No sooner was peace concluded than bitter disputes arose between the provincial States of Holland and the prince of Orange, supported by the other six provinces, upon the question of the disbanding of the military forces. William was a youngThe form of Government in the United Provinces.man (he was twenty-one at the time of his father’s death) ofthe highest abilities and of soaring ambition. He was totally opposed to the peace with Spain, and wished to bring about a speedy resumption of the war. With this view he entered into secret negotiations for a French alliance which, as far as can be gathered from extant records, had for its objects the conquest and partition by the allies of the Belgic provinces, and joint action in England on behalf of Charles II. As a preliminary step William aimed at a centralization of the powers of government in the United Provinces in his own person. He saw clearly the inherent defects of the existing federation, and he wished to remedy a system which was so complicated as to be at times almost unworkable. The States-General were but the delegates, the stadholders the servants, of a number of sovereign provinces, each of which had different historical traditions and a different form of government, and one of which—Holland—in wealth and importance outweighed the other six taken together. Between the States of Holland and the States-General there was constantThe position of Holland and Amsterdam.jealousy and friction. And yet strangely enough the States of Holland themselves were not really representative of the people of that province, but only of the limited, self-coopting burgher aristocracies of certain towns, each of which with its rights and liberties had a quasi-independence of its own. Foremost among these was the great commercial capital, Amsterdam, whose rich burgher patriciate did not scruple on occasion to defy the authority of the States-General, the stadholder and even of the States of Holland themselves.
The States of Holland had, in the years that followed the truce of 1609, measured their strength with that of the States-General, but the issue had been decided conclusively in favour of the federal authority by the sword ofThe position in 1650.Maurice. The party and the principles of Oldenbarneveldt, however, though crushed, were not extinguished, and though Frederick Henry by his personal influence and prudent statesmanship had been able to surmount the difficulties placed in his way, he had had to encounter at times strong opposition, and had been much hampered in the conduct both of his campaigns and of his policy. With the conclusion of the peace of Münster and the death of the veteran stadholder the struggle for predominance in the Union between the Orange-federalist and the Hollander States-rights parties was certain to be renewed. The moment seemed to be favourable for the assertion of provincial sovereignty because of the youth and inexperience of the new prince of Orange. But William II., though little more than a boy, was endowed with singular capacity and great strength of will, and he was intent upon ambitious projects, the scope of which has been already indicated. The collision came, which was perhaps inevitable. The States-GeneralThe question of disbanding the forces.in the disbanding of the forces wished to retain thecadresof the regiments complete in case of a renewal of the war. The States of Holland objected, and, although the army was a federal force, gave orders for the general disbanding of the troops in the pay of the province. The officers refused to obey any orders but those of the council of State of the Union. The provincial states, on their part, threatened them with loss of pay. At this juncture the States-General, as in 1618, appointed a commission headed by the prince of Orange to visit the towns of Holland, and provide for the maintenance of order and the upholding of the Union. Both parties put themselves in the wrong, the province by refusing its quota to the federal war-sheet, the generality by dealing with individual towns instead of with the states of the province. The visitation was a failure. The town councils, though most of them willing to receive William in his capacity as stadholder, declined to give a hearing to the commission.The Prisoners of Loevenstein.Amsterdam refused absolutely to admit either stadholder or commission. In these circumstances William resolved upon strong measures. Six leading members of the States of Holland were seized (30th of July 1650) and imprisoned in Loevenstein Castle, and troops under the command of William Frederick, stadholder of Friesland, were sent to surprise Amsterdam. But the town council had been warned, and the gates were shut and guarded. Thecoup d’étatnevertheless was completely successful. The anti-Orange party, remembering the fate of Oldenbarneveldt, were stricken with panic at the imprisonment of their leaders. The States of Holland and the town council of Amsterdam gave in their submission. The prisoners were released, and public thanks were rendered to the prince by the various provincial states for “his great trouble, care and prudence.” William appeared to be master of the situation but his plans for future action wereSudden Death of William II.never to be carried into effect. Busily engaged in secret negotiations with France, he had retired to his hunting seat at Dieren, when he fell ill with smallpox on the 27th of October. A few days later he expired at the Hague (6th of November), aged but twenty-four years. A week after his death, his widow, the princess Mary of England, gave birth to a son who, as William III., was to give added lustre to the house of Orange.
The anti-Orange particularist party, which had just suffered decisive defeat, now lifted up its head again. At the instance of Holland a Grand Assembly was summoned, consisting of delegates from all the provinces, to consider theThe Grand Assembly.state of the Union, the army and religion. It met at the Hague on the 18th of January 1651. The conclusions arrived at were that all sovereign powers resided in the provinces, and that to them severally, each within its own borders, belonged the control of the military forces and of religion. There was to be no captain-general of the Union. All the provinces, except Friesland and Groningen, which remained true to William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz, agreed to leave the office of stadholder vacant. The practical result was the establishment of the hegemony of Holland in the Union, and the handing over of the control of its policy to the patrician oligarchies who formed the town councils of that province.
Such a system would have been unworkable but for the fact that with the revival of the political principles of Oldenbarneveldt, there was found a statesman of commanding ability to fill the office in which the famous advocateThe office of Grand Pensionary.of Holland had for so many years been “minister of all affairs” in the forming state. The title of advocate had indeed been replaced by that of grand pensionary (Raad Pensionaris), but the duties assigned to the office remained the same, the only change of importance being that the advocate was appointed for life, the grand pensionary for a term of five years. The grand pensionary was nominally the paid servant of the States of Holland, but his functions were such as to permit a man of talent and industry in the stadholderless republic to exercise control in all departments of policy and of government. All correspondence passed through his hands, he wrote all despatches, conducted the debates over which he presided, kept the minutes, drafted the resolutions, and wasex officiothe leader and spokesman of the delegates who represented the Province of Holland in the States-General. Such was theJohn de Witt.position to which John de Witt, a young man of twenty-eight years of age, belonging to one of the most influential patrician families of Dordrecht (his father, Jacob de Witt, was one of the prisoners of Loevenstein) was appointed in 1653. From that date until 1672 it was his brain and his will that guided the affairs of the United Netherlands. He was supreme in the States of Holland, and Holland was dominant in the States-General (seeJohn de Witt).
The death of William II. had left the Dutch republic at the very highest point of commercial prosperity, based upon an almost universal carrying trade, and the strictest system of monopoly. Friction and disputes hadDisputes between English and Dutch Traders.frequently arisen between the Dutch and the English traders in different parts of the world, and especially in the East Indies, culminating in the so-called “Massacre of Amboyna”; and the strained relations between the two nations would, but for the civil discords in England, have probably led to active hostilities during the reign of Charles I. With the accession of Cromwell to power the breachwas widened. A strong party in the Provinces were unfriendly to the Commonwealth, and insults were offered in the Hague to the English envoys. The parliament replied by passing the memorable Navigation Act (Oct. 1651), which struck a deadly blow at the Dutch carrying trade. It was the beginning of that struggle for supremacy upon the seas which was to end, afterNaval struggle with England.three great wars, in the defeat of the weaker country. The first English war lasted from May 1652 to April 1654, and within fifteen months twelve sea-fights took place, which were desperately contested and with varying success. The leaders on both sides—the Netherlanders Tromp (killed in action on the 10th of August 1653) and de Ruyter, the Englishmen Blake and Monk—covered themselves with equal glory. But the losses to Dutch trade were so serious that negotiations for peace were set on foot by the burgher party of Holland, and Cromwell being not unwilling, an agreementPeace of Westminster.was reached in the Treaty of Westminster, signed on the 5th of April 1654. The Dutch conceded the striking of the flag and compensation for English claims against the Dutch in the East Indies and elsewhere. The act of Seclusion, which barred the young prince of Orange from holding the office of stadholder and of captain-general, had been one of the conditions on which Cromwell had insisted. The consent of the States-General was refused, but by a secret treaty Holland, under the influence of deAct of Seclusion.Witt, accepted it in their own name as a sovereign province. The popular feeling throughout the United Provinces was strongly antagonistic to the act of Seclusion, by which at the dictation of a foreign power a ban of exclusion was pronounced against the house of Orange-Nassau, to which the republic owed its independence.
In 1658, the States-General interfered to save the Danes from Charles Gustavus of Sweden. In 1659 a treaty of peace was concluded between France, England and the United Provinces with a view to the settlement of the Dano-SwedishWar with Sweden.question, which ended in securing a northern peace in 1660, and in keeping the Baltic open for Dutch trade. The foreign affairs of the republic were throughout these years ably conducted by de Witt, and the position of Dutch colonial expansion in the Eastern seas made secure and firm. An advantageous peace with Portugal was made in 1662.
Meanwhile the Commonwealth in England had been followed in 1660 by the restoration of the monarchy. To conciliate the new king the act of Seclusion was repealed, and the education of the young prince of Orange was undertakenSecond English war.by the States of Holland under the superintendence of de Witt. But Charles owed a grudge against Holland, and he was determined to gratify it. The Navigation Act was re-enacted, old grievances revived, and finally the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized in time of peace (1664) and its capital, New Amsterdam, renamed New York. War broke out in 1665, and was marked by a series of terrific battles. On the 13th of June 1665 the Dutch admiral Obdam was completely defeated by the English under the duke of York. The four days’ fight (11th-14th of June 1666) ended in a hard-won victory by de Ruyter over Monk, but later in this year (August 3rd) de Ruyter was beaten by Ayscue and forced to take refuge in the Dutch harbours. He had his revenge, for on the 22nd of June 1667 the Dutch fleet under de Ruyter and Cornelius de Witt made their way up the Medway as far as Chatham and burnt the English fleet as it lay at anchor. Negotiations between the two countries were already in progressPeace of Breda.The Triple Alliance.and this event hastened a settlement. The peace of Breda was signed (31st of July 1667) on terms on the whole favourable to the Dutch. New Netherland was retained by England in exchange for Suriname. In the following year by the efforts of Sir William Temple the much vaunted Triple Alliance was concluded between Great Britain, the United Provinces and Sweden to check the ambitious designs of Louis XIV. The instability of Charles II., who sold himself to Louis by the treaty of Dover (1670), speedily rendered it of no effect, and left the United Provinces to face unaided the vengeance of the French king.
From 1668 to 1672 Louis made ready to destroy the Dutch, and so well had his diplomacy served him that they were left without a friend in Europe. In 1672 the storm broke: the English without a declaration of war tried, unsuccessfully,The French invasion.to intercept the Dutch Mediterranean fleet; and the French at the same time set forth in apparently irresistible strength to overcome the despised traders of Holland. The States were ill-prepared on land though their fleet was strong and ready; party spirit had become intensely bitter as the prince of Orange (seeWilliam III.) grew to man’s estate, and the ruling burgher party, knowing how great was the popularity of William, especially in the army, had purposely neglected their land forces. Town after town fell before the French armies, and to de Witt and his supporters there seemed to be nothing left but to make submission and accept the best terms that Louis XIV. would grant. The young prince alone rose to the height of the occasion, and set his face against suchWilliam III. Stadholder and Captain-general.The third English war.Murder of the Brothers de Witt.cowardly counsels, and he had the enthusiastic support of the great majority of the people. Amidst general acclamation William was elected stadholder, first of Zeeland, then of Holland, and was appointed captain-general of the Union (June 1672). Meanwhile the fleet under de Ruyter had encountered a combined English and French force in Solebay (7th of June), and after a desperate fight, in which the French had but slackly supported their allies, had more then held its own. William, in his turn, with an army wholly insufficient to meet the French in the open field, was able to persuade his countrymen to open the dikes and by flooding the land to prevent its occupation by the enemy. The courage and resourcefulness of their youthful leader inspired the people to make heroic sacrifices for their independence, but unfortunately such was the revulsion of feeling against the grand pensionary, that he himself and his brother Cornelius were torn in pieces by an infuriated mob at the Hague (20th of August).
William, now supreme in the States, while on land struggling with chequered success against the superior forces of the French, strove by his diplomacy, and not in vain, to gain allies for the republic. The growing power ofPeace of Westminster.France caused alarm to her neighbours, and Sweden, Denmark, Spain and the emperor lent a willing ear to the persuasions of the stadholder and were ready to aid his efforts to curb the ambition of Louis. On sea in 1673 de Ruyter, in a series of fiercely contested battles, successfully maintained his strenuous and dogged conflict against the united English and French fleets. In England the war was exceedingly unpopular, and public opinion forced Charles II. to conclude peace. The treaty of Westminster, which provided that all conquests should be restored, was signed on the 14th of February 1674. The French now found themselves threatened on many sides,The war with France.Death of de Ruyter.Peace of Nymwegen.and were reduced to the defensive. The prince, however, suffered a defeat at Seneff, and was in 1674 prevented from invading France. The war, nevertheless, during the following years was on the whole advantageous to the Dutch. In 1676 a Dutch squadron fought two hard but indecisive battles with a superior French force, off Stromboli (8th of January) and off Messina (22nd of April). In the last-named fight Admiral de Ruyter was badly wounded and died (29th of April). In 1677 negotiations for peace went on, and were forwarded by the marriage, at the close of the year, of William of Orange with his cousin the princess Mary, daughter of the duke of York. At last (August 1678) a peace was concluded at Nymwegen by which the Dutch secured the integrity and independence of their country. All the conquests made by the French were given up.
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 aspectof European politics. The league of Augsburg (1686), whichLeague of Augsburg.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 EnglishRevolution of 1688.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 relationsThe Grand Alliance.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,William and Heinsius.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 (seeHeinsius).
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 HeadWar with France.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 ofPeace of Ryswick.Death of William III.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.
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. WilliamStadholderless Government.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.
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), OudenardeWar of the Spanish Succession.(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,Treaty of Utrecht.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.
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 barrierPeace policy.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 ofOstend East India Company.their neighbours. The foundation of the Ostend East India Company (seeOstend 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 Münster. 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 toguarantee the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI. This step led in 1743 to their being involved in the War of theWar of the Austrian Succession.Revolution of 1747.William IV.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.
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 dynasticPeace of Aix-la-Chapelle.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 strongholdsDeath of William IV.Anne of England Regent.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.
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 theWilliam V.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. TheThe Armed Neutrality.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.War with 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 negotiationsPeace of Paris.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.
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, whoThe “Patriot” Party.Intervention of the King of Prussia.Difficulty with the Emperor.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 offeredPrussian Invasion.Restoration to power of William V.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.
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 NetherlandsThe French invade the Netherlands.in 1792, and had thrown open the passage of the Scheldt, that they were drawn into the war. The patriot party sided withthe 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 occupiedOverthrow of the Stadholderate.Flight of William V.The Batavian Republic.Changes of Government.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.
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 beganConstitution of 1805.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 newLouis Bonaparte King of Holland.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 (sonThe Sovereign Prince.Creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.The Hundred Days.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 Liège 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 (seeWilliam 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 whereWilliam I. crowned at Brussels.Constitution of the Netherlands.he was wounded (seeWilliam 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.
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,Difference between the Dutch and Belgic provinces.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. TheThe Belgian Revolution.Reign of William II.Accession of William III.The Constitution of 1848.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, seeBelgium). 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. (seeWilliam 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. Onthe 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 ofPolitical parties in the Netherlands.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.
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 itsReligious education.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.
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 certainminimumhouse duty, and to all lodgers who had for a given time paid aminimumof 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 universalExtension of the suffrage.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 toMilitary service.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 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 ofThe Achin war.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.
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 theQueen Wilhelmina.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.