History

The Netherlands has had provinces (or regional authorities) since the time it formed part of the Spanish Empire. The provinces were headed by counts and later by so-called ‘stadtholders’.

In 1579, the then provinces of Gelderland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Friesland and Groningen established the Union of Utrecht, thereby making it clear that they refused to recognise Philip II of Spain as their sovereign ruler any longer. This led to the establishment of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (‘Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden’). The province of North-Holland was founded in 1840, when it was split from South Holland.
In the time of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, each province had its own administrative body: the Provincial Council. It was represented by wealthy citizens who governed the cities and the local aristocracy. It was common at the time for every province to have its own policies and tax rates.
The duties and powers of all provinces were only laid down in the Constitution of 1814 and the later Provincial Act.

Remarkably, residents of the provinces had to wait until 1848 (the constitutional revision of Thorbecke) for the right to elect the members of their Provincial Council. Only men were allowed to serve on the Provincial Council initially, whereas women had to wait until 1919 when the very first general elections for the Provincial Councils were held.