The Kingdom of Holland (Dutch: Koninkrijk Holland, French: Royaume de Hollande) was set up by Napoléon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. 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 a British invasion, Holland had to surrender 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 - and the kingdom was dissolved in 1810 after which the Netherlands were annexed by France until 1813. The Kingdom of Holland covered the area of the present-day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory, and with the addition of East Frisia, in present-day Germany.
It was the first formal monarchy in the Netherlands since 1581. |
