County of Holland

The County of Holland was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the coastal lowlands between the North Sea and the Rhine delta, traditionally dated from the late ninth century, when the first counts of Frisia gained authority in the region. From the eleventh century the counts styled themselves counts of Holland, and their territory came to correspond roughly with the modern provinces of North and South Holland. The counts built a dense network of dikes, canals and polders, promoted the young towns of Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden and Amsterdam, and drew revenue from tolls and herring fisheries. The comital residence was at The Hague, while Dordrecht served as the principal town. In 1433 the county passed to the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, and in 1482 it became part of the Habsburg Netherlands. During the Dutch Revolt the States of Holland became the leading province of the Dutch Republic in 1581, and the county's institutions survived until the Batavian Revolution of 1795.