Kingdom of Holland
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| Kingdom of Holland Koninkrijk Holland |
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| Client of the French Empire | ||||
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| Capital | Amsterdam | |||
| Language(s) | Dutch | |||
| Government | Monarchy | |||
| King | ||||
| - 1806–10 | Louis I | |||
| - 1810 | Louis II | |||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Era | |||
| - Established | June 5, 1806 | |||
| - Disestablished | July 9, 1810 | |||
| Currency | Dutch Guilder |
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 (Dutch: Koninkrijk Holland, French: Royaume de Hollande) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country. In 1807 Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom but in 1809, after a British invasion, Holland had to give over 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. The kingdom of Holland covered the area of present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. East Frisia (in present day Germany) was also part of the kingdom.
[edit] Coat of arms
Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte was installed as King of Holland on June 5, 1806. Originally the arms of the new kingdom were to be like those of the Kingdom of Italy: an eagle bearing a shield, with the arms of the United Netherlands, the lion, now royally crowned. In December 1806, A. Renodi in Paris designed arms quartering the Napoleonic eagle with the lion of the United Netherlands. Around the shield was the French Order of the Grand Aigle. Behind the shield are crossed sceptres, typical for Napoleonic heraldry, and above the shield, Napoleon's star.
A few months later, on May 20, 1807, King Louis (now called "Lodewijk") altered these arms, adding a helmet, letting out his brother’s star and replacing the Grand Aigle with his own Dutch Order of the Union and the old Dutch devise Eendracht maakt macht ("strength through unity") around the shield. Exemplary for the innovation in Napoleon's heraldry are the two hands coming out of clouds from behind the shield holding swords, designating King Louis as Connétable de France.
[edit] History
Napoleon felt he did not have enough control over the Netherlands, thus he sent his brother, Louis Napoleon, and made him king. Many citizens were very happy with his arrival; they had feared that the Republic would be incorporated into the French Empire. But there was also opposition, because many feared the new King would introduce the dreaded conscription. This he would not do, much to the dismay of Napoleon, who demanded that Louis would raise a large army to guard the North from British invasion, and to aid the French armies in Germany and Spain. Apart from the lavishly uniformed Royal Guard, the army of the Kingdom of Holland would always be short of recruits, leading to units being disbanded or amalgamated. Acts to recruit more troops, for instance by raising a Jewish regiment or by adding all male orphans to the army as Velites were of little effect, the latter leading to public riots and accusations of introducing the conscription. Louis introduced the Guilder, founded several major institutions (some of which exist to this day) and had a Penal Law Code compiled, largely modeled on French law. Due to the economic blockade enforced by Napoleon, the economy of the Kingdom of Holland was further ruined; the smuggling of British goods increased. Louis hesitated to oppose this, which lead France sending units of Douanes Imperiales to Holland. After British troops invaded Walcheren in 1809, Napoleon was fed up with his hesitant brother. After annexing the southern provinces of Holland into the Empire, Napoleon convinced Louis to abdicate and in 1810 annexed the kingdom into the French Empire making the Netherlands, in effect, an integral part of France itself.
[edit] Long-term implications
While the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland was short-lived, in the aftermath of Napoleon's fall the precedent of Netherlands having been a Kingdom facilitated the House of Orange's successful efforts to upgrade themselves from stadholders to full-fledged monarchs.
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- Former monarchies of Europe
- Former polities in the Netherlands
- Client states of the Napoleonic Wars
- States and territories established in 1806
- States and territories disestablished in 1810
- 1810 disestablishments
- The Patriottentijd
- 19th century in the Netherlands
- 1806 in the Netherlands
- 1810 in the Netherlands
