somewhat of an empty gift. The Frisian peasants and fisher folk loved their independence, and were equally refractory to the rule of any distant overlord, whether count or bishop. Dirk VI. was succeeded in 1157 by Floris III.

Floris III.

Dirk VII.

William I.

Floris IV.

Floris III. reversed the traditional policy of his house by allying himself with the Hohenstaufens. He became a devoted adherent and friend of Frederick Barbarossa. He had troubles with West Friesland and Groningen, and a war with the count of Flanders concerning their respective rights in West Zeeland, in which he was beaten. In 1170 a great flood caused immense devastation in the north and helped to form the Zuider Zee. In 1189 Floris accompanied Frederick Barbarossa upon the third Crusade, of which he was a distinguished leader. He died in 1190 at Antioch of pestilence. His son, Dirk VII., had a stormy, but on the whole successful reign. Contests with the Flemings in West Zeeland and with the West Frisians, stirred up to revolt by his brother William, ended in his favour. The brothers were reconciled and William was made count of East Friesland. In 1202, however, Dirk was defeated and taken prisoner by the duke of Brabant, and had to purchase peace on humiliating terms. He only survived his defeat a short time and died early in 1204, leaving as his only issue a daughter, Ada, 17 years of age. The question of female succession thus raised was not likely to be accepted without a challenge by William. It had been the intention of Dirk VII. to secure the recognition of his daughter's rights by appointing his brother her guardian. His widow Alida, however, an ambitious woman of strong character, as soon as her husband was dead, hurried on a marriage between Ada and Count Louis of Loon; and attempted with the nobles of Holland, who now for the first time make their appearance as a power in the country, to oppose the claim which William had made to the countship as heir in the male line. A struggle ensued. William was supported by the Zeelanders and Ada was forced to fly to England. William, by a treaty concluded with Louis of Loon in 1206, became undisputed count. He took an active part in the events of his time. He fought by the side of the emperor Otto IV. in the great battle of Bouvines in 1214 (see PHILIP AUGUSTUS), and was taken prisoner. Two years later he accompanied Louis, the eldest son of Philip Augustus, in his expedition against King John of England. William is perhaps best known in history by his taking part in the fourth Crusade. He distinguished himself greatly at the capture of Damietta (1219). He did not long survive his return home, dying in 1222. The earliest charters conveying civic privileges in the county of Holland date from his reign--those of Geertruidenberg (1213) and of Dordrecht (1220). His son Floris IV., being a minor, succeeded him under the guardianship of his maternal uncle, Gerard III. of Gelderland. He maintained in later life close relations of friendship with Gerard, and supported him in his quarrel with the bishop of Utrecht (1224-1226). Floris was murdered in 1235 at a tournament at Corbie in Picardy by the count of Clermont. Another long minority followed his death, during which his brother Otto, bishop of Utrecht, acted as guardian to his nephew William II.

William II.

Elected King of the Romans.

Floris V.

Alliance with Edward I. of England.

First Charter to Amsterdam.

Murder of Floris V.