When the Romans came to the land of what is nowadays the Netherlands, there were many native tribes, the most important of which were the Batavians. Other important peoples included the Frisians, the Saxons and the Franks. Romans mingled with all of them, and started to convert them to Christianity at the end of the 5th Century. However, the east Saxons were converted before the conquest of their lands, and became allies of the Franks. The southern region of the Netherlands had long been under Charlemagne’s Empire. The centre of this large country was in what is nowadays Belgium and northern France. In 843, the Empire of the Franks was defeated and then separated into two parts, namely France in the west, and Germany in the east, including the Dutch-speaking parts.

After that, the Vikings appeared on the historical horizon. They started to raid the Low Countries, which suffered badly. The aim of the Vikings was the rich city of Dorestad, but they took everything they could lay their hands on in between. Viking dominance ended in the beginning of the 10th Century, when Henry I of Germany liberated Utrecht. German monarchs ruled over the Netherlands in the 10th and 11th Centuries. When King Otto the Great was proclaimed Holly Roman Emperor, the whole of the Netherlands became a Roman dominion, with the most important city being Nijmegen. It’s famous for the several German emperors who were born and also died there, for example the Byzantine Empress Theophanu.

The bigger part of the west Netherlands were loosely inhabited between the end of the Roman period and around the beginning of the 12th Century. Around the 11th Century, farmers from Flanders and Utrecht started buying the swampy land which nobody else wanted. Then they began the huge endeavor to dry and cultivate it. Surprisingly to all, this process wasn’t so difficult or time-consuming, and wthin only a few generations, more and more people settled for good there. A scheme of populating emerged that hadn’t been seen in Europe before this time – separate farms. No towns, no villages, just separate farms. This process is considered unique for its time in the Old World. Some names, like West Friesland, are still used today.

Around 1000 AD, a couple of agricultural enterprises took place which later became known as the “Agricultural Revolution”. It resulted in the doubling and even tripling of production, with continued growth. The whole economy started to develop faster. Having secured their food and the necessities of life, people started to have more free time to invest in other realms of life, turning to other professions, as tradesmen, for example. Even guilds appeared. This was when the middle class began to appear. Life expectancy rose. The increased productivity of the farms opened more and more time for people to invest in other activities. The introduction of currency facilitated trade to a great extent. Towns started to become larger, and people began building more and more monasteries and castles. The population increased.

Crusades became popular, and some of the best men joined them. Viking raids (which happened from time to time) were stopped. Ports grew bigger and bigger, which turned them into the some of the most influential gateways to the continent.