History - Modern Netherlands
Growth of the liberal and republican ideas all over the world and resistance to these ideas by the people who ruled the Dutch Republic, lead at the end of the 18th century to the creation of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which after the fall of Napoleon included also the territories of the today’s Belgium and Luxemburg.
The Belgian provinces revolted in 1830 and separated into the Kingdom of Belgium. Luxemburg although independent, has been united with the Netherlands by a person of a monarch. Luxemburg finally separated from The Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1890, when Dutch King William III died not leaving a male heir, which was a condition to rule the Duchy of Luxemburg.
Following Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the Netherlands and Belgium became the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" under King Willem I, son of Willem V of Orange. The Belgians withdrew from the union in 1830 to form their own kingdom. King Willem II was largely responsible for the liberalizing revision of the constitution in 1848.
The Netherlands prospered during the long reign of Willem III (1849-90). At the time of his death, his daughter Wilhelmina was 10 years old. Her mother, Queen Emma, reigned as regent until 1898, when Wilhelmina reached the age of 18 and became the monarch.
Practically since the beginning of the Dutch Republic in 1579 the country's government realized that noninvolvement in European military confrontations was the most beneficial national policy. Even during World War I the Netherlands managed to stay out of the fighting though its southern neighbor, Belgium, was occupied. The Netherlands proclaimed neutrality at the start of both world wars. Although it escaped occupation in World War I, German troops overran the country in May 1940. Queen Wilhelmina fled to London and established a government-in-exile.
Shortly after the Netherlands was liberated in May 1945, the Queen returned. Crown Princess Juliana acceded to the throne in 1948 upon her mother's abdication. In April 1980, Queen Juliana abdicated in favor of her daughter, now Queen Beatrix. Crown Prince Willem Alexander was born in 1967.
Elements of the Netherlands' once far-flung empire were granted either full independence or nearly complete autonomy after World War II. Indonesia formally gained its independence in 1949, and Suriname became independent in 1975. The five islands of the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius, and a part of St. Maarten) and Aruba are integral parts of the Netherlands realm but enjoy a large degree of autonomy.
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