Today I'll give a very brief overview of how the Netherlands became an independent country. Only the high points. I'll go into more details on each of these events later. 1519. Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain originally ruled the area. Then it was known as the 17 provinces and included not just the Netherlands but Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land in France and Germany. 1568. The start of the 80 years war of independence from Spain. In 1579 the northern provinces formed the Union of Utrecht in which the agreed to support one another in their war against Phillip II of Spain. War continued until 1648 when Phillip IV finally recognised the independence of the 7 northern provinces in the Treaty of Munster. Those northern provnices were; Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelre. They formed a confederation that came to be known as teh Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own gove...