House of HollandThe first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Count Gerulf II of Frisia (Dijkstra suggests that Dirk may have been the son of a sister of Gerulf and that his own father died while he was still an infant). He received land around Egmond from Charles the Fat at a place called Bladella (modern day Bladel near Eindhoven, The Netherlands) in 922. This is seen as the beginning of the county of Holland. However, until about 1100, the usual names for the county were West-Friesland, Frisia or Kennemerland; in spite of this the counts from Dirk I onwards are named of Holland. Note that the chronology of the first counts is uncertain. The existence of a count between Dirk I and Dirk II was only discovered in recent research.
House of AvesnesWhen John I died childless, the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes, count of Hainaut from 1298. John of Avesnes was a son of Adelaide of Holland, sister of William II of Holland.
House of WittelsbachDuring the rule of Margaret, her son William V had the real power in the county. He became ruler in his own right as a result of the Hook and Cod wars. He was also Duke William I of Bavaria-Straubing.
There was a war of succession between John and Jacqueline. This war was won by Philip of Burgundy, who had inherited John's claims on the county. Philip was a nephew of William VI, who had married a daughter of Philip the Bold of Burgundy. In 1432 he forced Jacqueline to abdicate from Hainaut and Holland on his behalf. House of Valois
House of Habsburg
During the 'foreign rule' by Burgundy and Habsburg, the county was governed by a stadtholder in name of the count. In 1581, the Estates General of the United Provinces declared themselves independent from the Spanish rule of Philip II (who was Philip III of Holland). Until the Treaty of Münster in 1648, the kings of Spain used the title Count of Holland, but they had lost the actual power over the county to the States of Holland.
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