History of Dutch Nationality

The history of Dutch nationality is the emergence of a sense of national identity in the territory of the Netherlands. Consciousness of national identity was manifested through shared national obligations and rights such as taxation, military service, political and social rights, but most importantly through the concept of citizenship. Dutch nationality was forged through conflict which helped the people of the Low Countries develop a unifying idea of the Netherlander.

of common identity or unifying factors. The name “Dutch” that binds the people together as a single, unified group was not yet in use. Instead, the inhabitants of the lands were loyal to local lords, the territory that they lived on and to the towns of which they were burghers. In the early stages of existence, the concept of national identity had not been developed as a way by which a group of people could self-identify as such. Instead, they were labeled according to the place that they live and by their professions. Over time, these independent towns were subordinate to German, French, Roman or Spanish rule.

The turning point in the history of the Low Countries was the Flemish uprising in 1302 against the Francophiles, put into power by the French king. The Dutch burghers together defeated the French army at Courtrai and, in so doing, developed a sense of their own strength and community.

In the fourteenth century the Flemish vehemently denied their French citizenship and identified themselves as Fleming. This trend was noticeable throughout other counties and duchies in the Low Countries and formed the basis of the awakening of Dutch nationalism. Nationality, a sense of belonging to a specific group of people disregarding their geographical position, was beginning to evolve even before the formation of the Dutch Republic.