In the 1700s though, competition over the seas became fierce and the Netherlands declined in prosperity. In the late 1700s a revolution overthrew the king of the Netherlands and a republic was founded, creating a more unified country. This new republic, the Batavian Republic only lasted about ten years though, before Napoleon inserted a puppet government in its stead, shortly after uniting all of Benelux once again.
Under Napoleon in the early 1800s, the Kingdom of Holland (as it was briefly called), fell under the rule of Napoleon's brother, but was quickly incorporated directly under French rule. After the fall of Napoleon's France in the early 1800s, the Netherlands was united with the southern section of the region to create the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, Belgium protested this and about 15 years later gained their independence as a monarchy, although Luxembourg remained tied to the Netherlands. In 1890 the union with Luxembourg ended when the Dutch offered no male heir to rule over Luxembourg as power was passed to a Germanic family.
During World War I the Dutch remained fairly neutral, but during World War II (WWII) the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and quickly took over the small country. During WWII, the Dutch also lost control over Indonesia to the Japanese.
After the war, the Dutch became more involved in international affairs as they, most notably, joined NATO and were a founding member of the European Union (EU) (and its predecessors). However, more important to most of the people, they have become a leader in social, environmental, and political movements on the international stage.