The history of Holland is a record of the unexpected. One might think
that this flat country would have a story as monotonous as the land on
which it is built, that it would be the last part of the world to be the
center of fierce battles and bloody wars. Yet there took place in this
little country, formed principally of the mud deposited by three rivers,
the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Schelde, some of the most important deeds
in the history of the world.
The earliest inhabitants of this part of Europe are said to have been
some of the barbarians that accompanied the Cimbri and Teutons in their
expedition against Italy. The Romans, however, held sway over this
district until near the end of the fourth century, when the Franks took
possession and settled there. Later the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne
extended his supremacy over the whole of the Netherlands, and under his
successors a system of dividing the land among the vassal princes
gradually developed. Thus the feudal system grew up.
The situation of the country on the ocean and the mouths of three great
rivers invited the people to commerce. Then, also, the big cities grew
up and surrounded themselves with strong forts.
In 1477 the Netherlands came into possession of the House of Hapsburg by
the marriage of Mary of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles the Bold, with
Maximilian, afterward emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Their son,
Philip the Handsome, was the father of Charles V, who subsequently
became King of Spain. Under his rule the Netherlands enjoyed a golden
era of prosperity; but during the reign of his bigoted son, Philip II,
there began that apparently hopeless struggle of the weak people of the
north against the haughty Spaniards, which lasted for eighty years and
which ended in the establishment of the powerful Dutch republic. The
great founder of Dutch liberty was William of Nassau, the Silent. Today
he is revered by the Dutch as a mighty hero and martyr.
It was in 1579 that the Union of Utrecht laid the foundation on which
the republic of the United Netherlands was to be raised. By the Peace of
Westphalia in 1648 the independence of the United Provinces was
recognized.
The prosperity of Holland was great. Its navigators explored the most
distant coasts in the world, and its trading posts in East India yielded
a rich harvest. It had commerce with all nations, and at the same time
its art reached its highest point of excellence.
For many years the fortunes of the Netherlands varied from good to bad.
In 1795 the French Republicans took possession of the country and
founded the Batavian republic. In 1806 Louis Bonaparte was created king
of Holland by his brother Napoleon. Four years later Napoleon annexed
Holland to France, giving as the reason his belief that it was formed of
the alluvial deposit of French rivers. At last, in November, 1813, the
French were expelled from Holland; and in 1815, by the Congress of
Vienna, the southern or Belgian province of the Netherlands was united
with the northern into a single kingdom, and the Prince of Orange was
created king of the Netherlands under the title of William I. This union
was severed by the Belgian revolution of 1830. Ten years later, William
I abdicated in favor of his son William II, who was in turn succeeded by
William III.
His daughter Wilhelmina is the present ruler of Holland. Her daughter,
Princess Juliana, was born April 30, 1909.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 2. No 6. SERIAL No. 58
COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Illustration: VEEN KADE, THE HAGUE]
_HOLLAND_
_William the Silent_