Editing Groningen (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}
The city was founded at the northernmost point of the ''[[Hondsrug]]'' area.<ref name="Roggema2012">{{cite book |author=Rob Roggema |title=Swarming Landscapes: The Art of Designing For Climate Adaptation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVuO8k2wO28C&pg=PA8 |date=2 December 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-007-4378-6 |page=8}}</ref> While the oldest document referring to Groningen's existence dates from 1040, the area was occupied by Anglo-Saxons centuries prior.<ref name="Kruit2014">{{cite book |author=Pieter C. van der Kruit |title=Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn: Born Investigator of the Heavens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqJ3BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |date=18 November 2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-10876-6 |page=85}}</ref> The oldest archaeological evidence of a settlement in the region stems from around 3950–3650 BC,<ref name="BarclayField2020">{{cite book |author1=Alistair Barclay |author2=David Field |author3=Jim Leary |title=Houses of the Dead |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MFHPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT270 |date=30 April 2020 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78925-411-2 |page=270}}</ref> and the first major settlement in Groningen trace back to the year 3 AD.<ref>{{cite book |author=A.A. Balkema |title=Palaeohistoria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDErAQAAIAAJ |volume=32 |year=1982 |publisher=A.A. Balkema |page=111|isbn=9789054101369 }}</ref>

[[File:Martini2.jpg|thumb|170px|[[Martinitoren|Martini Tower]]|left]]
[[File:Groningen 1565.jpg|thumb|right|Groningen in the 16th century]]
In the 13th century Groningen was an important trade centre and its inhabitants built a [[city wall]] to underline its authority.<ref name="DunfordLee2007">{{cite book |author1=Martin Dunford |author2=Phil Lee |title=The Rough Guide to the Netherlands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8uPoIHShRwC&pg=PT556 |date=1 March 2007 |publisher=Rough Guides Limited |isbn=978-1-84836-843-9 |pages=556–575}}</ref> The city had a strong influence on its surrounding lands and the [[Gronings dialect]] became common.<ref name="BreivikJahr2011">{{cite book |author1=Leiv E. Breivik |author2=Ernst H. Jahr |title=Language Change: Contributions to the Study of its Causes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FYd9CWvYtMC&pg=PA267 |date=1 June 2011 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-085306-3 |pages=267–270}}</ref> The city's most influential period was at the end of the 15th century, when the nearby province of [[Friesland]] was administered from Groningen.<ref name="Eyewitness2020">{{cite book |author=DK Eyewitness |title=DK Eyewitness The Netherlands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyDQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT448 |date=7 May 2020 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley Limited |isbn=978-0-241-46459-5 |pages=448–456}}</ref> During these years the ''[[Martinitoren]]'' was built which is considered to be the city's most significant landmark.<ref>E.O. van der Werff, ''Martini. Kerk en toren''. Assen, 2003, p. 53; F. Westra, ''Martinitoren''. Groningen, 2009, p. 29. According to an improbable myth, the tower would have been 127 m high</ref>

In 1536, Groningen accepted [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]], the King of Spain and the Habsburg ruler of the other Netherlands as its ruler, thus ending the region's autonomy.<ref name="Cruttwell1808">{{cite book |author=Clement Cruttwell |title=The New Universal Gazetteer, or, Geographical Dictionary: Containing a Description of All the Empires, Kingdoms, States, Provinces, Cities, Towns, Forts, Seas, Harbours, Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, and Capes in the Known World ; with the Government, Customs, Manners, and Religion of the Inhabitants ... ; with Twenty-eight Whole Sheet Maps |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8S8Ne7f0jhUC&pg=PP331 |year=1808 |publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme |page=331}}</ref> The city was captured in the [[Siege of Groningen (1594)|Siege of Groningen]] (1594) by the Dutch and English forces led by [[Maurice of Nassau]].<ref name="RosseBlair1859">{{cite book |author1=J. Willoughby Rosse |author2=John Blair |title=An Index of Dates: Comprehending the Principal Facts in the Chronology and History of the World, from the Earliest to the Present Time. Alphabetically Arranged. Being a Complete Index to the Enlarged Edition of Blair's Chronological Tables |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HE-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA871 |year=1859 |publisher=Bell & Daldy |page=871}}</ref> After the siege, the city and the province joined the [[Dutch Republic]].<ref name="Prokhovnik2004">{{cite book |author=R. Prokhovnik |title=Spinoza and Republicanism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1GHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |date=31 March 2004 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-0-230-00090-2 |page=68}}</ref>

During the 17th century, Groningen served as a crucial hub for the [[Dutch West India Company]] (WIC). This powerful trading company was responsible for maritime trade, colonization, and the transportation of goods and people.

The WIC transported over 300,000 slaves from the African coast to the Dutch colonies between 1621 and 1792. Warships like the ''Groeningen'' sailed from Groningen's shipyards to Africa's west coast, carrying enslaved Africans to plantations in Brazil, Suriname, and the Antilles.<ref name="linksto">{{Cite web |date=2019-03-25 |title=Groningen's links to the Dutch Slave Trade |url=https://northerntimes.nl/groningens-links-to-the-dutch-slave-trade/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=The Northern Times |language=en-US}}</ref> These same ships returned to Europe laden with valuable commodities such as sugar, coffee, and tobacco.

The [[University of Groningen]] was founded in 1614 with initial course offerings in law, medicine, theology and philosophy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Groningen, University of |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/study-abroad/universities/groningen-university-of-2248629.html |website=The Independent |access-date=5 August 2020 |date=22 March 2011}}</ref> During this period the city expanded rapidly and a new city wall was built.<ref name="Army2014">{{cite book |author=Major Jeffrey D. Noll U.S. Army |title=Restraint In Urban Warfare: The Canadian Attack On Groningen, Netherlands, 13-16 April 1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GpxvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |date=15 August 2014 |publisher=Lucknow Books |isbn=978-1-78289-810-8 |pages=32–66}}</ref>

[[File:Lambert-van-den-Bos-Schauplatz-des-Krieges MG 9498.tif|thumb|[[Siege of Groningen (1672)|Siege of Groningen]] by Bishop of Münster in 1672]]
The [[Siege of Groningen (1672)|Siege of Groningen]] (1672) led by the bishop of [[Bishopric of Münster|Münster]], [[Bernhard von Galen]], during the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]] failed and the city walls resisted;<ref name="Troost2005">{{cite book |author=Wouter Troost |title=William III the Stadholder-king: A Political Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0_sYPHETj0C&pg=PA92 |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-5071-3 |page=92}}</ref> an event that is celebrated annually with music and fireworks on 28 August as "''{{interlanguage link|Gronings Ontzet|nl}}''" or "''Bommen Berend''" ("Bombing Bernard").<ref name="Archer-Antiquaries1969">{{cite book |author=Society of Archer-Antiquaries |title=Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4IdAQAAMAAJ |year=1969 |publisher=Society of Archer-Antiquaries |page=126}}</ref><ref>[http://toerisme.groningen.nl/english/agenda/bommen-berend Groningen tourism site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210073357/http://toerisme.groningen.nl/english/agenda/bommen-berend |date=2008-12-10 }}</ref> In the early 19th century when the kingdom of Holland under king Jerôme Bonaparte was founded, Groningen was integrated into the French system of administration, and then annexed in 1811 into the French Empire under emperor Napoleon I (until 1813). During the French administration of the area, Groningen was called ''Groningue''.<ref name="Malte-Brun1834">{{cite book |author=Conrad Malte-Brun |title=A System of Universal Geography: Or A Description of All the Parts of the World, on a New Plan, According to the Great Natural Divisions of the Globe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqYgAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1095 |year=1834 |publisher=S. Walker |page=1095}}</ref> 

During [[World War II]], the main square and the Grote Markt were largely destroyed in the [[Battle of Groningen]] in April 1945.<ref name="Army2014" /> However, the church ''Martinitoren'', the ''[[Goudkantoor]]'', and the city hall were undamaged.<ref name="Ashworth2017">{{cite book |author=G.J. Ashworth |title=The Construction of Built Heritage: A North European Perspective on Policies, Practices and Outcomes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qe1HDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT90 |date=22 November 2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-74212-2 |pages=87–96}}</ref>