Dutch Empire/Kingdom of Holland
| “ | To play Holland, you have to play the Dutch. | ” |
—Ruud Gullit | ||
Kingdom of Holland was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands in 1806. 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 an English invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the river Rhine to France.
King Louis did not perform to Napoleon's expectations, he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's . Louis had learned the Dutch language, and proclaimed himself to be a "Hollander" as soon as he stepped into the country. In 1810, under heavy pressure from his brother, Louis abdicated and the Kingdom was annexed into the French Empire.
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.
In 1810 the British invaded the Dutch island of Java, and their other possessions in the East Indies. This started the Anglo-Dutch Java War. By the end of 1811 the entire island was under British control.
