History of Holland

History of Holland, by George
Edmundson

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Title: History of Holland
Author: George Edmundson
Release Date: February 8, 2005 [EBook #14971]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS C.F. CLAY, MANAGER
LONDON: FETTER LANE, E.C.4

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO. BOMBAY } CALCUTTA}
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. MADRAS } TORONTO: THE
MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TOKYO:
MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

HISTORY OF HOLLAND

BY GEORGE EDMUNDSON D. LITT., F.R.G.S., F.R.HIST.S.
SOMETIME FELLOW OF BRASENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD
HON. MEMBER OF THE DUTCH HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
UTRECHT FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE NETHERLAND
SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN

CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1922

GENERAL PREFACE
The aim of this series is to sketch the history of Modern Europe, with
that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the end of the
fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the story
commences at an earlier date; in the case of the colonies it generally
begins later. The histories of the different countries are described, as a
rule, separately; for it is believed that, except in epochs like that of the
French Revolution and Napoleon I, the connection of events will thus
be better understood and the continuity of historical development more
clearly displayed.
The series is intended for the use of all persons anxious to understand
the nature of existing political conditions. 'The roots of the present lie
deep in the past'; and the real significance of contemporary events
cannot be grasped unless the historical causes which have led to them

are known. The plan adopted makes it possible to treat the history of
the last four centuries in considerable detail, and to embody the most
important results of modern research. It is hoped therefore that the
series will be useful not only to beginners but to students who have
already acquired some general knowledge of European History. For
those who wish to carry their studies further, the bibliography
appended to each volume will act as a guide to original sources of
information and works of a more special character.
Considerable attention is paid to political geography; and each volume
is furnished with such maps and plans as may be requisite for the
illustration of the text.
G.W. PROTHERO.
* * * * *

PROLOGUE
The title, "History of Holland," given to this volume is fully justified by
the predominant part which the great maritime province of Holland
took in the War of Independence and throughout the whole of the
subsequent history of the Dutch state and people. In every language the
country, comprising the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht,
Friesland, Gelderland, Overyssel and Groningen, has, from the close of
the sixteenth century to our own day, been currently spoken of as
Holland, and the people (with the solitary exception of ourselves) as
'Hollanders[1].' It is only rarely that the terms the Republic of the
United Provinces, or of the United Netherlands, and in later times the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, are found outside official documents. Just
as the title "History of England" gradually includes the histories of
Wales, of Scotland, of Ireland, and finally of the widespread British
Empire, so is it in a smaller way with the history that is told in the
following pages. That history, to be really complete, should begin with
an account of mediaeval Holland in the feudal times which preceded
the Burgundian period; and such an account was indeed actually

written, but the plan of this work, which forms one of the volumes of a
series, precluded its publication.
The character, however, of the people of the province of Holland, and
of its sister and closely allied province of Zeeland, its qualities of
toughness, of endurance, of seamanship and maritime enterprise, spring
from the peculiar amphibious nature of the country, which differs from
that of any other country in the world. The age-long struggle against
the ocean and the river floods, which has converted the marshes, that
lay around the mouths of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt, by
toilsome labour and skill into fertile and productive soil, has left its
impress on the whole history of this people. Nor must it be forgotten
how largely this building up of the elaborate system of dykes, dams and
canals by which this water-logged land was transformed into the
Holland of the