Prehistory
The Netherlands has been inhabited since the last Ice Age ; the oldest remains found are 100,000 years old, when the country had a tundra climate with very little vegetation. Its first settlers were hunter-gatherers. [2] At the end of the Ice Age, the area was inhabited by various Paleolithic groups. One of them even made canoes (Pesse, about 6500 BC) and after that, about 8000 BC, a Mesolithic tribe resided near Bergumermeer (Friesland).
The Agriculture came around the year 5000 BC, through the Culture of Alfarería linear (probably originating from farms in Central Europe), but was only practiced in the plains of the south of the country (Limburg south) end.
The earliest notable prehistoric remains were dolmens, which have been found in the province of Drenthe, and were probably built by people of the Funnelbeaker farming culture between 4100 and 3200 BC. [3]
The Bronze Age probably began around 2000 BC, as in the tomb of “The Blacksmith of Wageningen “. After this discovery, more objects from the Bronze Age appeared, such as in Epe, in Drouwen and especially in Drenthe, which due to the amount of objects found, such as tin beads in a necklace, indicate that it was a commercial center of the time.. The wealth of the Netherlands in the Iron Age can be seen in the “King’s Tomb at Oss” (about 500 BC), there a real king was buried with some objects such as an iron sword with a gold engraving and coral in the largest burial mound in Western Europe, which was 52 m wide.
At the time of the arrival of the Romans, the Netherlands was inhabited by various Germanic tribes, who had settled here around 600 BC, such as the Tubanti, the Canninefates or the Frisians. [2] Celtic tribes settled in the south, including the Eburones, Menapios, and Texuandri. Various Germans settled in the Rhine Delta at the beginning of the Roman occupation, and formed the Batavian tribe. [4]
Roman age
In the 1st century BC, the Romans conquered the southern part of the country, where they created the Roman province of Germania Inferior. [2] The Romans were the first to build cities in the country, such as Utrecht, Nijmegen, and Maastricht. [5]The northern part, which was outside the Roman Empire and which was the place where the Frisians lived, was strongly influenced by its powerful neighbor to the south. [2]
The relationship with the country’s residents was good in general; many Batavians served in the Roman cavalry. The Batavian culture was influenced by the Roman, resulting, among other things, in Roman-type temples such as Elst, dedicated to the local gods. However, this did not prevent the Batavian rebellion in AD 69, under the leadership of Batavian leader Julius Civilis, an officer in the auxiliary troops.
After rome
The newcomers joined the original residents to create three peoples: the Frisians along the coast, the Saxons in the east, and the Franks in the south. [2] The Franks converted to Christianity after their king Clovis I did so in 496 and thus Christianity was introduced in the north thanks to the conquest of Friesland by the Franks.
As a country located in Europe according to COMMIT4FITNESS, the Netherlands belonged to the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, whose nucleus was in what is now Belgium and northern France, and which also extended through the rest of France, Germany, northern Italy and other western European territories. In 843, with the Treaty of Verdun, the Empire was divided into three parts: Western France, Eastern France and Lotharingia. Later, this central empire was divided; most of the Dutch-speaking territories were integrated into Germany and France tried to incorporate Flanders without success.
Between the years 800 and 1000, the Netherlands suffered the looting of the Vikings, their attacks were very violent, as in the destruction of the city of Dorestad. But Viking supremacy ended in 920, when King Henry I of Germany liberated Utrecht. German kings and emperors ruled the Netherlands during the 10th and 11th centuries. Germany received the denomination of Holy Roman Empire [6] after the coronation of Otto I the Great as emperor.
Burgundy
In 1433 a good part of the territory of the Netherlands and Belgium was unified by Duke Philip III of Burgundy. Before the Burgundian union, the Dutch identified themselves with their city, county or local duchy or as subjects of the Holy Roman Empire. It was during this Burgundian period that a nation-consciousness began to emerge among the Dutch. The main nobles of Holland invited the Duke to conquer this country, even though he had no historical claim on Holland. Amsterdamgrew and in the 15th century it became the main European trading port for grain from the Baltic region.
Hapsburg Netherlands
By inheritance and conquest the country came under the possession of the Habsburg dynasty under Charles V in the 16th century, who unified them into a single state.21 Eastern Holland was only occupied a few decades before the Dutch fighting. for its independence. However, in 1548, eight years before his abdication from the throne, Emperor Charles V guaranteed the status of the Seventeen Provinces of Holland as a separate entity from both the Empire and France. This Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 was not one of full independence, but allowed significant autonomy.