The French Revolution signalled the end of the Republic of the United Provinces. In 1795, it was invaded and occupied by French revolutionary forces, who turned it into a vassal state named the Batavian Republic.
In 1806, Emperor Napoleon changed the country's status to the Kingdom of Holland, installing his brother Louis Napoleon as king and making Amsterdam its capital - only to annex it four years later as an integral part of France.
In 1813, the French Empire collapsed and the Low Countries regained their independence.
In the northern Netherlands, there was a power struggle between republicans and monarchists, which was won by the latter. Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau and the son of the last Stadholder, returned from exile in England.
The government moved to The Hague, although Amsterdam remained the official capital. And instead of returning to the old Republic's system of sovereign provinces, the newly independent state retained the unitary structure introduced by the French.
In 1815, the northern and southern Netherlands - today's Netherlands and Belgium - were combined to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with Willem Frederik as King. This marked the introduction of the Dutch hereditary monarchy.
The constitution was radically revised in 1848, making ministers accountable to an elected parliament rather than the monarch.
The new constitution was the basis for a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system.
In 1830, the southern Netherlands seceded from the Kingdom to form the independent state of Belgium. William I acquiesced and abdicated in 1839. Belgian secession gave the Netherlands its present-day borders.
William I was succeeded by William II and William III. But the male line of succession - and with it the personal union with Luxembourg - ended in 1890, when Queen Willhelmina (1880-1962) came to the throne.
Her mother, Queen Emma, acted as regent until 1898, when the young Wilhelmina turned 18 and was able to assume the monarch's duties.
During the First World War (1914-18), the Netherlands remained neutral. It continued to pursue a policy of strict neutrality until the Second World War, but was nevertheless invaded by Germany in May 1940 and occupied for five years.
Queen Wilhelmina left the Netherlands and spent the war years in England, playing a vital role as the symbol of resistance against the occupying forces. She abdicated in 1948, after a reign of 50 years, in favour of her daughter Juliana.
Queen Juliana abdicated in turn on 30 April 1980 to be succeeded by her eldest daughter, the present Queen Beatrix.
The Netherlands was a major colonial power until the Second World War, but after 1945 its colonies quickly became independent.
Indonesia severed all its constitutional links with the Netherlands in 1949. Under the 1954 Charter for the Kingdom, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles became equal partners in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, although The Hauge retained responsibility for their foreign affairs and defence.
On 25 November 1975, Suriname became an independent republic. And on 1 January 1986, Aruba - until then part of the Netherlands Antilles together with Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten - acquired separate status within the Kingdom, making it an equal partner in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands itself.
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