Account for Population Growth and Decline in a Country of
Your Choice by Referring to Published Past or Present Statistics
Published and Other Primary Sources Relevant to the History of
Demography
Population Growth of the Netherlands
, Population Growth of the Netherlands
The Netherlands, situated in the northwest of Europe, bordering Belgium, and Germany, is
one of the most densely populated countries on the European continent. Throughout the
centuries, Dutch history has been through a lot. Think of the Eighty Years’ War, the Golden
Age, the Netherlands as the Batavian Republic, the Industrial Revolution, and the First and
Second World Wars (Visser, 2020). All these periods or events have had an impact on the
demographic progress of the Netherlands. Although it is difficult to examine demographic
changes before 1800, as exact statistics on births and deaths were not collected before
then, this essay attempts to depict demography based on events during important periods.
Therefore, this essay will investigate how some of these periods in time account for the
changes in the demographic process, looking at population statistics of these times.
The Eighty Year’s War was a war between the Dutch and the Spanish from 1568 to 1648.
The Netherlands consisted back then of several provinces consisting of the Netherlands,
Belgium, and Luxembourg. It all started when Charles V’s son, Philip II, became the ruler of
the Netherlands. His politics were very different from his father’s, which caused much
unrest in the Netherlands. Furthermore, after four years of governing in the Netherlands,
Philip II was not seen again. Instead of governing the country himself, he sent authorities to
the Netherlands. Furthermore, everyone had to have the Catholic faith, and anyone who
was Protestant was persecuted. This led to the Dutch resisting the Spanish regime in 1568.
Spain was enraged, and in 1576, they went to Antwerp and killed about 8,000 Antwerpers.
The issue of religion caused many deaths in this period because people disagreed with the
official religion implemented by the Spaniards. Finally, in 1684, the Eighty Years’ War came
to an end after eighty years of war and a twelve-year truce (Visser, 2018, paras 1, 2, 13, 35).
While during the Eighty Years’ War, the north was prosperous as it was the furthest away
from Spain, the south of the Netherlands had many challenges, as mentioned earlier. In a
hundred years, from 1525 to 1622, the population of the Netherlands increased from
roughly 275.000 to more than 670.000 people. While easter and southern provinces also
grew gradually, expansion was significantly slowed by the effects of the Eighty Year’s War
(Price, 2000, p. 21).
1
Your Choice by Referring to Published Past or Present Statistics
Published and Other Primary Sources Relevant to the History of
Demography
Population Growth of the Netherlands
, Population Growth of the Netherlands
The Netherlands, situated in the northwest of Europe, bordering Belgium, and Germany, is
one of the most densely populated countries on the European continent. Throughout the
centuries, Dutch history has been through a lot. Think of the Eighty Years’ War, the Golden
Age, the Netherlands as the Batavian Republic, the Industrial Revolution, and the First and
Second World Wars (Visser, 2020). All these periods or events have had an impact on the
demographic progress of the Netherlands. Although it is difficult to examine demographic
changes before 1800, as exact statistics on births and deaths were not collected before
then, this essay attempts to depict demography based on events during important periods.
Therefore, this essay will investigate how some of these periods in time account for the
changes in the demographic process, looking at population statistics of these times.
The Eighty Year’s War was a war between the Dutch and the Spanish from 1568 to 1648.
The Netherlands consisted back then of several provinces consisting of the Netherlands,
Belgium, and Luxembourg. It all started when Charles V’s son, Philip II, became the ruler of
the Netherlands. His politics were very different from his father’s, which caused much
unrest in the Netherlands. Furthermore, after four years of governing in the Netherlands,
Philip II was not seen again. Instead of governing the country himself, he sent authorities to
the Netherlands. Furthermore, everyone had to have the Catholic faith, and anyone who
was Protestant was persecuted. This led to the Dutch resisting the Spanish regime in 1568.
Spain was enraged, and in 1576, they went to Antwerp and killed about 8,000 Antwerpers.
The issue of religion caused many deaths in this period because people disagreed with the
official religion implemented by the Spaniards. Finally, in 1684, the Eighty Years’ War came
to an end after eighty years of war and a twelve-year truce (Visser, 2018, paras 1, 2, 13, 35).
While during the Eighty Years’ War, the north was prosperous as it was the furthest away
from Spain, the south of the Netherlands had many challenges, as mentioned earlier. In a
hundred years, from 1525 to 1622, the population of the Netherlands increased from
roughly 275.000 to more than 670.000 people. While easter and southern provinces also
grew gradually, expansion was significantly slowed by the effects of the Eighty Year’s War
(Price, 2000, p. 21).
1
