This article is about the specific polity Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration).
Summary
The Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule culminated in the establishment of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in 1581. This marked the formal declaration of independence from the Spanish Habsburgs and the creation of the first Dutch nation-state.
The new republic was a confederation of seven provinces - Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland, and Groningen. Each province retained a high degree of autonomy, with the States General serving as the central governing body. Political power was shared between the provincial estates, the stadtholders (provincial governors), and the States General.
During its "Golden Age" in the 17th century, the Dutch Republic became a major economic and maritime power, dominating global trade through the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. Dutch cities like Amsterdam, Delft, and Leiden flourished as centers of commerce, science, and art. The republic's relative religious tolerance also attracted intellectuals and religious dissenters from across Europe.
Externally, the republic navigated a complex geopolitical landscape, fighting wars with England, France, and Spain. It was able to maintain its independence and expand its colonial empire, gaining control of territories in the East Indies, the Americas, and Africa. However, by the 18th century the republic was in decline, struggling with economic stagnation, political instability, and the growing power of the House of Orange.
The end of the republic came in 1795, when French revolutionary forces invaded and established the Batavian Republic as a French client state. This marked the demise of the independent Dutch Republic after over two centuries of self-governance. The legacy of the republic, however, lived on in the subsequent Kingdom of the Netherlands, which emerged after the Napoleonic Wars.
Establishment
July 1581: Part of the Spanish Netherlands separated to form the autonomous Dutch Republic in 1581.
July 1581: Minor Spanish reconquests from the rebel Dutch state in 1581.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Were a series of wars in Europe (and the overseas possessions of European countries) the 16th, 17th and early 18th that started after the Protestant Reformation. Although the immediate causes of the wars were religious, the motives were complex and also included territorial ambitions.
1.1.Eighty Years' War
Was the intermittent war of independence of the Dutch Republic, a breakaway state from the Spanish Netherlands. .
1.1.1.Dutch revolt and establishment of the Dutch Republic
Was the revolt of northern protestant regions of the Spanish Neterlands (the southern part was mainly Catholic) that led to the creation of the Dutch Republic.
1.1.1.1.The Union of Utrecht
Was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Spanish Netherlands.
January 1583: The Spanish captured the fortress city of Steenwijk.
January 1584: The cities of Dunkirk and Nieuwpoort fell to the Spanish forces led by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma.
May 1584: Ypres conquered by spain.
June 1584: Bruges conquered by spain.
October 1584: Ghent, cities from Friesland, as well as three of the quarters of Guelders (Nijmegen Quarter, Veluwe Quarter, Zutphen County) conquered by spain.
April 1585: Brussels, the capital of the Spanish Netherlands, surrendered to the Spanish forces led by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma.
1.1.1.2.English Protectorate in the Netherlands
The Dutch rebels of the northern Spanish Netherlands became an English protectorate with the Treaty of Nonsuch, signed on 10 August 1585, as a measure of protection against Spain.
August 1585: After the assassination of William of Orange on 10 July 1584, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined offers of sovereignty. However, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England (Treaty of Nonsuch, 1585), and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general.
January 1588: The English protectorate in the Netherlands was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy.
1.1.1.3.Expansion of the Dutch Republic
Were a series of Dutch military actions during the Eighty Years' War that led to the expansion of the newly created Dutch Republic by conquering territories from the Spanish Netherlands.
March 1590: The city of Breda was recaptured by the Dutch Republic from the Spanish Empire.
January 1592: A campaign led by Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and his cousin William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg resulted in the conquest of Hulst and Nijmegen by the Dutch.
January 1592: In 1591, Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, used his expanded army and innovative river transportation methods to conquer Zutphen and Deventer in the Netherlands, further expanding the territory of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
January 1593: Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, joined his cousin William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, in capturing the cities of Steenwijk and Coevorden in 1592.
January 1598: Maurice of Nassau first seized the fortress of Rheinberg, a strategic Rhine crossing, and subsequently Groenlo, Oldenzaal, and Enschede, before capturing the county of Lingen.
January 1605: In 1604, the stadtholders, Maurice of Nassau and Ambrosio Spinola, captured Spanish fortresses in Grave, Sluys, and Aardenburg.
January 1606: In 1605, Oldenzaal, a city in the Dutch Republic, was captured by Maurice of Nassau from the Spanish Netherlands.
January 1607: Lochem conquered by spain.
April 1609: A ceasefire was signed in Antwerp by Spain and the Dutch Republic, thus ending the Dutch Revolt starting the Twelve Years' Truce. Spain recognized the Dutch Republic with the borders of the current military situation.
1.2.Thirty Years' War
Was a war that took place mainly in central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The war began as a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestant in the Holy Roman Empire but then escalated into a conflict for the hegemony in Europe between Habsburg Spain and Austria, Sweden and France.
1.2.1.Bohemian-Palatine period
Was the first period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with a protestant revolt in Bohemia, at the time a territory of the Habsburg Domains.
1.2.1.1.War in Netherlands
Was the theatre of war in the Low Countries during the first phase of the Thirty Years' War.
June 1625: In June 1625, after a siege of almost a year, the Dutch city of Breda was forced to surrender.
1.2.2.Swedish Period
Was the third main period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with the intervention of the Kingdom of Sweden.
August 1632: The Dutch forces, led by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, successfully captured the city of Maastricht from the Spanish occupiers in 1632.
1.2.3.Franco-Swedish Period
Was the fourth main period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with the intervention of the Kingdom of France.
1.2.3.1.Low Countries Front (France)
Was the Low Countries front during the Franco-Swedish period of the Thirty Years' War.
October 1637: Breda, a city in the southern Netherlands, surrendered to Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, after a six-month siege in 1637. This victory was a significant achievement for the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in their ongoing struggle against the Spanish Habsburgs during the Eighty Years' War.
1.2.4.Peace of Westphalia
Were a series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War. Catholics and Protestants were redefined as equal in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. There were major territorial adjustments. In particular, France, Sweden and Brandenburg had major territorial gains, and several religious territories of the Holy Roman Empire were secularized.
October 1648: Borders of the Dutch Republic at the end of the Thirty Years' War.
1.3.Nine Years' War
Was a conflict between France and the Grand Alliance, a coalition including the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, and Savoy. It is considered the first war that saw fighting globally because battles occured in Europe, America, Africa and India.
1.3.1.Peace of Ryswick
Were a series of treaties that ended the Nine Years' War.
September 1697: Peace of Ryswick (1697): France kept Strasbourg but returned Freiburg, Breisach, Philippsburg and the Duchy of Lorraine to the Holy Roman Empire.
Was a war that saw Spain fighting against England-Scotland and the Netherlands.
August 1626: Siege of Oldenzaal, wich eventually fell to the Dutch forces.
August 1627: Siege of Groenlo.
September 1629: The Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch in 1629 was led by Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, against the Spanish-held city of 's-Hertogenbosch. The successful siege resulted in the city's surrender and its territory being annexed by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
2.1.Treaty of Madrid
Was the treaty that ended the Anglo-Spanish War (1625-1630).
November 1630: The Treaty of Madrid was signed in 1630 between the Dutch Republic and Spain, ending the Eighty Years' War. The treaty restored the status quo ante bellum, returning the territory to the Spanish Netherlands.
Was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg between Brandenburg and the Palatinate.
January 1637: After the troops of the Generalitatland had previously left Ravenstein, they returned in 1635 and occupied the dominion again.
January 1672: Brandenburg-Prussia renounced its claim in 1671, and when a French army approached in 1672 during France's war with the United Netherlands, the troops of the Generalitatland finally withdrew from the Ravenstein dominion, after which the fortress was razed, of which only the City gates and the castle were spared.
Was a war between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic.
4.1.French invasion of the Dutch Republic
Was the French invasion of the Dutch Republic during the Franco-Dutch War.
June 1672: In 1672, during the Franco-Dutch War, French forces under the command of King Louis XIV occupied the forts of Tongeren, Maaseik, and Valkenburg.
June 1672: Grol conquered by france.
June 1672: Battle of Tolhuis.
June 1672: In 1672, during the Franco-Dutch War, King Louis XIV of France delayed the capture of Zutphen to allow his brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, to take control of the territory. This military occupation was part of France's larger campaign against the Dutch Republic.
June 1672: The council of Utrecht, led by Mayor Hendrick Moreelse, surrendered to Henri Louis d'Aloigny, Marquis de Rochefort, to prevent the city from being plundered during the Franco-Dutch War. William of Orange retreated his forces on 18 June 1672.
June 1672: The French army, led by King Louis XIV, captured the fortress of Naarden in 1672 during the Franco-Dutch War. This military occupation was part of France's larger campaign to expand its territory and influence in Europe.
June 1672: King Louis XIV of France besieged Doesburg.
June 1672: The province of Overijssel surrendered as a whole to the bishop of Münster, Bernard von Galen. Von Galen's troops plundered towns on the west side of the IJssel, such as Hattem, Elburg and Harderwijk, on 21 June.
July 1672: The French intimidated the garrison of Coevorden into a quick surrender.
July 1672: Nijmegen had been taken on 9 July by the French under the command of King Louis XIV and his military general, Marshal Turenne, during the Franco-Dutch War. The city remained under French military occupation until the Treaty of Nijmegen was signed in 1678.
July 1672: During the Franco-Dutch War, French military leader Turenne was captured near 's-Hertogenbosch while attacking Fort Crèvecœur in 1672. This event marked a significant victory for the French forces in their campaign against the Dutch Republic.
July 1672: The Siege of Groningen in 1672 was part of the Franco-Dutch War. The French forces, led by Marshal Luxembourg, besieged the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The city eventually surrendered after a month-long siege, leading to its occupation by France.
November 1672: In 1672, during the Franco-Dutch War, the Dutch forces led by Stadtholder William III retook Coevorden and liberated the province of Drenthe from the French occupation.
October 1673: In September 1673, William of Orange recaptured Naarden from the French forces during the Franco-Dutch War. Naarden was a strategic fortress town in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
December 1673: Münster and Cologne left the war in November. With the war expanding into the Rhineland and Spain, French troops withdrew from the Dutch Republic, retaining only Grave and Maastricht.
The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Philip of Anjou and Charles of Austria, and their respective supporters. It was a global war, with fighting taking place in Europe, Asia, and America. At the end of the war, Philip II, who was the successor chosen by Charles II as a descendant of Charles' paternal half-sister Maria Theresa, became King of Spain and of its overseas empire. The Spanish possessions in Europe were partitioned between various European Monarchies.
5.1.Treaty of Utrecht
Were a series of treaties to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
April 1713: In 1713, the territories of Venlo, Montfort, and Echt were ceded to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, also known as the Dutch Republic. This was part of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession. The Dutch Republic was a confederation of provinces in the Low Countries, led by the Stadtholder William IV of Orange.
Was a European conflict caused by the succession to the Habsburg Domains. Maria Theresa succeeded her father Charles VI, and the opposition to female inheritance of the throne was a pretext for starting a war. It was a global conflict that saw fight in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
6.1.Low Countries Theatre (War of the Austrian Succession)
Was the theatre of war in the Low Countries during the War of the Austrian Succession.
May 1747: Maastricht surrendered on 7 May 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession. The city was occupied by French forces led by Marshal Maurice de Saxe, marking a significant victory for France over the Dutch Republic.
October 1747: In 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the French forces led by Marshal Maurice de Saxe besieged and captured Bergen op Zoom in September. This victory was part of France's military occupation of the region during the conflict.
6.2.Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Was the treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession, following a congress assembled on 24 April 1748 at the Free Imperial City of Aachen.
October 1748: France returned the Southern Netherlands (i.e. today's Belgium) to Austria.
Was a Prussian military campaign in September-October 1787 to restore the Orange stadtholderate in the Dutch Republic against the rise of the democratic Patriot movement.
September 1787: The fortress city of Gorinchem (the only garrison south of Amsterdam still in a position to offer resistance, after the Woerden Defense Council had ordered all other troops to retreat to Amsterdam on 15 September) was ordered to surrender by Knobelsdorff on 17 September.
September 1787: The main Prussian force, led by Gaudi and Knobelsdorff, reached Leimuiden.
September 1787: Naarden and Weesp were part of the Dutch Republic during the Patriot movement in the late 18th century. Adam Gerard Mappa was a prominent Patriot leader who led the surrender of Naarden to Prussian forces in 1787 during the Prussian military occupation of the Dutch Republic.
October 1787: Prussian military occupation of Sloten
October 1787: The Prussian forces left the city of Leiden.
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
8.1.War of the First Coalition
Were a series of wars between the Kingdom of France (later the French Republic) and several European Monarchies. The French Revolution had deteriorated the relations of France with the other European countries, that tried several times to invade France in order to crash the revolutionary government.
January 1795: The French armies drove the Austrians, British, and Dutch beyond the Rhine, occupying Belgium, the Rhineland, and the south of the Netherlands.
8.1.1.Flanders Campaign
Was a French military campaign in the Flanders.
February 1793: The Republican French army stopped near Aldenhoven.
February 1793: The French Armée du Nord commanded by general Charles-François Dumouriez advanced from Antwerp and invaded Dutch Brabant.
February 1793: A French army under Francisco de Miranda laid siege to Maastricht.
January 1794: In 1793, during the French Revolutionary Wars, General Charles François Dumouriez led French forces into Brabant, a territory that was part of the Austrian Netherlands. This military occupation was part of France's campaign to expand its territory and spread revolutionary ideals.
November 1794: After a brief siege, Nijmegen was found to be untenable and the city was abandoned to the French.
December 1794: By 28 December the French had occupied the Bommelwaard and the Lands of Altena.
January 1795: On 10 January French general Pichegru ordered a general advance across the frozen river between Zaltbommel and Nijmegen and the allies were forced to retreat behind the Lower Rhine.
January 1795: On 16 January, the city of Utrecht surrendered to the French.
January 1795: Dutch revolutionaries led by Cornelius Krayenhoff put pressure on the city council of Amsterdam to hand over the city to the invading French army.
January 1795: The Batavian Republic was established after the French revolutionary forces invaded the Netherlands, leading to the overthrow of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The proclamation of the Batavian Republic on 19 January 1795 marked the beginning of a new era in Dutch history.
August 1585: Cautionary Towns: English possession of Flushing and Brill was confirmed by the Treaty of Nonsuch in 1585.
January 1610: Evolution of the border between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands before the Thirty Year's War.
January 1610: Ravenstein fell to the Netherlands.
January 1617: The Cautionary Towns were sold to the Dutch Republic in 1616.
January 1622: Brandenburg acquires Ravenstein.
January 1630: In 1629, during the Eighty Years' War, Eindhoven was captured by the Dutch Republic under the leadership of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange.
January 1750: In 1748, the French again conquered Maastricht at what is known as the Second French Siege of Maastricht.
January 1751: In 1748, during the Second French Siege of Maastricht, the French forces led by Marshal Maurice de Saxe conquered the city. However, in 1750, the territory was ceded to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands as part of the Treaty of Maastricht.
Disestablishment
January 1795: The French armies drove the Austrians, British, and Dutch beyond the Rhine, occupying Belgium, the Rhineland, and the south of the Netherlands.
January 1795: On 10 January French general Pichegru ordered a general advance across the frozen river between Zaltbommel and Nijmegen and the allies were forced to retreat behind the Lower Rhine.
January 1795: On 16 January, the city of Utrecht surrendered to the French.
January 1795: Dutch revolutionaries led by Cornelius Krayenhoff put pressure on the city council of Amsterdam to hand over the city to the invading French army.
January 1795: The Batavian Republic was established after the French revolutionary forces invaded the Netherlands, leading to the overthrow of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The proclamation of the Batavian Republic on 19 January 1795 marked the beginning of a new era in Dutch history.
Selected Sources
Addington, L. (1994): The Patterns of War Since the Eighteenth Century, Bloomington (USA), p.24
Guthrie, W. (1798): A New geographical, historical and commercial grammar and present state of the several kingdoms of the world, printed for Charles Dilly and G.G. and J. Robinson, p. 473
Johannes Arndt: Der Dreißigjährige Krieg 1618–1648. Reclam Sachbuch, Stuttgart 2009, S. 81–84.
Panhuysen, L. (2009): Rampjaar 1672: Hoe de Republiek aan de ondergang ontsnapte, Uitgeverij Atlas
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), https://www.ieg-friedensvertraege.de/treaty/1748%20X%2018%20Friedensvertrag%20von%20Aachen/t-283-1-de.html?h=1
Treaty of Ryswick (English version), https://bonoc.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/tratado-ryswick.pdf
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
