The name and date of birth' of Lage Zwaluwe and Hooge Zwaluwe are not exactly to place. It's possible that the name originated form a river called the Zwaluw' of Zwaluwe'. In 1346 however the both Zwaluwe's were mentioned as lent by the countess Margaretha van Beieren to Beatrys van Duivenvoorde, married with Roelof van Dalem also called van Dongen.
About this time (1347) the Plague epidemics spread form Sicily and especially the province of Brabant is hit. It is possible that the people of "Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe" lost inhabitants of this disease. The Plague spread mainly through rats. The living conditions for rats in the towns were probably rather good, because of the nearby river and harbour. The plague lasted about four years.
Around 1350 the 'Hoekse and Kabeljouwse twisten' started (Hook and Cod War) in Holland. This will last till abt.1490. It is mainly a confrontation of lower nobility and citizens against higher nobility, but the dividing-line is not sharp at all. The current Biesbosch did not exist yet and the little towns in this region suffered by the many raids.
On 22 januari 1377 the divinity of Zwaluwe was divided into Lage (Low) and Hooge (High) Zwaluwe. Beatrys and her eldest son kept Lage Zwaluwe and Hooge Zwaluwe was given to Margriet van der Lippe, mistress of the Leck and Breda, wife of Jan van Polanen, and her eldest son. With this transaction Hooge Zwaluwe felt to the house of Nassau. In 1404 the son of Beatrys unites the Zwaluwe's in the House van Dongen.
The St. Elisabethvloed (Saint Elisabeth flood) flooded on the 18th and 19th November 1421 the hole region of the current Biesbosch. A total of 64 villages was flooded, probably about 10,000 people drowned and 5,000,000 square meters land was covered with water. South of the river Maas a village called Dubbelmonde also disappeared. The flood could reach this devastating result through the lack of good management of the dykes. The dykes became unstable due to the digging up of the salty bottom near the dyke. The dirt was burned up and the salt remained. The Hook and Cod war also took lot of money that was meant to be invested in the maintenance of the dykes.
The flood of 1421 converted a large area in an inland sea. This created a opportunity for fishing. Large amounts of Sturgeon, Salmon and other smaller fish were brought to the harbour of Drimmelen and of Lage Zwaluwe. The harbour gave people a means of existence. The rivers brought clay to the Biesbosch and gradually more and more peaces of land was created.
In 1517 Luther announces his 95 theses. (The story of having nailed them to the church door might be a myth). Generally, this moment and event is accepted to be the start of the Reformation in Europe. Luther's ideas are instantly spread throughout the Netherlands. Some people (many merchants among them) adopted the new religion, but the vast majority of the people in the Netherlands remained Catholic. Catholics generally did not have problems with Lutheranism or its followers. Most Lutherans were to be found in the towns of Antwerp, Amsterdam, Woerden, Bodegraven, Bruges and in the province of Groningen. In Hooge and Lage Zwaluwe a part of the people reformed and another part stayed Catholic.
The Biesbosch contained more and more peaces of land which stayed dry during low tide. Some peaces stayed almost always dry. This also created an economic opportunity. Around 1800 the 'Griendbazen' started their business by planting twines which could be used for furniture, barrels, waterworks and more. Sometimes there were more than hundred people at work who stayed for a fortnight in wooden huts or flat-bottomed boats.
Around 1900 most of the fishing perished by lack of fish due to the growing amount of land, pollution and the too much fishing. Also there grew fewer demand of twines after the introduction of newer materials. The people who owned boats moved into the transportation business. The growing amount of land due to the decades of planting and harvesting of twines and growth of willow were converted for agricultural use. The harvests were transported by boat.
During Word War II the Netherlands were occupied. The Biesbosch provided a safe shelter for people who needed protection against the Germans. From Lage Zwaluwe many night missions took place to bring food to the hidden people who stayed in large flat-bottomed boats with a wooden shed on it. At the end of the war, the northern provinces were still occupied while Lage Zwaluwe as part of Noord-Brabant was freed. Many runners brought materials and info and people to and from the other side.
In 1953 the waterworks organisation of the Dutch Governement 'Rijkswaterstaat' reformed the Biesbosch after the storm flood that flooded a great part of Zeeland and also in the Biesbosch. In Lage Zwaluwe was only the dyke habitable. My father recalls that the garden of their house and the cellar were flooded. The house stood on the dyke at the side of the water. The creation of the Delta works caused that in the Biesbosch no more tides came.
The Biesbosch attracted a new business. The (day) tourists like to take a boat tour through the Biesbosch nature and learn about its history. In 1960 the boats were converted to passenger boats in the spring and in the fall the chairs were removed to bring the harvests in. The Biesbosch is now a nature reserve and the passenger boats are not longer converted into freight boats. 
In a struggle to keep a flourishing town and harbour Lage Zwaluwe and Hooge Zwaluwe work at their touristy appeal. In Lage Zwaluwe are plans to expand the harbour.