Five Brothers and a War

History—1800 to 1900 AD

The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie , VOC went bankrupt in 1800, having been mismanaged through corruption. All of its assets and liabilities were taken over by the Dutch government. The VOC's territories became the Dutch East Indies and were expanded over the course of the 19th century to include the whole of the Indonesian archipelago, and in the 20th century would form the Republic of Indonesia. In the political realm, Napoleon Bonaparte established the short-lived Koningkrijk Holland (“Kingdom of Holland”) in 1806, although in truth it was not a kingdom so much as a puppet state. Note that the entire kingdom took its name from the leading province, Holland—something that continues to this day. Napoleon made his brother, Louis, the king. But Napoleon was unhappy with Louis as he felt that the king’s interest was in serving the Dutch people more than Napoleon. By way of example, Louis even took the step to change his name to Lodewijk , the Dutch version of the French Louis, and the German Ludwig. Napoleon then blockaded Holland, further eroding Holland’s economy. Napoleon dissolved the kingdom and Holland was simply annexed by the French for a three-year period beginning in 1810. The long-term effect of the kingdom was that it created the transition from Stadhouders to a kingdom, and when the French were thrown out, it was the kingdom form of governance that was retained and adapted. Prins Willem VI van Oranje was born in 1772 in the Huis ten Bosch (“House in the Woods”) in Den Haag which is still the home of the Dutch monarch to this day. The palace was built in 1645 and renovated in 1737. The French, when they took over, donated the house to the Dutch people. Louis ( Lodewijk ) briefly lived there. During World War I, Koningin Wilhelmina made it her primary residence. Today, Koning Willem-Alexander lives there. Czar Alexander I of Russia played a central role in the restoration of Holland . Prins Willem VI (as he was now known), who had been living in exile in Prussia, met with Alexander I in March 1813. Alexander promised to support Willem and help restore an independent Holland with Willem as king. Russian troops in Holland participated with their Prussian allies in liberating the country; dynastic considerations of marriage between the royal houses of Great Britain and Holland, assured British approval. In October 1813, after Napoleon’s defeat in Leipzig, French troops retreated from Holland and other territories, back to France. After a power vacuum occurred, Willem VI was invited back. In December 1813, he landed in Scheveningen and was offered the title Koning (“King”). He refused the title, preferring instead the title “Sovereign Prince.”

holland

Five Brothers and a War

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