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I started reading up into the history of Holland (where my dad's family comes from) and found something very interesting! Definately some Vikings...!
Maybe this explains my interest in them....
Viking index Vikings In the Netherlands Rorik Rorik's headquarters Famous vikings Viking settlements Viking mythology Female vikings Viking tressure missgien.net/index next Rorik
The scourge of the low lands The central figure in this period of Dutch history was Rorik. He was a member of an important Danish family and the most part of his adult life he was in battle for the crown of Denmark. The most important historical sources, the Annales Bertiniari and the Annalse Fuldenses are in conflict. According to the first Rorik was a brother to Harald II, while the second claims he was his nephew.
Harald was king in 812-813 as well as from 819-827. In 828 he was run off by fellow kings. From that time he spent his days gathering wealth on the account of the Frisians. Dorestad was Harald's favourite target, as well af of his follower Rorik. In 841 Emperor Lothar hands Harald Walcheren (in the southeast of present day Holland) as a loan. Walcheren's important trading centre Domburg was part of the package.
In 850 Lothar sees no other way than to give Dorestad and all its lands north of the Maas in loan to Rorik. The Frankish kings just gave the Vikings what they wanted so there would be no more riading. Rorik had just ended a very successfull campaign in the North of the Lowlands and the Emperor had no power to stop him. Harald died in 852 and his son Godfried took over. He travelled, with Rorik, back to Denmark to reclaim the thrown in the war of 854. After they have failed, they started their own empire in Frisia and extend their territory. In 863 Dorestad was riaded for the last time: the city simply ceased to exsist.
The Frisian kings did not really know where they stood. Ubbo, a Frisian warlord, fought on the side of the Danes in Northumbria but in the same year Rorik gets thrown out of Frisia after a successful revolt. He returned to Denmark for a short period only to become a great statesman. He made a treaty with Carles the Bold, king of the West-Frankisch Empire, and at the same time kept good contacts with Louis the German of the East-Frankish Empire. In 870 he returns to Frisia, more powerfull than ever, he now was an official vassal of Charles the Bold. He became a christian for political and not necessarily religious reasons. But after 873 he vanished from historical accounts. In 882 Godfried the Seaking (whether or not he was Rorik's cousin is not certain) officially became the heir to Rorik's possessions. However, he died in 885 under suspicious circumstances. As the story goes, one of his warlords, Gerulf, was involved. This Gerulf pops back into history sometime after Godfried's death as archfather of the Dutch counts.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS By Tim Lambert THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL NETHERLANDS Farming was introduced into the Netherlands about 4,500 BC. At first farmers made tools and weapons of stone. However after 1,900 BC they used bronze. About 750 BC the inhabitants of the Netherlands learned to use iron.
In the 1st century BC the Romans conquered Belgium and the southern Netherlands. They built roads and towns. However they did not colonize the northern part of the Netherlands. Then in the late 4th century the Romans withdrew from the Netherlands as their Empire crumbled. Afterwards the Netherlands was left to Germanic peoples, Franks, Saxons and Frisians. However in the 8th century AD the Franks conquered the others and became masters of the region. Meanwhile the area was converted to Christianity although a missionary, St Boniface was martyred by the Frisians in 754. In 768 Charlemagne became ruler of the Franks and he created a great empire in Europe. Under him the Netherlands was divided into cantons, each ruled by a count. However when Charlemagne died in 814 his empire was divided into three parts, roughly modern France, Germany and the region between At first the Netherlands was part of the Middle Empire. However in 925 it was absorbed into the German Empire. During the 9th and 10th century the Netherlands suffered from Viking raids. However during the Middle Ages town life and trade flourished in the Netherlands. In the 14th century Dutch towns enjoyed considerable freedom. However in the 15th century the Dukes of Burgundy gradually took control of the region.
THE NETHERLANDS 1500-1800 Eventually the Low Countries including the Netherlands became the possessions of the powerful Habsburg family. In 1555 Phillip II of Spain became ruler of the region. Meanwhile the Reformation was sweeping the Netherlands despite rigorous persecution. Calvinism, the teachings of John Calvin became popular in the Dutch towns. In 1566 Calvinists destroyed religious art in many churches in a movement called the Iconoclastic Fury.
In 1567 King Phillip sent his servant the Duke of Alva with an army to suppress the Calvinists and impose his will on the Netherlands. Alva set up the Council of Blood, which tried and condemned to death 12,000 people for taking part in the riots of 1566. Then Prince William of Orange, known as William the Silent became the champion of Dutch freedom. In 1572 William led pirates called the Sea Beggars against the Spanish. From the sea they sailed up rivers and captured Dutch towns. The Dutch flocked to join the rebellion. However the Spanish fought back and a terrible war ensued.
In 1579 seven provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht. In 1581 they declared independence from Spain. In 1588 they formed the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. However the Spanish fought to hold onto the region and in 1584 William the Silent was assassinated. Yet the English sent help and Spain was weakened by the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Phillip finally died in 1598.
During the 17th century the Netherlands became a prosperous trading nation helped by a 12 year truce with Spain from 1609 to 1621. The Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602. The Dutch West India Company was formed in 1621 and in 1625 the Dutch founded New York (later New Amsterdam). In 1652 they founded a colony in south Africa.
Meanwhile Dutch sailors went on long voyages. In 1606 Willem Jansz discovered Australia and in 1642 Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania.
Meanwhile the Spanish finally recognized the independence of the Netherlands in 1648.
However trade rivalry with England led to three wars in 1652-54, 1665-67 and 1672-74. However William of Orange, Stadholder (ruler) of the Netherlands made peace with England and married Princess Mary of England. In 1688 William became king of England.
In the late 17th century science, art and philosophy flourished in the Netherlands. However as an economic and political power Holland declined in the 18th century. The Dutch were involved in the War of the Spanish Succession against the French. The long war left the Netherlands exhausted. Increasingly Britain and France dominated world trade.
THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 19TH CENTURY At the end of the 18th century Europe was thrown into turmoil by the French Revolution. In 1795 the French invaded The Netherlands and founded the Batavian Republic. In 1806 Napoleon made his brother Louis king of the Netherlands. However the brothers fell out and Louis was forced to abdicate in 1810. The Netherlands was then absorbed into the French Empire.
However by 1813 Napoleon was facing defeat and in that year William of Orange returned to the Netherlands. In 1814 he was made King William I. In 1815 Belgium and The Netherlands were joined together as one country under King William I. However the two countries were too different to be united. In 1830 the Belgians rebelled and in 1839 the great powers forced William I to give Belgium its independence.
William I died in 1840 and in 1848 his son introduced a new liberal constitution. For the rest of the 19th century the Netherlands was a prosperous and stable country. However everybody did not share the prosperity. Some industrial growth took place. (In 1839 a railway was opened from Haarlem to Amsterdam). However conditions in 19th century factories in the Netherlands were terrible. THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 20TH CENTURY During the First World War The Netherlands remained neutral but the German Kaiser fled to the Netherlands in 1918 and was granted asylum there.
During the 1930s like the rest of the world the Netherlands suffered from the Depression and there was mass unemployment. Yet despite the depression living standards rose during the 1920s and 1930s.
When the Second World War began Dutch remained neutral but on 10 May the Germans invaded. On 14 May the Germans bombed Rotterdam. The Netherlands was forced to surrender. However Queen Wilhemina escaped.
During World War II the Netherlands suffered terribly. Thousands of Dutch men were deported to work in Germany and 23,000 people who resisted the Germans were shot. The worst suffering was during the Winter of Hunger in 1944-45 when the Germans looted the Netherlands of food, reducing the people to near starvation. Furthermore the Nazis murdered a huge number of Jews. In 1940 about 140,000 Jews lived in The Netherlands but less than 25,000 survived. The Germans the Netherlands recovered from the war and a new welfare state was created. In 1949 the Dutch colony of Indonesia became independent. It was followed by Suriname in 1975. Meanwhile the Netherlands was a founder member of the EU in 1957. In 1999 the Netherlands joined the Euro.
THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 21ST CENTURY Like the rest of the world the Netherlands suffered in the recession of 2009 but it soon recovered. Today the Netherlands is a prosperous country. Flower growing is still an important industry. Today the population of The Netherlands is 16.7 million.