1790-1932

The arrival of the French revolutionary forces in the mid-1790s caused the collapse of the United Provinces and the area was renamed the Batavian Republic, which only survived until 1806 when Napoleon installed his brother Louis Bonaparte as king of the Kingdom of Holland. With Napoleon's attention being increasingly elsewhere and his brother ignoring his directives, Napoleon booted Louis out of office after 4 years. The House of Orange supporters invited Prince William VI back. He was named prince sovereign of the Netherlands in 1813 and the next year, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna, he was crowned King William I.

The independence was restored and the Netherlands in the north and Belgium in the south were joined into a United Kingdom of the Netherlands. However the partners had little in common, including their dominant religions (Calvinist and Catholic), languages (Dutch and French) and favored way of making money (trade and manufacturing). Matters didn't help by William, who generally sided with his fellow northerners. In 1830 the southern states revolted and in 1839 the other European powers forced William to let the south go. In 1848 his son King William II granted a new and more liberal constitution to the people of the Netherlands. It included a number of democratic ideals and even made the monarchy the servant of the elected government.

This constitution remains the foundation of the Dutch government. During World War I the Netherlands remained neutral, despite the fact that its shipping industry was damaged by both Allies and the Germans. The Allies by mounting a blockade that prevented goods to be shipped to Germany and the Germans by claiming many Dutch ships with their submarine warfare.

Following the WWI the Netherlands embarked on many innovative social programs that targeted poverty, the rights of women and children, and education. Industrially the coal mines of South Limburg were exploited to great success. Rotterdam became one of Europe's most important ports and the scheme to reclaim the Zuiderzee was launched in 1932.