Netherlands/Dutch: Development of a Nation
How Netherlands became Netherlands, and how the Dutch became Dutch.

How the Dutch as a people, and the country of Netherlands as a nation-state, evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral bloodlines, the Dutch language, borders, culture, and even how they received their name.

Ancestral Background
Development of Language
Formation of Borders
Etymology (How Name Received):
Culture
Netherlands in 2008

Dutch Ancestral Background:

1. Same as fellow Germanic peoples (See German Ancestral Bloodlines) until 843. Originated as a Germanic people in the furthest northwest corner of the Germanic homeland after the Franks had established themselves as a separate “nation” during the 5^th and 6^th centuries just west of the modern Netherlands, in modern France.
2. Separated by other Germanic peoples by the division of the Frankish Kingdom in 843, but realigned with them when most of the region was ceded to the Eastern Realm in 870 (with exception of County of Flanders, which went to the Western Realm – West Francia). At this point, the predecessors to the Dutch were reunited the Germanics. Their territory became known as the “Low Counties” (comprised of modern Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Over time, the Low Counties began to view themselves as a distinct people within the larger Germanic nation, due to their location at the northwestern fringe of the main body of Germans.
3. Holy Roman Empire (HRE). In 953, the German Kingdom becomes the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), after entering into a partnership with the Pope in Rome. The King of the Germans is  recognized as Holy Roman Emperor by Rome in exchange for guaranteed independence of Papal States (centered around Rome – rule by Church). The Holy Roman Empire was a collection of German duchies, principalities and other entities that offered at least token loyalty to the partnership of the Emperor and the Pope. The Emperor and Pope formed (at least in theory) a secular-ecclesiastic partnership in governing the empire. In reality, the two offices were often at odds, even directing acts of hostility toward one another. The German princes, dukes, etc. of member states within the HRE typically operated with autonomy, cooperating with the emperor when unifying causes arose, such as military campaigns to expand or protect the empire. Other nationalities were brought under HRE-rule throughout history, such as Italy and Burgundy (French). Many German entities eventually broke away from the Holy Roman Empire to form their own distinct nations, such as the Dutch, Swiss and Austrians.
4. Between 1000 and 1433, those in the “Burgundian Netherlands” (a.k.a. "Low Counties", comprised of modern Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) began to operate independently from the Holy Roman Empire. They began to refer to themselves as “Dutch”, the English pronunciation for their German language (Deutsch). The County of Flanders was joined to Netherlands through marriage in 1384.
5. The Dutch would come under Habsburg Austrian rule in 1477, before being annexed by Habsburg Spain in 1556 (as a result of division of Habsburg empire between heirs). By now, the Dutch were considered a separate nationality from the pan-German nation (which were broken into various principalities under the Holy Roman Empire banner).
6. During 16^th century, most in the Northern Netherlands would become Protestant, fostering dissatisfaction with Catholic rule of Habsburg Spain. They would begin to revolt in 1568, beginning the 80-Years War with Spain, also known as the Dutch War of Independence. The Dutch cemented their distinct identity and nationality when they achieved independence from Spain during 80-Years War ending in 1648. The Protestant Dutch in the north formed the independent United Provinces. The Southern Dutch in Belgium and Luxembourg remained under Spanish rule (as the "Spanish Netherlands"), due to their less enthusiastic and less effective revolts. The Catholic Southern Dutch did not have the same religious conviction as the Protestant Dutch in the north. This finalized the separation between the Dutch and those in modern Belgium and Luxembourg from that point forward. With this, the nationality of those considered "Dutch" was largely set.

Save as much as 70% on select National Geographic merchandise!

Development of Dutch Language:

1. Same as German (See German Language). The Dutch language would branch from Old Frankish, an extinct language, and one of many dialects of the Germanic language. The Franks first resided in modern Netherlands/Belgium before crossing over into Gaul as the Roman Empire began to collapse, helping to facilitate the collapse.
2. As the Franks migrated west and south, those tribes that remained became the ancestors to the Dutch, and by the 6^th century, Old Dutch was the evolved form of the Old Frankish language, from which modern Dutch would evolve, spoken by those in modern Netherlands, and most of those in modern Belgium.

Dutch Language Learning Software - 10 Levels - 2,000 Hours

Formation of Netherlands Borders:

1. Germanic peoples that settled around the modern Netherlands and Belgium were ancestors to the Franks and Dutch. Franks migrated into Gaul in the 5^th century, facilitating the collapse of the Roman Empire, and becoming the ruling class in Gaul (modern France). Those that remained behind became the ancestors to the Dutch (northern) and Belgians (to the south).
2. German lands, including modern Netherlands, were conquered by the Franks in the 8^th century.
3. Separated by other Germanic peoples by the division of the Frankish Kingdom in 843, but realigned with them when most of the region was ceded to the Eastern Realm in 870 (with exception of County of Flanders, which went to the Western Realm – West Francia). At this point, the predecessors to the Dutch were reunited the Germanics. Their territory became known as the “Low Counties” (comprised of modern Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Over time, the Low Counties began to view themselves as a distinct people within the larger Germanic nation, due to their location at the northwestern fringe of the main body of Germans.
4. The Eastern Realm became decentralized in 888, becoming a collection of affiliated German duchies.
5. The Holy Roman Empire was established in 953.
6. Between 1000 and 1433, those in the “Burgundian Netherlands” (a.k.a. "Low Counties", comprised of modern Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) began to operate independently from the Holy Roman Empire. They began to refer to themselves as “Dutch”, the English pronunciation for their German language (Deutsch). The County of Flanders was joined to Netherlands through marriage in 1384.
7. The Dutch would come under Habsburg Austrian rule in 1477, before being annexed by Habsburg Spain in 1556 (as a result of division of Habsburg empire between heirs). By now, the Dutch were considered a separate nationality from the pan-German nation (which were broken into various principalities under the Holy Roman Empire banner).
8. During 16^th century, most in the Northern Netherlands would become Protestant, fostering dissatisfaction with Catholic rule of Habsburg Spain. They would begin to revolt in 1568, beginning the 80-Years War with Spain, also known as the Dutch War of Independence. The Dutch cemented their distinct identity and nationality when they achieved independence from Spain during 80-Years War ending in 1648. The Protestant Dutch in the north formed the independent United Provinces. The Southern Dutch in Belgium and Luxembourg remained under Spanish rule (as the "Spanish Netherlands"), due to their less enthusiastic and less effective revolts. The Catholic Southern Dutch did not have the same religious conviction as the Protestant Dutch in the north. This finalized the separation between the Dutch and those in modern Belgium and Luxembourg from that point forward.
9. France annexed western parts of former County of Flanders, becoming permanent part of France. This would permanently set the modern border between France and Netherlands.
10. Napoleonic France invaded and conquered the Netherlands in 1795, converting the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces to the Batavian Republic, and then the Kingdom of Holland in 1806.
11. After the Napoleonic Wars, Belgium and Luxembourg were enjoined with the Netherlands by the European Powers (such as United Kingdom, Russia and Prussia) in 1815, forming the manufactured Kingdom of the Netherlands.
12. Belgium separated to form the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830, forming the modern boundaries of both Netherlands and Belgium. With this, the Netherlands reverted back to pre-Napoleonic form. Luxembourg lost more than half its territory to Belgium after the Belgian War of Independence concluded in 1839, remaining in personal union with the Netherlands until 1890, as an autonomous nation recognizing King of the Netherlands as their head of state. With the 1890 secession of Luxembourg, the modern borders of the Netherlands were set.

Maps.com - The World's Largest Maps Store!

Etymology (How Name Received):

Netherlands: Germanic for “low lands”. Although would be known under different names, such as United Provinces and Seventeen Provinces, the term Netherlands had always been used to describe the region, serving as the name of the Dutch nation beginning in 1815, following the Napoleonic Wars.

Dutch: English approximation to Deutsch, meaning “German”. Initially, the English referred to all Germanic peoples as Dutch, but eventually began to narrow this term to only those Germanic peoples closest to them, which were those in the Netherlands. The term stuck.

Dutch Culture:

Throughout its gradual development as a distinct nation from the larger German nation, the concept of a Dutch identity slowly progressed, as a distinct culture also rose from this divergence. One of the first hallmarks of Dutch culture was Protestantism, which took root during the Protestant Reformation of the 15th and 16th centuries.

This resulted in a split of the Dutch nation, as the northern half remained Protestant, and the southern half remained Catholic. Consequently, the northern Protestants became a separate nation-state (United Provinces, predecessor to the Netherlands).

The independent Dutch nation of the United Provinces became wealthy, embracing free market ideals. With this economic base in place, they were also able to develop into a naval power, establishing colonies around the globe. In which case, a strong naval tradition materialized.

Prosperity and exposure to a multitude of cultures contributed to a highly liberal atmosphere evident in Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole.

Netherlands in 2008:

Economy: Very strong economy. Reliant on foreign trade as it is home to some of the key ports in all of Europe.
Government: Constitutional monarchy (democracy with monarch still in place)
Religion: Highly secular; Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 20%, Muslim 5.5%, None 41%; Survey: 34% believe in God, 37% some other form of intelligent design, 27% atheist.
Demographics: 83% Dutch, 9% non-western (such as Turks, North African, Indonesian – former colonies), 8% western (European), highly homogenous.
Foreign Policy: Two high profile murders of a politician and artist Theo van Gogh by radical Muslims, a response to anti-Muslim stances each had taken. Not accustomed to political violence, resulted in public upheaval about immigration and Islam within the Netherlands.
Population: 16,645,313 (2008)

 

Formation of Nations (All European Nations)

Genealogy Search:

Individual    First Name Last Name For females, use maiden name (last name before marriage) Father    First Name Last Name   Mother    First Name Last Name Visit OneGreatFamily.com