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Africa Guides

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In the first century BC, Julius Caesar and his troops arrived in the region we now know as the Netherlands, to find it occupied by Germanic tribes. The western part of the region was home to the Batavians while the eastern part had the Frisians as its residents; the former eventually became part of a Roman province.

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The 17th century brought great prosperity to the Netherlands and saw the country becoming powerful from a sea and colonial perspective as well as benefiting from its emergence as a centre for great art with big names such as Rembrandt, Hals, Mondriaan and Van Gogh coming to the limelight.

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Both World Wars saw the Netherlands proclaim itself neutral of any side and it escaped German occupation in the former conflict however WWII saw German troops overrun the country and Queen Wilhelmina was forced to flee to London. She didn’t return until the country was freed in 1945 after which she remained in power for three years before abdicating in favour of her daughter Crown Princess Juliana.

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