A description is given of the history of the development of palynology in The Netherlands. This development is traced from the appearance in 1777-1779 of the book Katechismus der Natuur by J. F. Martinet, through the increased interest, begun in the 1920’s with the appearance of a thesis by Miss B. Polak on the investigation of peat bogs in the western Netherlands, to the culmination with the establishment of palynological divisions in several universities and other institutions in The Netherlands.