A timeline listing key events from the arrival of the Norsemen to the departure of the Dutch. 

Eric the Red founds a colony in Western Greenland.

982

The Norseman Eric the Red founds a colony in western Greenland; the settlement lasts until the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

Leif Ericsson explores the North American coast

1000

Leif Ericsson, returning to Greenland from Norway, is driven onto the North American coast, which he explores and tries unsuccessfuly to settle.

Abdication of Charles V

25th October 1555

Abdication of Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain in favor of his son Philip and brother Ferdinand; Philip II inherits control over the Low Countries, which include the Netherlands region. 

Beeldenstorm: Iconoclastic fury.

1566

Calvinist destruction of Catholic images, one of several outbreaks of the destruction of religious images in 16th century Europe, begins in Flanders. Beeldenstorm, a Dutch term roughly translated as "statue storm," refers specifically to the destruction and defacement of Catholic images that spread through the Low Countries in the summer of 1566. 

Dutch revolt against Spain begins

1568

The revolt of the Protestant Seventeen Provinces begins against Philip II of Spain, an ardent Roman Catholic and sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands.

Dutch nobles beheaded at Brussels

5th June 1568

Dutch nobles Egmont and Hoorn beheaded at Brussels for treason to the Spanish crown; their deaths provoke outrage throughout the Netherlands.

Capture of Den Briel

1st April 1572

Dutch "Sea Beggars" capture the strategic city at the mouth of the Rhine and establish their first foothold on land, a turning point in the uprising of the Low Countries against Spain. The "Sea Beggars," a largely Calvinist Dutch guerilla and privateering force, would eventually conquer the northern Netherlands and establish a Dutch republic.

Dutch defeat Spanish fleet at Battle on Zuiderzee

11th October 1573

In the Battle on the Zuiderzee, a shallow bay in the northwest of the Netherlands, a Dutch fleet defeats a larger and better equipped Spanish fleet. The Zuiderzee was of major strategic importance, as supply routes for the cities in the area controlled by both the Dutch and Spanish went almost exclusively through it. The defeat helped convince the Spanish to abandon their goal to conquer North Holland. 

Relief of Leiden, lifting of the Spanish siege

3rd October 1574

After several months of the Spanish siege on the rebellious city, the second in less than a year, the Prince of Orange instructs the city's inhabitants to break the dykes, flooding the city and allowing the liberators to sail in, ending the Spanish siege and bringing relief to a starving population.

Founding of Leiden University

28th June 1577

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, an influential Flemish Baroque painter with an extravagant style, is born in Siegen, Germany. In addition to his successful career as an artist, Rubens occupied several influential positions as a scholar, diplomat, and art collector. Rubens was knighted by both Philip IV, King of Spain, and Charles I, King of England. 

Union of Utrecht

23rd January 1579

A mutual defensive pact of seven northern provinces against Spain is signed in Utrecht, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands previously under the control of Habsburg Spain. The pact was a response by the Protestant provinces to the 1579 Union of Arras in which the southern states of the Netherlands expressed their loyalty to Spain. The Union of Utrecht would become a de facto constitution and remained the only formal connection between the Dutch provinces until the creation of the Batavian Republic in 1795. 

Willem I serves as first stadtholder 

1579

Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, serves as first stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Willem originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands, but the centralization of political power and the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants convinced him to join the Dutch uprising.

Crowns of Spain and Portugal united

1580

Following a dynastic crisis upon the death of young King Sebastian I of Portugal, who had no dynastic heirs, the crowns of Spain and Portugal are united under Philip II in the Iberian Union.

Act of Abjuration

26th July 1581

Representatives of the United Provinces abjure their oath of allegiance to Philip II with a formal declaration of independence. The act bears a striking resemblance to the Declaration of Independence of the United States written almost 200 years later. 

Willem I assasinated

10th July 1584

Willem I, prince of Orange-Nassau, assassinated at his home in Delft by Catholic Frenchman Balthasar Gérard, who believed William had betrayed the Spanish king and the Catholic religion.

Prince Maurits assumes stadholdership

1584

Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau assumes the stadholdership of the United Provinces of the Netherlands after the murder of his father. 

Spanish Armada defeated

29 Jul 1588

Spanish Armada defeated by combined English and Dutch fleet. The fleet of Catholic Spain sailed against Protestant England with the intent of overthrowing Elizabeth I and ending her involvement in the Spanish Netherlands. After the repulsion, the people of England hailed Elizabeth as a hero and the Protestant movement across Europe was invigorated.

Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter

22 Mar 1599

Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque painter with an influential style of relaxed elegance, is born in Antwerp.Van Dyck became the leading court painter in England. He is best known for his paintings of the family of Charles I of England and his work with Biblical and mythological subjects. 

United East India Company chartered

Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch painter

15 Jul 1606

Rembrandt van Rijn, widely considered the most important painter and printmaker in Dutch history, is born in Leiden. Rembrandt produced his art in a period known as the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.

Dutch defeat Spanish fleet at Gibraltar

Chartering of the West India Company

2nd June 1621

West India Company [WIC] granted charter for a trade monopoly by the States General.

End of the Twelve years' truce with Spain

Prince Frederik Hendrik becomes stadholder upon death of Prince Maurits

1625

Prince Frederik Hendrik, the youngest child of Willem the Silent, becomes stadholder upon the death of Prince Maurits.