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Netherlands

one of the four autonomous countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; with territories in the Caribbean

104 dated entries naming Netherlands, drawn from 94 separate years between 55 BCE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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1st century BC

  • 55 BCEMay – Julius Caesar defeats a Germanic army and massacres the women and children near the Meuse and Rhine Rivers (now known as the city of Kessel in the Netherlands).source

1st century

  • 47Corbulo orders the construction of the canal Fossa Corbulonis, between the Rhine and Meuse in the Netherlands, which connects the city Forum Hadriani (Voorburg).source
  • 50Utrecht is founded, and a Roman fortification (castellum) is constructed at the Rhine border in the present-day Netherlands.source
  • 69August 1 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.source

2nd century

  • 150The Roman town Forum Hadriani (Voorburg) receives the title of Municipium Aelium Cananefatium, "the town of the Cananefates" (modern Netherlands). The town is awarded with rights to organize markets.source

3rd century

  • 293In this or the following year, Constantius defeats the Franks in Batavia (Netherlands).source

7th century

  • 689Battle of Dorestad: The Frisians under King Radbod are defeated by the Frankish mayor of the palace, Pippin of Herstal. The Rhine delta and Dorestad (modern Netherlands) become Frankish again, as well as the castles of Utrecht and Fechten (approximate date).source
  • 690Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, travels from York with 12 Benedictine monks to Westkapelle, (modern Netherlands) to Christianize the pagan Frisians.source
  • 695November 21 – Willibrord, Northumbrian missionary, becomes the first bishop of Utrecht (Netherlands). He returns to Frisia to preach, and builds numerous churches (approximate date).source

8th century

  • 703Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon bishop, travels to Rome again, and is supported in his struggle to retain his see of York by the pope. On his way Wilfrid stops in Frisia (modern Netherlands), to visit Willibrord.source
  • 714Civil War within the Pepinid clan: A revolt erupts between the Neustrian Franks and Frisians. King Radbod forces bishop Willibrord and his Benedictine monks to flee, and advances as far as Cologne (Germany). Frisia (modern-day Netherlands) once again becomes independent.source
  • 716Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, leaves England and travels to Frisia (the western parts of the modern-day Netherlands) to assist Willibrord, bishop of Utrecht, in his work to convert the pagan Frisians.source
  • 717Charles Martel consolidates his power, proclaims Clotaire IV king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic, and deposes Rigobert, bishop of Reims, replacing him with Milo. He marches against Radbod, king (or duke) of the Frisians, and pushes him back into his territory (later part of the Netherlands). Charles sends the Saxons back over the Weser River, and secures the Rhine border—in the name of Clotaire.source
  • 719Frisian–Frankish War: Charles Martel defeats Redbad, King of the Frisians. He easily invades Frisia (modern Netherlands) and subjugates the territory. Charles also crosses the Rhine and annexes "farther" Frisia, to the banks of the River Vlie.source
  • 739Willibrord, the first bishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Northumbrian missionary, dies at Echternach (modern Luxembourg).source
  • 753Eoban is appointed bishop of Utrecht (modern Netherlands), by the missionary bishop Boniface.source
  • 768Lebuinus, Anglo-Saxon missionary, founds the city of Deventer (modern-day Netherlands), and builds a wooden church on the bank of the River IJssel (approximate date).source
  • 770King Alhred of Northumbria takes an interest in continental missionary activities, and sends Willehad to Frisia in modern-day Netherlands (approximate date).source

9th century

  • 834Danish Vikings raid the trading settlement of Dorestad (present-day Wijk bij Duurstede), located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht (modern Netherlands).source
  • 850Danish Viking raiders, led by King Rorik, conquer Dorestad and Utrecht (modern-day Netherlands). Emperor Lothair I recognizes him as ruler of most of Friesland.source
  • 851Emperor Lothair I meets with his (half) brothers Louis the German and Charles the Bald in Meerssen (modern-day Netherlands), to continue the system of "con-fraternal government".source
  • 863Viking raiders again plunder Dorestad (modern Netherlands), a Frankish port on the mouth of the river Rhine. It thereafter disappears from the chronicles.source
  • 885Summer – Emperor Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at Lobith (modern Netherlands), and accuses Hugh, an illegitimate son of former king Lothair II, and his vassal Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, of plotting against him. Hugh is blinded, and exiled to the Abbey of Saint Gall (modern Switzerland). Godfrid is killed by a group of Frisian and Saxon nobles, at the connivance of Henry of Franconia. The local count, Gerolf, takes over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish, after the murder.source

10th century

  • 920Henry I conquers Utrecht (modern-day Netherlands), which has been in possession of the Vikings for 70 years. Balderic, bishop of Utrecht, moves his seat back from Deventer to Utrecht (approximate date).source
  • 955Lutgardis of Luxemburg, countess of Holland (Netherlands)source

11th century

  • 1023The Dom Church at Utrecht (modern Netherlands) is severely damaged by fire. Bishop Adalbold II begins construction of a new Romanesque style church.source
  • 1035October 16 – Conrad II grants the right to hold the first Freimarkt festival in Bremen. The city increases her trade with Norway, and the northern Netherlands.source
  • 1076Summer – Dirk V, count of Holland, re-conquers West Frisia (modern Netherlands) from the Archdiocese of Utrecht. He besieges Bishop Conrad at the castle of IJsselmonde, taking him prisoner.source

13th century

  • 1220Dordrecht is granted city rights by William I, Count of Holland, making it the oldest city in present-day Netherlands.source
  • 1227July 28 – Battle of Ane: Forces of the Bishopric of Utrecht are defeated by the rebellious Drenths led by Rudolph van Coevorden near Ane (modern Netherlands). The Drenths lure the Bishop's forces, supported by heavily armoured knights, in an ambush into a swampy area and kill Bishop Otto II of Lippe. After the battle, Otto's successor, Wilbrand van Oldenburg, rouses the Frisian people into supporting the war against the Drenths.source
  • 1233Gendt receives its city rights from Otto II ("the Lame"), count of Guelders (modern Netherlands).source
  • 1272August 20 – Battle of Heiloo: Floris V, count of Holland, makes an unsuccessful attack on Frisia in an attempt to recover the body of his father, William II, who was killed (16 years ago) by the Frisians near Hoogwoud (modern Netherlands).source
  • 1287December 14 – A huge storm and associated storm tide in the North Sea and English Channel, known as St. Lucia's flood in the Netherlands, kills thousands and reshapes the coastline of the Netherlands and England. In the Netherlands, a fringing barrier between the North Sea and a shallow lake collapses, causing the fifth-largest flood in recorded history – which creates the Zuider Zee inlet, and kills over 50,000 people. It also gives sea access to Amsterdam, allowing its development as an important port city.source

14th century

  • 1307The village of Heerle in North Brabant is proclaimed an independent parish (modern Netherlands).source
  • 1315In the Netherlands, Vlissingen (Anglicized to "Flushing" later) is granted city rights.source
  • 1362January 16 – The "Grote Mandrenke" storm tide strikes the Netherlands, England, Germany and Denmark, destroying the Danish settlement of Rungholt in the Duchy of Schleswig, and the Humber estuary port of Ravenser Odd in England. The East Frisian island of Buise is broken into two by North Sea floods.source

15th century

  • 1410Construction begins on Castle Woerden in the Netherlands.source
  • 1411March 4 – Friso-Hollandic Wars: Friesland soldiers capture the Netherlands city of Staveren, the last Netherlands stronghold in Friesland, after a bitter winter prevents ships from both sides from crossing the Zuiderzee and freezes the moat around the city walls.source
  • 1420April 30 – Great Frisian War: In a war that began 70 years earlier in 1350 The Skieringers, led by Sikke Sjaarda, capture the city of Bolsward (part of Friesland in the modern Netherlands) from the wealthier Fetkeapers. The allies of the Fetkeapers, led by Focko Ukena, then react and make a counterattack on May 12 at Palesloot near Hindeloopen.source
  • 1421November 17–19 – St. Elizabeth's flood: The coastal area near Dordrecht in the Netherlands is flooded, due to the extremely high tide of the North Sea; 72 villages are drowned, killing about 10,000 people, and the course of the Meuse is changed.source
  • 1498June 10 – The Battle of Laaksum is fought in Friesland in the Netherlands at Stavoren and Warns, bringing an end to the civil war fought for almost a century between the Vetkopers and Schieringers. The Scheringers are triumphant after agreeing to allow Albert III, Duke of Saxony to annex Friesland in return for Albert's protection.source

16th century

  • 1527November 15 – The lands of the Bishopric of Utrecht, now in the Netherlands, are ceded to control of the Habsburgs in return for assistance in suppressing a rebellion by the citizens of Utrecht.source
  • 1577February 12 – The "Perpetual Edict", providing for the removal of Spanish troops from what is now the Netherlands, is signed in the city of Marche-en-Famenne in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) by the Spanish Governor-General, Don Juan de Austria and representatives of the Dutch rebellion. The Perpetual Edict will last only five months, before Don Juan begins new attacks on the rebels.source
  • 1587May – Esaias van de Velde, Dutch landscape painter (died 1630)source
  • 1597August 14 – First Dutch Expedition to Indonesia: A Dutch expedition commanded by Cornelis de Houtman returns to Amsterdam, after having successfully reached Java. This achievement opens the Spice trade, which had until then been monopolised by the Portuguese, to the Dutch, who in the next years launch several more expeditions to the Indies.source
  • 1600April 19 – The first Dutch ship ever to arrive in Japan, the Liefde ("Love"), anchors in Sashifu, in the Bungo Province (modern-day Usuki in Ōita Prefecture). The sailors present on this ship are William Adams, Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn, Jacob Quaeckernaeck and Melchior van Santvoort.source

17th century

  • 1616January 29 – Dutch captain Willem Schouten, in the Eendracht, rounds the southern tip of South America, and names it Kaap Hoorn, after his birthplace in Holland.source
  • 1617April 14 – Second Battle of Playa Honda: The Spanish navy defeats a Dutch fleet in the Philippines.source
  • 1619May 13 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague, after having been convicted of treason.source
  • 1625The Dutch settle Manhattan, founding the town of New Amsterdam. The town will transform into a piece of New York City.source
  • 1625December 9 – Thirty Years' War: The Netherlands and England sign the Treaty of The Hague, a military peace treaty for providing economical aid to King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, during his military campaigns in Germany.source
  • 1625September 24 – A Dutch fleet attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico.source
  • 1627January 26 – The Dutch ship t Gulden Zeepaert, skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded European sighting of the coast of South Australia.source
  • 1627July 20 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the Siege of Grol, the last Spanish stronghold in the eastern Netherlands, and captures it after 30 days.source
  • 1641The Dutch found a trading colony on Dejima, near Nagasaki, Japan.source
  • 1648April 19 – First Battle of Guararapes: The Portuguese army defeats the Dutch army, in the north of Brazil.source
  • 1651March 4 – St. Peter's Flood: Another storm tide in the North Sea strikes the Netherlands, flooding Amsterdam.source
  • 1660May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.source
  • 1663March 4 – The Prince Edward Islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean are discovered by Barent Barentszoon Lam, of the Dutch ship Maerseveen, and named Dina (Prince Edward) and Maerseveen (Marion).source
  • 1665April 12 – The burial of Margaret Porteous is recorded; hers is the first known death during the Great Plague of London. This last major outbreak of Bubonic plague in the British Isles has possibly been introduced from the Netherlands. Two-thirds of Londoners leave the city, but over 68,000 die. The plague spreads to Derbyshire.source
  • 1665June 12 – England installs a municipal government in New York City (the former Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam).source
  • 1672June 1 – Münster and Cologne begin their invasion of the Dutch Republic; hence 1672 becomes known as het rampjaar ("the disaster year") in the Netherlands.source
  • 1673July 11 – The Netherlands and Denmark-Norway sign a defense treaty.source
  • 1686July 9 – The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) is founded, in response to claims made by Louis XIV of France on the Electorate of the Palatinate in western Germany. It comprises the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, the electors of Bavaria, Saxony and the Electorate of the Palatinate.source
  • 1696January 31 – In the Netherlands, undertakers revolt after funeral reforms in Amsterdam.source
  • 1696March 7 – King William III of England departs from the Netherlands.source

18th century

  • 1704August 3 (July 23 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Gibraltar is captured from Spain, by English and Dutch forces under Sir George Rooke.source
  • 1711August 1 – The Dutch East India Company trading ship Zuytdorp leaves the Netherlands on an ill-fated voyage to Indonesia bearing a load of freshly minted silver coins. The wreck site remains unknown until the mid-20th century, on a remote part of the Western Australian coast between Kalbarri and Shark Bay.source
  • 1717December 24–25 – Christmas flood: A disastrous flood hits the North Sea coast, between the Netherlands and Denmark; thousands die or lose their houses.source
  • 1725December 12 – Johan Willem Ripperda of the Netherlands, the former Dutch Ambassador to Spain, arrives in Madrid and claims that King Philip V has appointed him as the new Prime Minister. The bluff is successful and he is granted authority by the King's advisers, but after four months, he is forced to resign.source
  • 1727November 21 – The Netherlands signs the Treaty of Seville.source
  • 1747July 2 – War of the Austrian Succession – Battle of Lauffeld: France defeats the combined armies of Hanover, Great Britain and the Netherlands.source
  • 1747September 13 – The Netherlands city of Bergen op Zoom falls to the Army of France after a 70 day siege during the War of the Austrian Succession.source

19th century

  • 1832December 4 – Siege of Antwerp: The last remaining Dutch stronghold, Antwerp Citadel, comes under French attack in the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution.source
  • 1837August 16 – The Dutch colonial forces sack the fortress of Bonjol, Indonesia, ending the Padri War.source
  • 1839April 19 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom, with its independence and neutrality guaranteed by the great powers of Europe. Half of the Limburg province of Belgium is added to the Netherlands, giving rise to a Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg (the latter being joined (from September 5) to the German Confederation).source
  • 1840October 7 – William II becomes King of the Netherlands.source
  • 1864February 15 – Heineken Brewery is founded in the Netherlands.source
  • 1864September 5–6 – Bombardment of Shimonoseki: An American, British, Dutch and French alliance engages the powerful feudal Japanese warlord or daimyō Lord Mōri Takachika, of the Chōshū clan, based in Shimonoseki, Japan.source
  • 1867Margarine Unie, at the time named Antoon Jurgens United, a predecessor of the Unilever, worldwide toiletries, beauty care and beverage brand, is founded in Netherlands.source
  • 1890June 16 – Royal Dutch Petroleum, predecessor of Royal Dutch Shell, the major worldwide energy production and sales company, is founded in the Netherlands to develop an oilfield in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra.source
  • 1891Philips founded in Eindhoven, Netherlands, for the production of carbon-filament lamps and other electro-technical products.source
  • 1895The Raiffeisen model of Cooperative Credit and Saving Bank, predecessor of Rabobank, a worldwide multiple financial service provider, is founded in the Netherlands.source

20th century

  • 1907August 24–31 – The International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam meets in the Netherlands.source
  • 1908July 19 – Feyenoord, the first Dutch football club to win the UEFA Champions League, is founded at Rotterdam, Netherlandssource
  • 1917Suze Groeneweg becomes the first woman elected to sit in the House of Representatives in the Netherlands (although women will not be granted the right to vote until the following year).source
  • 1932SPAR, the global retail brand, is founded in Zegwaart, Netherlands.source
  • 1938December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre, France after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer.source
  • 1938January 1 – State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).source
  • 1942Dutch East Indies campaign: Japan declares war on the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. Japanese forces invade Borneo and Celebes.source
  • 1942July – The Holocaust: Inmates of Westerbork transit camp in the occupied Netherlands begin to be shipped to Nazi extermination camps. From now until 1944 around 107,000, mostly Jewish, from here will be killed.source
  • 1944The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and others in hiding. All will die in captivity, except for Otto Frank, Anne's father.source
  • 1944September 5 – Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg constitute Benelux as representatives of the exiled governments sign the London Customs Convention.source
  • 1949March 1 – Indonesia seizes Yogyakarta from the Dutch.source
  • 1957December 1 – In Indonesia, Sukarno announces the nationalization of 246 Dutch businesses.source
  • 1959March 11 – The Eurovision Song Contest 1959, staged in Cannes, is won for the Netherlands by "'n Beetje" sung by Teddy Scholten (music by Dick Schallies, lyrics by Willy van Hemert).source
  • 1962January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the worst Dutch rail disaster.source
  • 1986April 17 – An alleged state of war lasting 335 years between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace, bringing an end to any hypothetical war that may have existed.source
  • 1991April 14 – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are found in an abandoned car near the museum less than an hour later.source
  • 1992April 13 – The 5.3 Roermond earthquake affects the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong).source
  • 1996March 15 – Fokker, a major manufacturer of small size aircraft, goes bankrupt in Netherlands.source
  • 2000June 10–July 2 – Belgium and the Netherlands jointly host the UEFA Euro 2000 football tournament, which is won by France.source

21st century

  • 2021May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".source
  • 2025November 26 – December 14 – The 2025 World Women's Handball Championship is held in Germany and the Netherlands, and is won by Norway.source

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