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=== Dutch Republic and Colonial Years ===
Centuries ago, the region that is now the Netherlands was composed of various lordships holding ever-changing patchworks of territories. By the 15th century, the Duke of Burgundy was able to consolidate power in the region, but later absorbed into the Habsburg realms. By the 16th century, the region was embroiled in a revolt against their Spanish overlords. In the midst of the revolt, seven provinces seceded from the rest of the Habsburg low countries and formed the Dutch Republic.
The birth of the republic gave way to a flourishing period of trade, science, art, and military, known as the Dutch Golden Age. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC) not only obtained a monopoly on the spice trade, their ships also controlled the world's seas, and often resulted in the tensions with the English.
==== Colony of New Netherland (1624-1796) ====
{{Main|New Netherland}}
The Dutch established the colony of New Netherland on Manhattan Island as a base to conduct the fur trade. The new colony attracted Dutch, Wallonian, German, and Finnish settlers. The colony's growth was further sped up by the Patroon system, in which patroons (manorial lords) would be awarded patches of land in exchange for bringing in families to work on the land. The colony was fully managed by the Dutch West India Company. With the growing number of settlers came demands for representation in the colonial government. The settlers were disgruntled with the Dutch WIC's management of the colony, and demanded accountability. This culminated into the Municipal Charter of 1655, which gave New Netherland a more representative government and removed the Dutch WIC from colonial governance. The Dutch would keep New Netherland until the French revolution resulted in its loss in 1796.
==== The Tussenland Colonies (1655-1903) ====
{{Main|Tussenland}}
With the Dutch WIC removed from New Netherland, they had to move their trading operations northwest. In 1655, Dutch Republic awarded the Dutch West India a trade monopoly for the vast American region west of New Netherland, which was later called the Tussenland. Thus, effectively splitting Dutch territorial holdings in America into two: a settler colony (New Netherland) and a trade-oriented colony (Tussenland). The Dutch WIC secured a trade partnership and alliance from the Iroquois Confederacy, which led the Iroquois to be strongest native force in Northeast America thanks to European weaponry. With the French and their Algonkin allies kept at bay by the Iroquois, Dutch explorers freely explored down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which allowed them to lay claim to a huge portion of America. By the 19th century, the Tussenland would be composed of multiple colonies and protectorates, and was consolidated in 1861 into the [[Tussenland|Federation of Tussenland]]. By 1903, Tussenland gained independence from the Dutch.
==== Colony of Taulandt ====
{{Main|Taulandt}}
Taulandt was the
==== The Anglo-Dutch Wars ====
==== Franco-Dutch War ====
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