Editing Frisia (section)

=== Modern age ===
In the early 16th century, the pirate and freedom fighter [[Pier Gerlofs Donia]] (Grutte Pier) challenged Saxon authority in Friesland during a prolonged guerrilla war, backed by the Duke of Guelders. He had several successes and was feared by Hollandic authorities, but he died as a farmer in 1520. According to the legend he was seven feet tall. A statue of Grutte Pier by {{interlanguage link|Anne Woudwijk|fy}} was erected in [[Kimswerd|Kimswert]] in 1985.

In the 1560s many Frisans joined the revolt led by William of Orange against the Habsburg monarchy. In 1577 the province of Friesland became part of the nascent [[Dutch Republic]], as its representatives signed the [[Union of Utrecht]]. The city of Groningen [[Siege of Groningen (1594)|was conquered]] by the Dutch in 1594. Since then, membership of the Dutch Republic was perceived as a guarantee for the preservation of civil liberties. Actual power, however, was usurped by the landowning gentry. Protests against aristocratic rule led to a democratic movement in the 1780s.