A digression on some brief history. In 16th century, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg were still bound together and called the Low Countries, and Philip II, the king of Spain, was its ruler. When Protestantism swept Europe, the Low Countries embraced it, much to the chagrin of its ruler who is fanatically Catholic. He ordered the Inquisition to enforce Catholicism, a move that led to the Iconoclastic Fury, in which Protestants ran riot ransacking churches. Inevitably, in 1568, war broke out and it lasted 80 years (the Revolt of the Netherlands). In 1579, provinces in the northern Low Countries formed the United Provinces, which was the basis for the Netherlands today. They were opposed to the spanish rule that was in place, while the southern regions, which eventually became Belgium, were open to compromise. In 1648, 80 years of struggling ended with a treaty that recognized United Provinces as an independent republic. At that time, most of the European countries were still monarchs.
The Netherland's Golden Age lasted from about 1580 to 1740. The era's wealth was generated by the Dutch East India Company, which sent ships to the Far East for spices and other exotic goods, while colonizing the Cape of Good Hope and Indonesia and establishing trading posts throughout Asia. Laster the West Indies Company sailed to West Africa and the Americas. A number of Caribbean islands were also captured in a bid to thwart the Spanish. My interpretation is that Dutch took over exploration and colonization from waning Spain and Portugal to begin the Golden Age, and ended it with the rising conquering power of British Empire.
In 1795 the French invaded. When occupation ended in 1815, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands - incorporating Belgium and Luxembourg - was born. In 1830, the Belgians rebelled an became independent, and Luxembourg was split between Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1839, the Dutch part gained independence and officially became Luxembourg.
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