Ameland

Ameland is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists normally of sand dunes. It is the third principal island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Terschelling to the west and Schiermonnikoog to the east. This consists of the small Engelsmanplaat and Rif islands to the east. First noted as Ambla within the eighth century, it paid tribute to the county of Holland till in 1424 its lord, Ritske Jelmera, d it a loose lordship.

Although Holland, Friesland and the Holy Roman Emperor contested this quasi-impartial fame, it remained a unfastened lordship until the ruling family, Cammingha, died out in 1708. After that, the Frisian stadtholder John William Friso, Prince of Orange, became lord of Ameland and after him, his son the stadtholder of all of the Netherlands, William IV, Prince of Orange, and his grandson, William V, Prince of Orange. Only in the constitution of 1813 changed into the island sooner or later incorporated into the Netherlands into the province of Friesland. The monarchy of the Netherlands nevertheless maintain the name Vrijheer van Ameland today.