The Origins of Heusden
For a long time, the Lord of Heusden was a small but independent feudal lord, whose territory was sandwiched between the County of Holland, the Duchy of Brabant, and the County (later Duchy) of Gelre. These powerful neighbors were eager to annex the town and countryside of Heusden to their own territories, not only because of its strategic location at a medieval tri-border point, but certainly also because of the toll that passing boatmen were required to pay at Heusden.
A Dutch fortified town
At first, the Lord of Heusden skillfully played the surrounding rulers off against one another, but in the first half of the fourteenth century, he came increasingly under the influence of the Duke of Brabant.
That all changed suddenly in 1357, when the Count of Holland succeeded in taking control of Heusden and the surrounding area. For centuries, Heusden remained a city of Holland, until this region became part of the province of North Brabant in 1815.
