Limburg is a unique region of the Netherlands. It was the latest addition to the Netherlands – and not a welcome one at that. Limburgians are not and never have been particularly Dutch – and the differences between Limburg and the rest of the country span several centuries.

The Limburg area joined The Netherlands for good in 1866. Not all the inhabitants of Limburg wanted to be Dutchmen. For many years petitions were circulated to force The Hague to let Limburg go! Only in 1905 did Limburg become an official province.

Limburg has its own language, called “Limburgish”. Since 1997, Limburgish is an official regional language, and as such receives moderate protection under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It is not recognized by the Dutch, German and Belgian governments as an official language. Limburgish is spoken by an estimated 1.6 million people in both Belgian and Dutch Limburg and Germany. There are many different dialects in the Limburgish language. Almost every town and village has its own slightly different dialect. Dialects more toward the German border and in Germany (near Aachen for instance) have a more German influence, while dialects spoken in the Meuse valley have a French tone to them.

The local dialects are preserved thanks to the almost rabid efforts of the native speakers. For example, people from opposite sides of the Meuse within the same city of Maastricht will sometimes feign ignorance of one another's dialect; even going so far as pretending not to know Dutch, which is the official language of the province and the language used to teach in schools. Until the 20th century this was the case in a large part of Limburg. Many Limburgians feel that their language should be the official language and should be taught in schools.

Even the name “Limburg” is not particularly accurate. The province was named for the old Duchy of Limburg that had existed until 1648 – mostly within present-day Belgium.

To understand the region, one must go back several hundred years – to the Reformation. Led by Luther and Erasmus (from Rotterdam), Protestantism gained a major foothold in northern Europe in the 16th century – and reached extremes in areas like the Netherlands, where Calvinism took root. Religious differences were a major factor leading to the Eighty Years’ War (also known as the Dutch Revolt).

William of Orange led the revolt against the Spanish Hapsburgs, starting with the Battle of Roerdalen (three miles southeast of Roermond in Limburg), in 1568. In 1581, the northern provinces of the Netherlands declared themselves to be the United Provinces of the Netherlands, essentially founding the Dutch Republic. The southern provinces, such as the Duchy of Guelders (which included villages such as Helden, Belfeld, Blerick, Baarlo, Neer) and the Duchy of Jülich (which included Tegelen) were staunchly Catholic, and joined forces with the Spanish to put down the rebellion. This schism between north and south would remain for another 250 years.

During the war, there were few pitched battles – most of the engagements were sieges against fortified cities. Many of the soldiers were mercenaries, which led to heavy plundering.

In 1632 the Dutch Stadtholder conquered Venlo, Roermond and Maastricht during his famous “March along the Meuse”. This undoubtedly affected all of the ancestors of Stephanus and Leonora Timmermans, who lived then in Helden, Tegelen, Blerick, Kaldenkerken, Belfeld – all along the Meuse, between Venlo and Roermond.

The Dutch were disappointed by the lack of support they received from the local population in Limburg who were fighting on the Spanish side. It was clear that, by this time, a new generation had grown up in Flanders and the Brabant and the areas now forming Limburg that were thoroughly Catholic – and distrusted the Calvinist Dutch even more than they loathed the Spanish occupiers. On January 30, 1648, the war ended with the Treaty of Münster between Spain and the Netherlands. This treaty was part of the European scale Peace of Westphalia that also ended the Thirty Years' War (in Germany). As a result, the Republic of the United Provinces was officially recognized – and the Limburg area remained separate as a part of the Spanish Netherlands. Tegelen continued to be a part of the Duchy of Jülich.

The United Provinces rapidly grew as a world power, leading to inevitable wars with the English (1652-1654, 1665-1667, 1672-1674, and 1780-1784), and the French (1672-1678, 1688-1697, and 1701-1714). This final war, the War of Spanish Succession, was a major European conflict, resulting in Spanish power being removed from the region. The Spanish Netherlands became the Austrian Netherlands.

Because of its strategic importance, the city of Venlo was besieged several times. The most significant siege was that of 1702. As a consequence Venlo was incorporated into the United Provinces and later became part of the kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 1790, responding to events in America, the Austrian Netherlands attempted to rebel against Austrian dominance, creating the short-lived United States of Belgium. They attempted a unification with the United Provinces, but were rebuffed. The rebellion failed.

In 1793, France declared war on England and the Netherlands, and rapidly conquered the country. From 1794 through 1815, the southern portion of the Netherlands was carved up into “Départements” as a part of the French Empire. The United Provinces became a puppet state called the Batavian Republic.

In 1815, after Napoleon was defeated, the Austrian Netherlands became a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Given the centuries of differences, this was not a happy union. In 1830, a rebellion in the southern portions of the Kingdom led to the creation of Belgium, in 1839. For those ten years, Limburg was a part of Belgium. As a result of the final peace treaty, northern Limburg was split with southern Limburg – with the northern half remaining as part of the Netherlands.

To appease Prussia, which had also lost access to the Meuse after the Napoleonic Wars, the Dutch province of Limburg (excluding the cities of Maastricht and Venlo), was joined to the German Confederation between 1839 and 1866 as the Duchy of Limburg, while remaining an integral part of the Dutch territory.

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