The Dutch Revolt, or Eighty Years War, is the term given to the armed struggle of the Northern Netherlands to shake off Spanish rule. In addition to fighting against foreign dominion, the revolt was also a desperate civil war between two key sections of the Dutch population. The Dutch Republic emerged from the conflagration as a robust sovereign state and the economic powerhouse of Europe.

Where else in the world can one enjoy all the comforts of life and all the interesting things that a person might wish to find? What other country is there in which one can enjoy such perfect freedom ...?

That is what French philosopher René Descartes wrote in 1631. However, that freedom was not for everyone. In the overseas territories enslaved people were treated alike with other goods and products and as if they were only animals Rev. James Hondius wrote indignantly in 1679, while after all, they are people of one and the same nature, like you.

In the late 18th century, economic crises raised tensions in the Republic to new heights. Political movements such as the Patriots questioned the ability of Stadholder William V to govern. Unrest culminated in 1786 in civil war, revolution, coups, foreign intervention and eventually in 1810 in annexation by France. These turbulent years laid the foundations for a fresh start for the country, with a centralised state and a monarchy.

When Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at Leipzig in 1813, the Netherlands shook off its French yoke. A new constitution was adopted - a monarchy - and until 1831 a union with Belgium. The country was ruled by a king with absolute power. In 1848, revolutionary reforms set up a constitutional monarchy instead, and this remained so.

The Industrial Revolution came to the Netherlands in the second half of the 19th century. New heavy industry, railways and other technical innovations transformed everyday life. Overseas, slavery was abolished in 1863. While in the Netherlands, the long struggle for universal suffrage ended in 1922 in elections in which men and women were able to vote.n.