History of the Netherlands

During the first decade of the 16th century, one of the primary concerns
for the towns, cities and ducal governments of the Low Countries was
the war the Habsburgs were waging with Charles of Egmont over the title
of Duke of Guelders. The war in Guelders complicated the already
convoluted political structure that had developed across the Low
Countries over the course of the previous half century. In this episode,
we’re going to focus on Guelders again, but this time to see how the
war was intimately entangled in a web of relationships between the
different layers of nobility, both domestic and foreign, and how the
interests of the Habsburg dynasty often clashed with the interests of
the people who lived within their domains. When Philip the Handsome
sailed away to Spain, Charles of Egmont seized the opportunity to
restart the war, meaning the defence of the Habsburg lands was left to
the man Philip had put in charge in his absence, his Stadhouder General,
Guillame de Croy, the Lord of Chievres. Philip’s premature death would
completely rearrange the pieces on the chess board as the Low Countries
were once again plunged into a succession crisis. There was one giant
mess left behind for the person who would ultimately become regent for
Philip’s infant son Charles to clean up... And that person would be
Philip’s sister, Margaret of Austria.

Thanks to our Patreon supporters Oliver Raskin, Jillian, Julie Hadley and Tiff.

SHOW NOTES: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.republicofamsterdamradio.com/episodes/historyofthenetherlands/episode-59-successive-crises-amidst-a-looming-succession-crisis

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

BLUESKY: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://historyofnl.bsky.social/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. 

Thanks to 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

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

BLUESKY: ⁠⁠⁠https://historyofnl.bsky.social/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices