History of the Netherlands

When Joanna of Castile wed Philip the Handsome aka Habsburg Phil in 1496, few people would have foreseen that this marriage would result in the Habsburg prince wearing the Castilian crown 10 years later. Yet due to a series of dynastic deaths in the Spanish ruling family, by 1501, Joanna was crown princess of Castile. Habsburg Phil’s priorities and attentions began to take on a grander scope as the prospect of ruling in Spain became tantalisingly real. Joanna and Phil would travel to Spain in 1502-3 to be confirmed as heirs to the Castilian crown. Habsburg Phil returned to the Low Countries a year later, but Isabella of Castile insisted Joanna stay behind since she was heavily pregnant. A bizarre incident took place at La Mota castle, after which Joanna rejoined her husband, but Isabella was left doubting her daughter’s capability to rule. Speculation about Joanna’s mental state came to the fore, leading to clashes between her father, Ferdinand of Aragon, and her husband over who would wield the power in Castile. When Isabella of Castile died in 1504, Philip and Joanna made preparations to return to Spain and claim the crown, leaving the Low Countries again in January 1506. This second trip was a disaster from the outset, beginning with an unplanned stay in England following a shipwreck. Then in September, just a few months into his reign as King of Castile, Habsburg Phil would also unexpectedly die, opening the door for his sister, Margaret of Austria, to return to the centre of the political stage and become Regent of the Low Countries. 

And thanks for our Patreon supporters Prabhakar Chitrapu, Carl Deary, Ian van Alphen, Ursus Arctos and Antoinette.

SHOW NOTES: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-58-kill-phil-volume-2

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In November 1501, Margaret of Austria was married by proxy to Philibert
the Handsome, the Duke of Savoy. Over the next three years, Margaret
thrived in this new position as Duchess of Savoy. Philibert was more
than willing to let her take charge of affairs in Savoy, since that
freed him up for more important stuff, like hunting and enjoying life.
Margaret of Austria was only twenty-one years old, but had spent much of
her life thus far learning the art of politics in the courts of France,
Spain and the Low Countries. She was more than prepared for the
challenges she would face in Savoy. For this remarkable woman, however,
tragedy never seemed too far away and in 1504, after just three years of
marriage, it once more cast its net over her life when Philibert died
suddenly after a hunting trip and Margaret of Austria became, once
again, a grieving widow.

And thanks for our Patreon supporters Christopher Embrey, Miles McGuire, David Leermakers and Ekin Guzelant.

SHOW NOTES: ⁠⁠https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-56-trying-to-geld-guelders⁠

PATREON: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands⁠⁠

BLUESKY: ⁠⁠https://historyofnl.bsky.social/
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Around the same time that Friesland succumbed to the rule of a foreign prince in 1498, the Duchy of Guelders was also engulfed by a struggle against Habsburg domination. Charles of Egmont and Emperor Maximilian both continued to lay claim to the title of Duke of Guelders and over the next half a century, the conflicts in both Friesland and Guelders would become inextricably linked in a series of on-again, off-again wars. To begin this episode, we will take an unexpected but delightful detour to a part of Europe that doesn’t naturally come to mind when you think of Guelders… Italy! There we will see Maximilian fail to impose his authority on a conflict between Pisa and Florence. Bentornati al podcast sulla storia dei Paesi Bassi. After that we will see Maximilian enlist the help of two German princes, the Dukes of Julich and Cleves, to try and bring Guelder to heel and carve it up between them. In this, Maximilian will also fail to impose his will, this time facing resistance not only from Charles of Egmont, but also his own son, Philip the Handsome. Finally, we will see how Charles of Egmont benefited from a bit of French mediation in the war between Guelders, Julich and Cleves, before he almost met an untimely end at the siege of Huissen in 1502. There’s a lot to get through! So let’s get cracking.

Many thanks to ⁠friesekerken.nl⁠ for supporting this episode. Check out the website and sign up to become a donor to their foundation which helps preserve monumental churches in Friesland.

And thanks for our Patreon supporters Curtis Nieboer, Laura Lindquist, Bryce Williams, Stèf Murison and Connor Bailey.

SHOW NOTES: ⁠https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-56-trying-to-geld-guelders

PATREON: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands⁠

BLUESKY: ⁠https://historyofnl.bsky.social/
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In the summer of 2025, we were lucky enough to meet Rene Rosechild, who lives in Denver, Colorado, today, but whose family roots trace back via Canada to the Netherlands. Rene’s mother, Rosalie Nathans, was a Jewish Amsterdammer who was liberated from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. When she returned to Amsterdam, she discovered that she was the only member of her family who had survived the war. Rosalie’s mother, her father, her brother, her sister, her sister-in-law, her brother-in-law and her two young nephews had all been murdered or succumbed to disease or deprivation in the Nazi concentration camps. Having had her entire life taken away from her, Rosalie made the decision at the age of 20, to marry a Canadian soldier and emigrate to Canada.

Eighty years later, a large contingent of Rosalie Nathans’ descendants, from places all over the world, came together in Amsterdam to install memorial stones in front of their family’s former home on the Nieuwe Hoogstraat. These memorial stones are called Stolpersteine in German, struikelstenen in Dutch, or stumbling stones in English. They are brass plaques, placed on the street in front of buildings, which pay testament to the fact that at that address lived a victim of Nazi persecution. Three of those who attended the ceremony were Rosalie Nathans’ daughter Rene, who we mentioned at the beginning and two of Rene’s nieces, Rosalie Wood and Gabrielle Richter. We spoke with Rene in our studio in Amsterdam and later with Rosalie and Gabrielle via zoom. Throughout this episode we will hear from them as we discuss Rosalie Nathans’ story and the family’s experience of getting the Stolpersteine installed outside the old family home in Amsterdam. 

SHOW NOTES: ⁠https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/in-de-bonus-stumbling-over-reminders-of-the-holocaust-in-amsterdam

PATREON: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands⁠

BLUESKY: ⁠https://historyofnl.bsky.social/

Music clips provided by Storyblocks:

"Minimal Documentary Background Music" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/minimal-documentary-background-music-skxjrbbvvketzhdzl.html

"Escaping Forever" by Michael Vignola https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/escaping-forever-hog3rptosk2xlgdd7.html

"Different Universe" by Neil Cross https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/different-universe-hx1qabcnuvsk0wy3bbi.html

"Documentary Corporate Marimba Background Music" by Media-Music Group https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/documentary-corporate-marimba-background-music-rivttg71dkk2oc0dt.html

"Jazz Bass And Drums Solo" by Volodymyr Piddubnyk https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/jazz-bass-and-drums-solo-bjj7ev19vkhjpmbps.html

"Lofi Jazz Beat (Paris Caf Version)" by The Turquoise Moon https://www.storyblocks.com/audio/stock/lofi-jazz-beat-sdve38movkgogrl4f.html
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Over the fifty-four episodes of this podcast so far, we have often found ourselves fixated on familiar phases of sphagnum, or ferocious fights in far flung foreign fields, but frequently we’ve failed to focus on the fortunes of the fierce and frisky - fabled to be free - Frisians. Folly! Fear not Frieslanders, for now it is your time to shine. In this episode, we are going to delve into Frisian Law and Frisian Freedom in the 15th century:  We will look at how they developed up until the end of the 15th century; examples of how Frisian Law impacted peoples’ lives; how local governing structures specific to Frisia changed in the 15th century and how in 1498 these new conditions allowed Frisian Freedom to finally be stamped out by the very Emperor who was supposed to uphold it.

With thanks to Nicole Kaimorin, Dave Reimink, Dyanne Gavin, Robert de Rooy and Brendon Nelson-Weiss.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-55-full-on-frisian-foray

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthenetherlands

BLUESKY: https://historyofnl.bsky.social/
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