History of the Netherlands

Though the history of the Netherlands technically began more than 150,000 years ago with the first signs of human activity, the first written sources on its inhabitants did not exist until Ancient Roman times.

The part south of the river Rhine was occupied by the Romans, and became part of Gallia Belgica, and later of the Roman province Germania Inferior. The country was inhabited at the time by various Germanic tribes, and the south was inhabited by Celts, who merged with newcomers from other Germanic tribes during the Völkerwanderung following the fall of the Roman empire.

In the medieval period, the Low Countries (roughly present-day Belgium and the Netherlands) consisted of various counties, duchies and dioceses belonging to the Duchy of Burgundy and to the Holy Roman Empire. These were united into one state under Habsburg rule in the 16th century. The Counter-Reformation following the success of Calvinism in the Netherlands, and the attempts to centralise government and suppress religious diversity led to a revolt against Philip II of Spain. On 26 July 1581, independence was declared, and finally recognised after the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The years of the war also marked the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great commercial and cultural prosperity roughly spanning the 17th century.

After the French occupation at the beginning of the 19th century, the Netherlands started out as a monarchy, governed by the House of Orange. However, after a conservative period, strong liberal sentiments could no longer be ignored, and the country became a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch in 1848. It has remained so to this day, with a brief interruption during the occupation by Nazi Germany.

The Netherlands is now a modern, industrialised nation and a large exporter of agricultural products. International trade (literally 'overseas') has always been a central aspect of the Dutch economy (also influencing the culture) and was also an important reason for the struggle for independence and cause of the ensuing wealth.