| 1477 |
|
Netherlands, Luxembourg and Burgundy brought under German (Hapsburg) control |
| 1516 |
|
Hapsburg Charles V now king of Netherlands, Germany and Spain |
| 1516 |
|
Death of Heironymous Bosch (artist) |
| 1536 |
|
Death of Erasmus (scholar) |
| 1568 |
|
William the Silent leads Dutch in revolt against Hapsburgs |
| 1578 |
|
Dutch provinces fight against Spanish domination |
| 1580 |
|
Dutch sieze many Portuguese trading posts throughout the world |
| 1581 |
|
Netherlands proclaims independence from Spain and wars start |
| 1609 |
|
Dutch republic breaks away from Holy Roman Empire and Spanish rule |
| 1638 |
|
Death of Peter Breugel the Younger (artist) |
| 1641 |
|
Death of Anthony Van Dyke (artist) |
| 1645 |
|
Death of Grotius (founder of International Law) |
| 1648 |
|
Netherlands finally achieves independence from Spain - Peace of Westphalia |
| 1667 |
|
Death of Baruch Spinoza (philosopher) |
| 1669 |
|
Death of Rembrandt (artist) |
| 1675 |
|
Death of Jan Vermeer (artist) |
| 1688 |
|
Dutch William of Orange invited to take English throne |
| 1814 |
|
Netherlands acquires Belgium after Napoleon defeated |
| 1826 |
|
Dutch steamship "Curaçao" first to cross Atlantic |
| 1830 |
|
Belgian revolution establishes independence from Netherlands |
| 1890 |
|
Death of Vincent Van Gogh (artist) |
