Kingdom of Holland

Kingdom of Holland
1806–1810
Motto: Eendragt maakt magt (Dutch)[b]
"Unity makes strength"
Location of Holland
StatusClient state of the French Empire
Capital
Common languagesDutch, French, Low German, Frisian
Religion
Protestantism, Catholicism
Demonym(s)Hollander
GovernmentMonarchy
King of Holland 
• 1806–1810
Louis I
• 1810
Louis II
Establishment
Historical eraNapoleonic era
• Kingdom proclaimed
5 June 1806
9 July 1810
CurrencyDutch guilder
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Batavian Republic
First French Empire
Today part of

The Kingdom of Holland (Dutch: Koningrijk Holland (contemporary), Koninkrijk Holland (modern); French: Royaume de Hollande) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican government with a monarchy. Since becoming emperor in 1804, Napoleon sought to extirpate republican tendencies in territories France controlled, and placed his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, on the throne of the puppet kingdom.[2] The name of the leading province, Holland, now designated the whole country. In 1807, East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom.

In 1809, after the Walcheren Campaign, Holland had to surrender all territories south of the River Rhine to France. Also in 1809, Dutch forces fighting on the French side participated in defeating the anti-Bonapartist German rebellion led by Ferdinand von Schill, at the Battle of Stralsund.

King Louis did not perform to Napoleon's expectations – he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's – and the kingdom was dissolved in 1810, after which the Netherlands were annexed by France until 1813. Holland covered the area of the present-day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory, and with the addition of East Frisia. It was the first formal monarchy in the Netherlands since 1581.

The long-term result of the country having been a monarchy was to facilitate the House of Orange in assuming the status of full-fledged Monarchs, ending their centuries-long ambiguous status as Stadholders, which had been the source of unending instability and conflict throughout the history of the Dutch Republic.[citation needed]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ File:Design of the royal coat of arms of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, by Alphonse Pierre Giraud, 1808.jpg Alphonse Pierre Giraud (Parijs 1786 - Amsterdam 2-jun-1863), Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, permalink.
  2. ^ Jonathan Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1995, 1128.