The Dutch who created the First National Anthem Tune in 1500's

 

The Song That Outlived Empires

While many countries adopted national anthems in the 1800s…

The Netherlands started in the 1500s.

The Wilhelmus was written around 1570, during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. It was composed as a song of loyalty, faith, and identity in a time when the Netherlands was not yet a nation — but a battlefield.

The lyrics speak in the voice of William of Orange, leader of the rebellion. The unusual structure hides a secret: the first letters of each verse form his full name — Willem van Nassov.

It was not written for stadiums.

It was written for survival.

For centuries, the Wilhelmus lived as a song of resistance. Sung in taverns. Whispered in occupied cities. Passed between generations when freedom was fragile.

Only in 1932 did it officially become the Dutch national anthem.

By then, it had already survived:

Assassinations.

Foreign rule.

Civil war.

World wars.

No other national anthem still in use today traces its roots this far back.

Few songs are older than countries themselves.

But this one is.

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#DutchHistory #Wilhelmus #NationalAnthem

The Dutch Archeologist