Netherlands
American Heritage Dictionary:
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Neth·er·lands
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A country of northwest Europe on the North Sea. Inhabited by Germanic tribes during Roman times, the region passed to the Franks (4th-8th century), the Holy Roman Empire (10th century), the dukes of Burgundy (14th-15th century), and then to the house of Hapsburg. The northern part of the region formed the Union of Utrecht in 1579 and achieved its independence as the United Provinces in 1648 after the Thirty Years' War. In the 17th century the country enjoyed great commercial prosperity and expanded its territories in the East and West Indies and elsewhere. The kingdom of the Netherlands, proclaimed at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), included Belgium until 1830. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital and the largest city; The Hague is the seat of government. Population: 16,600,000.
Netherlandish Neth'er·land'ish (-lăn'dĭsh) adj.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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Netherlands
The instrumental version of the national anthem of the Netherlands.
For more information on Netherlands, visit Britannica.com.
Oxford Companion to the Photograph:
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the Netherlands
Photography was introduced to the Dutch public on 1 March 1839, in an anonymous article in the Algemeene Konst-en Letterbode. Since that time, the Netherlands has developed a lively tradition, one that was and is representative of photographic and artistic movements throughout Europe. The history of this tradition, while thoroughly documented at home, has been largely neglected in the mainstream English, French, and German photohistories.
Typically for the 19th century, Dutch photographic activity was concentrated in the cities. Local and foreign photographers recorded the sights of Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, and Rotterdam from the very earliest days of photography. In 1855, the first photographic exhibition, the Exhibition of Photography and Heliography, was mounted at the Amsterdam gallery Maatschappij Arti et Amicitiae. More than 40 Dutch and international photographers exhibited daguerreotypes and photographs on paper.
One of these was Pieter Oosterhuis (1816-85), trained as a painter but already making daguerreotypes by 1853. He, and later colleagues like Julius Perger (1840-1924) and Johann Georg Hameter (1838-85), soon turned to collodion on glass, taking stereo and topographical city views as well as portraits. Vues de Hollande, published by Oosterhuis in the early 1860s, is a representative example of the tradition of topographical views of cities like Scheveningen, Utrecht, and Amsterdam promoted by these photographers. Although such views were enjoyed by Dutch audiences, they were more frequently sought by collectors throughout Europe. Amsterdam and Rotterdam were common destinations for French, British, and eventually American photographers, who fostered an interchange of information on photographic techniques and philosophies with practitioners in the Netherlands.
As in other countries, Dutch photography in the second half of the 19th century was dominated by the rise of the portrait studio, the proliferation of scientific and commercial applications of the medium, and eventually the spread of pictorialism. It was not until the turn of the 20th century that Dutch photography's status changed, and photographers organized themselves into groups and associations. Artists like Georg Hendrik Breitner and Willem Witsen (1860-1923) practised photography but continued to consider themselves as painters, and their photographs merely as studies. This attitude was finally to change in 1908, when the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam mounted the first Dutch museum exhibition devoted to international and national photography. The Tentoonstelling van Foto-kunst included not only influential foreign photographers, but native pictorialists like Bernard Eilers (1878-1951) and Henri Berssenbrugge. These photographers were influenced both by British writing from the 1880s but also strongly by the style and traditions of the Hague school of realist painting. Though not quite complete, the acceptance of photography into Holland's long pictorial tradition was assured.
In the 20th century, Dutch photography developed a strong social and political documentary style fostered by the two world wars. It also formed close ties with the German avant-garde. Piet Zwart (1885-1977) joined the Ring Neuer Werbegestalter, the ‘New Ring’ that advocated the use of radical design in advertising, and Moholy-Nagy helped to edit the Internationale Revue i 10 for two years (1927-9). Modern photography by Gerrit Kiljan (fl. 1930s), Paul Schuitema (1897-1973), and Jan Kamman (1898-1993) as well as Piet Zwart rendered the Netherlands photographic scene as vibrant as that of any of its neighbours at this time. While the avant-garde tradition flourished, so did documentary photography, made internationally famous by the films and photographs of Ed van der Elsken. Koen Wessing (b. 1942) and Marrie Bot (b. 1946) continue this tradition. (The history of Dutch photography during the German occupation remains to be studied in detail, but the underground images made in the period have attracted increasing interest.)
The diversity of Dutch photography and its links with international movements continue in the 21st century. Conceptual artists like Jan Dibbits (b. 1941), Ger van Elk (b. 1941), and Paul den Hollander (b. 1950) pushed conceptual photography to great lengths through the 1970s and 1980s. They have been joined by increasing numbers of internationally influential artists, Rineke Dijkstra, Bertien van Manen (b. 1942), Hellen van Meene (b. 1972), and Ad van Denderen (b. 1943), who have formed a photographic aesthetic unique to the Netherlands.
— Kelley E. Wilder
Bibliography
- Leijerzapf, I. (ed.), Fotografie in Nederland 1839-1920 (1978).
- Bool, F., and Broos, K. (eds.), Fotografie in Nederland, 1920-1940 (1979).
- Leijerzapf, I. (ed.), Roots + Turns: 20th Century Photography in the Netherlands (1988).
- Bool, F., and Hekking, V., Die illegale Camera 1940-1945: Nederlandse fotografie tijdens de Duitse bezetting (1995)
Oxford Dictionary of Dance:
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Netherlands
The development of theatrical dance in the Netherlands has historically centred on Amsterdam. The first ballet performances took place there in 1642 and 1645 (Ballet of the Five Senses). The first Amsterdam-based choreographer of note was Pietro Nieri whose most famous ballet was Peasant Life (1762). In the 19th century romantic ballet took hold through the choreographer Piet Grieve, whose most important work was The Golden Magic Rose or Harlequin Freed from Slavery (1819). Andries Voitus van Hamme (1828-68) made 115 three-act ballets for his own company of 60 dancers; his son, Anton, was also an active choreographer (1871-87). But after 1890 ballet found itself reduced to a role as an appendix to the opera and there was little in the way of local creativity. There were visiting stars, however, including Fuller, Duncan, and Pavlova, although home-grown modern dancers found a much smaller audience. In 1941 the Ballet of the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg became an influential organization in the development of dance in the country. After the Second World War companies like the Scapino Ballet and the Netherlands Opera Ballet and the Ballet der Lage Landen (the latter two united in 1959 as the Amsterdam Ballet) began to put the country on the ballet map. In 1954 Sonia Gaskell established the Netherlands Ballet, out of which eventually emerged Dutch National Ballet in 1961. Only two years earlier, a group of breakaway dancers had left her company to found the Netherlands Dance Theatre in The Hague. Today the most important companies in the country are Dutch National Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre, and the Scapino Ballet.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Netherlands
Netherlands (nĕTH'ərləndz), Du. Nederland or Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, officially Kingdom of the Netherlands, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 16,407,000), 15,963 sq mi (41,344 sq km), NW Europe. It is bounded by the North Sea on the north and west, by Belgium on the south, and by Germany on the east. It is popularly known as Holland. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital; The Hague is the administrative and governmental capital. The kingdom also includes three overseas territories, Aruba, Curaçao, and Saint Martin in the Caribbean Sea, as self-governing parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Saba, and Saint Eustatius are special municipalities in the Netherlands.
Land and People
The Netherlands has 12 provinces: Zeeland, South Holland, North Holland, Friesland, and Groningen, all of which border on the North Sea; and North Brabant, Limburg, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Drenthe, and Flevoland. The country is mostly low-lying. About 40% of it is situated below sea level and comprises territory (mostly in the western part of the country) reclaimed from the sea since the 13th cent. and guarded by dunes and dikes. The land is crossed by drainage canals, and the main rivers, the Scheldt, Maas (Fr., Meuse), IJssel, Waal, and Lower Rhine, are canalized and interconnected by artificial waterways, linked with the river and canal systems of Belgium and Germany. The Scheldt estuary includes the former islands of Walcheren, North Beveland, and South Beveland. The West Frisian Islands are located off the northern coast of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is extremely densely populated. The maritime provinces include many of the famous cities of the Netherlands-Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the chief ports) and The Hague, Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, Dordrecht, Schiedam, and Vlissingen (Flushing). In addition, Alkmaar, Gouda, and Edam are internationally known as cheese markets, and Haarlem is the center of the flower-raising district. The inland provinces have generally poor and sandy soil. Leading cities include Breda, 's Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, and Tilburg in North Brabant; Maastricht and Heerlen in Limburg; and Arnhem and Nijmegen in Gelderland.
Linguistic conformity to Dutch, the official language, is complete except in Friesland, where Frisian is spoken in places. After the Netherlands obtained independence in the late 16th cent., it became largely Protestant. Now, however, Roman Catholics, concentrated in the southern provinces, make up the largest religious group (31%), while about 20% are Protestant. Muslims are a small but growing minority; some 40% of the population claims no religious affiliation. The archbishop of Utrecht is the Roman Catholic primate of the Netherlands.
Economy
Agriculture, which engages only a small percentage of the workforce, is specialized, mechanized, and efficient, and yields per acre are high. The major crops are truck-farm commodities, sugar beets, potatoes, and grains. Cattle and poultry are raised and dairy farming is important; the country is known for its cheese industry. Horticultural production (especially bulbs) and fishing are also important, as is tourism.
The Netherlands is heavily industrialized. The chief industries are food processing, petroleum refining, and the manufacture of chemicals, electrical machinery, metal products, and electronics. The country's few natural resources include coal, natural gas, and petroleum. A considerable amount of the country's wealth is contributed annually by financial and transportation services. Amsterdam is one of the world's major financial centers, and Rotterdam is one of the world's busiest ports. The Netherlands has a large foreign trade. The main exports are machinery, chemicals, natural gas, processed foods, and horticultural products. Imports include machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, and clothing. The main trading partners are Germany, Belgium, France, and Great Britain.
Government
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy governed under the constitution of 1815 as amended. The hereditary monarch is the head of state; the prime minister is the head of government. There is a bicameral legislature, the States General. Members of the deliberative upper house, the 75-seat First Chamber, are elected by the 12 provincial councils. Members of the more powerful lower house, the 150-seat Second Chamber, are popularly elected. All legislators serve four-year terms. The royal succession is settled on the house of Orange (see Nassau), which adheres to the Dutch Reformed Church. Administratively, the country is divided into 12 provinces.
History
The Rise of the Netherlands
One of the Low Countries, the Netherlands did not have a unified history until the late 15th cent. The region west of the Rhine formed part of the Roman province of Lower Germany and was inhabited by the Batavi; to the east of the Rhine were the Frisians. Nearly the entire area was taken (4th-8th cent.) by the Franks, and with the breakup of the Carolingian empire, most of it passed (9th cent.) to the east Frankish (i.e., German) kingdom and thus to the Holy Roman Empire.
The counts of Holland emerged as the most powerful medieval lords of the region, next to their southern neighbors, the dukes of Brabant and the counts of Flanders. In the 14th and 15th cent., Flanders, Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland, and Brabant passed to the powerful dukes of Burgundy, who controlled virtually all the Low Countries. Though the Dutch towns and ports were slower in economic development than the flourishing commercial and industrial centers of Flanders and Brabant, they began to rival them in the 15th cent. They nearly all belonged to the Hanseatic League and enjoyed vast autonomous privileges.
In 1477, Mary of Burgundy by the Great Privilege restored all the liberties deprived by her predecessors. Her marriage to the Archduke Maximilian (later Emperor Maximilian I) brought the Low Countries into the house of Hapsburg. Emperor Charles V gave them (1555) to his son Philip II of Spain. By that time the northern provinces (i.e., the present Netherlands) had reached economic prosperity.
Revolt in the Netherlands
The inroads of Calvinism were helping to distinguish the Low Countries from Catholic Spain; the nobles, supported by many of the people for economic and religious reasons, demanded greater autonomy for the provinces in addition to the removal of Spanish officials. Philip's attempt, first through Cardinal Granvelle and then through the duke of Alba, to introduce the Spanish Inquisition and reduce the Low Countries to a Spanish province met determined opposition from among all classes of the population-Catholics and Protestants alike.
The struggle for the Low Countries' independence began (1562-66) in Flanders and Brabant. The northern provinces, under the leadership of William the Silent, prince of Orange, succeeded (1572-74) in expelling the Spanish garrisons. The Low Countries united under William in their struggle against Spain in the Pacification of Ghent (1576).
Alessandro Farnese, who in 1578 succeeded John of Austria as Spanish governor, reconquered the southern provinces, which remained in Spanish possession (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish) and were gradually reconverted to Catholicism. The river barriers were crucial in protecting the rebellion and the Protestant religion of the north. The seven northern provinces-Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland, and Groningen-formed (1579) the Union of Utrecht and declared (1581) their independence.
William the Silent, assassinated in 1584, was succeeded as stadtholder (chief of state) by his son, Maurice of Nassau, who was at first guided by Johan van Oldenbarneveldt. An English expedition under Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, to aid the Dutch against Farnese was ineffectual; later Maurice won important successes, and in 1609 a 12-year truce was concluded with Spinola, the Spanish commander.
The United Provinces
Fighting with Spain was resumed in the Thirty Years War (1618-48), after which the independence of the United Provinces-as the independent Netherlands was then called-was recognized in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Spain also ceded North Brabant, with Breda, and part of Limburg, with Maastricht. Still struggling for independence and involved in religious contention between Calvinists and Remonstrants, the Dutch laid the foundation of their commercial and colonial empire.
The Dutch East India Company (see East India Company, Dutch) was founded in 1602, the Dutch West India Company in 1621. The decline of Antwerp under Spanish rule and the right (awarded to the Dutch in the Peace of Westphalia) to control the Scheldt estuary gave supremacy to the Dutch ports, particularly Amsterdam. Dutch merchants traded in every continent (including exclusive privileges in Japan), and captured the major share of the world's carrying trade. The United Provinces opened their doors to religious refugees, notably to Portuguese and Spanish Jews and to French Huguenots, which contributed vastly to the prosperity of 17th-century Holland.
With material wealth came a cultural golden age. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, and others carried Dutch art to its peak. The Univ. of Leiden won world acclaim; the philosophers Descartes and Spinoza and the jurist Grotius were active in the United Provinces.
Prince Frederick Henry, who had succeeded his brother Maurice in 1625 as stadtholder, was in turn succeeded by his son, Prince William II, in 1647. His death in 1650 signaled the opponents of the house of Orange to reassert the rights of the provinces and the States-General. Jan de Witt, the political leader of the estates of Holland, was chosen (1652) grand pensionary and led the Dutch republic for the next 20 years. To prevent Prince William III of Orange (son of William II) from regaining the authority of his father, de Witt by the Eternal Edict (1667) abolished the office of stadtholder in Holland and secured the virtual exclusion of the house of Orange from state affairs.
A Succession of Wars
De Witt's administration was largely encompassed by the Dutch Wars with England (1652-54, 1664-67), arising out of the first of the English Navigation Acts (1651) and the Dutch-English commercial rivalry. The Treaty of Breda (1667) was advantageous to the Netherlands; it gained trade privileges and had its possession of Suriname recognized. The Netherlands reached the peak of political power when, by forming (1668) the Triple Alliance with Sweden and England, it forced Louis XIV of France to halt the War of Devolution against Spain.
Louis XIV took revenge by starting (1672) the third of the Dutch Wars, in which the French overran the Netherlands. In defense, the Dutch opened their dikes and flooded the country, creating a watery barrier that was virtually impenetrable. De Witt sought to negotiate peace but was murdered (1672) by a mob of Orange followers. The stadtholderate was restored to William III (after 1689 also king of England). The war devastated the provinces, but in the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678-79) the Dutch obtained important concessions from France.
The Netherlands again fought Louis XIV in the War of the Grand Alliance (1688-97) and in the War of the Spanish Succession. On the death (1702) of William III the stadtholderate was again suspended and the States-General resumed control of the government, but in 1747 the republican party lost power, and William IV of Orange became hereditary stadtholder. In the 18th cent. the relative commercial, military, and cultural positions of the United Provinces in Europe declined as those of England and France ascended. The Netherlands sided against England in the American Revolution and as a result lost several colonies at the Treaty of Paris of 1783 (see Paris, Treaty of).
A patriotic movement by J. D. van der Capellen (1741-84) began to popularize the ideas of the Enlightenment; when in the French Revolutionary Wars the French overran (1794-95) the Netherlands, there was much popular approval. William V fled abroad, and the Batavian Republic was set up (1795) under French protection. In 1806, Napoleon I established the Kingdom of Holland and made his brother Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte, family) its first king. Bonaparte was deposed in 1810, and the kingdom was annexed by France, whereby French legal, financial, and educational reforms pervaded the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands
At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) the former United Provinces and the former Austrian Netherlands were united under King William I, son of William V of Orange. In 1830, however, the former Austrian provinces (Belgium), whose language, religion, and culture differed from those of the Dutch, rebelled against Dutch rule and declared independence. An agreement between Belgium and the Netherlands was reached only in 1839 (see London Conference). William I was forced to abdicate in 1840 and was succeeded by William II, under whom Jan Thorbecke introduced important constitutional reforms in 1848.
Under William III (1849-90) the Netherlands enjoyed a period of commercial expansion and internal development. The Industrial Revolution progressed rapidly after 1860. Trade unionism grew in the late 19th cent., and considerable national social-welfare legislation was passed. At the same time the country's cultural life flourished, led by the painter Vincent van Gogh, the writer Louis Couperus, and others.
In 1890, Queen Wilhelmina began her reign of almost 60 years. The Netherlands was neutral in World War I. In 1927, a 20-mi (32-km) dam was completed; it enclosed the Zuider Zee and thus created the IJsselmeer, a large freshwater lake. A number of large polders, including Eastern and Southern Flevoland and the Northeast Polder, were later created in the IJsselmeer.
In World War II, Germany invaded (May, 1940) the Netherlands without warning, crushed Dutch resistance, and wantonly destroyed Rotterdam. The queen and her government fled abroad. German occupation authorities, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, established a reign of terror; underground resistance led to mass executions and deportations. Of the approximately 112,000 Dutch Jews, about 104,000 were deported to Poland by the Germans and exterminated. Allied airborne landings (1944) at Arnhem and Eindhoven liberated Zeeland, North Brabant, and Limburg provinces.
The Postwar Years
The German collapse in May, 1945, was followed by the immediate return of the queen and the cabinet. The Netherlands became a charter member of the United Nations (1945) and in 1947 joined in a close alliance with Belgium and Luxembourg, which became (1958) the Benelux Economic Union. The country also participated actively in the development of the organizations that came to be the European Union, and in 1949 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Queen Wilhelmina abdicated (1948) in favor of her daughter, Juliana, who continued to rule with a coalition cabinet dominated by the Catholic and Labor parties. In 1959 a new coalition excluding the Labor party was formed, and similar coalitions primarily held power into the 1970s.
The Netherlands gave Indonesia independence in 1949, and in 1962 relinquished Netherlands New Guinea (now Papua) to Indonesia. Despite the loss of the eastern empire and the catastrophic floodings in the North Sea storms of 1953, the Dutch economy expanded in the 1950s and 60s. Industry was enlarged significantly. After the 1953 floods, the 25-year Delta Project was begun. As a result of the project, Walcheren and North and South Beveland were joined to the mainland and ceased to be islands.
Considerable controversy surrounded the marriage (1966) of Crown Princess Beatrix to Claus von Amsberg, a former German diplomat who had served in the German army in World War II. In 1967, Princess Beatrix gave birth to a son, Willem-Alexander, the first male heir in line of succession since 1884.
In the early 1970s the Netherlands enjoyed material prosperity and considerable influence in European affairs. The country suffered, however, from a ban on the sale of petroleum imposed by Arab nations in the wake of the Arab-Israeli War of Oct., 1973, in retaliation for the Netherlands' traditional friendship with Israel. The embargo was lifted in mid-1974. Suriname was granted independence in 1975.
In 1980, Queen Juliana was succeeded by Queen Beatrix. In 1981, Prime Minister Van Agt's support for deploying U.S. cruise missiles on Dutch territory caused an intense public outcry. He was defeated in the 1982 elections, and Ruud Lubbers became the next prime minister, primarily through a coalition of Christian Democrats and Liberals. The Netherlands population increasingly protested against the presence of foreign armaments on their soil, and in the late 1980s nearly 4 million Dutch citizens signed an antimissile petition.
Lubbers formed his third government in Nov., 1989. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War the Netherlands sent two marine frigates to aid the anti-Iraq coalition forces. In the 1994 elections the Christian Democrats and their coalition partner, the Labor party, lost seats. With some difficulty a new coalition government of left- and right-wing parties was formed and Labor party leader Wim Kok became prime minister. In early 1995 unusually heavy flooding along major rivers necessitated massive evacuations in the country.
Also in 1995, Dutch peacekeepers under UN auspices were overwhelmed by Serb forces in the Bosniak-held town of Srebrenica; the Serbs subsequently massacred Bosnia civilians. Several investigations were launched into the role played by the peacekeepers. An independent investigation that released its report in 2002 said that UN and Dutch political and military officials shared some of the blame for placing peacekeeping forces in an untenable position, and Prime Minister Kok's government resigned to accept responsibility.
In the subsequent election campaign (May, 2002), the right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn, who ran on an anti-immigrant platform, was assassinated, stunning the nation. Voters subsequently veered to the right, giving conservative and rightist parties a majority of the seats in the new parliament. A center-right government, headed by Christian Democrat Jan Peter Balkenende and including Fortuyn's party, was formed in July, but the coalition collapsed in October.
Elections in Jan., 2003, gave the Christian Democrats and Labor nearly the same number of seats (44 and 42, respectively) and resulted in significant losses for the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). Balkenende remained prime minister, but the new center-right government excluded the LPF. Dutch voters strongly rejected a proposed new constitution for the European Union in 2005; voters appeared to resent a likely loss of Dutch influence under the new charter despite their country's sizable contributions to the EU.
Balkenende's government fell in June, 2006, when one of the member parties withdrew over a government minister's tough handling of a Somali-born Dutch politician's citizenship case. In November, the parliamentary elections resulted in some lost seats for the Christian Democrats as both far-right and far-left parties increased their seats. Although the Christian Democrats nonetheless remained the largest party, neither the governing coalition nor that aligned with Labor secured a majority in parliament. In Feb., 2007, Balkenende formed a new, centrist coalition government that included Labor.
Disagreement over whether to further extend the deployment of Dutch troops with NATO forces in Afghanistan led to the collapse of the government in Feb., 2010, and elections were scheduled for June. The elections were a major defeat for the Christian Democrats, who lost half their seats; the anti-Islamic and Eurosceptic Freedom party won more seats and placed third. The Liberals won, but secured only one more seat than Labor, and politically the new parliament was very fragmented. In October the Liberals and Christian Democrats agreed to form a minority conservative coalition government with the support of the Freedom party. Liberal Mark Rutte became prime minister.
Bibliography
See P. J. Blok, History of the People of the Netherlands (5 vol., tr. 1898-1912, repr. 1970); P. Geyl, The Revolt of the Netherlands (2d ed. 1958); S. Schama, Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands 1780-1813 (1977); A. Vandenbosch, Dutch Foreign Policy Since 1815 (1981); S. Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1987); A. Hopkins, Holland (1988); H. H. Rowen, The Princes of Orange (1988); J. Israel, Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585-1740 (1989); J. Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477-1806 (1995).
Gale Dictionary of Psychoanalysis:
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Netherlands
Interest in psychoanalysis within Holland developed from 1905 onward and came from three different sources. The first source consisted of psychiatrists who were struck by Freud's studies on dreams. August Stärcke corresponded with Freud and J. van Emden had an analysis with him during a holiday in Karlsbad in 1911. Both became members of the Viennese Society in 1911. The second source came from psychiatrists who went to Jung in Zürich for analysis between 1911 and 1913. The third source was Leiden University. Jelgersma's rectorial address in 1914 at Leiden University was the first official recognition of psychoanalytic science in Europe. Thirteen representatives of these three groups, Freudians, Jungians and theoretical university analysts, founded the Dutch Society of Psychoanalysis on March 24, 1917. It was the seventh branch society of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), formed with the goal of supporting the development of psychoanalysis according to Sigmund Freud. The Sixth IPA Congress took place in The Hague in 1920, chosen (because of Dutch neutrality during World War I) to facilitate the reunion of analysts who had been territorial enemies.
After that, however, there followed a period of quarreling and lessened productivity, which was partly due to the diversity of the members. The main points of controversy were the question of lay analysis—until 1938 only medical doctors were admitted—and the introduction of the tripartite training system, especially the obligation of personal analysis, introduced by Max Eitingon and Hanns Sachs in 1925 for all IPA branch societies. The conflict was mainly between the Society's president, Van Ophuijsen, who defended both lay analysis and the tripartite training model (he was treasurer and later vice-president of the IPA), and the theoretically-oriented psychiatrists of the university and Van Ophuijsen's former analysand Westerman Holstijn. The conflicts escalated and led to a split when in 1933 four Jewish analysts emigrated from Germany to Holland: Karl Landauer, Theodor Reik, Levy-Sühl and Watermann. The poorly-trained Dutch analysts, with lesser income from analytic practice, felt threatened by the arrival of four more competent analysts. A few expressed their panic in open anti-Semitism. Most were not anti-Semitic but refused to accept the refugees as members of the Society. Van Ophuijsen, however, saw a possibility to improve the quality of psychoanalysis in Holland with the help of the refugees and arranged Landauer's participation in his psychoanalytic institute (founded in 1930 in The Hague). In the resulting uproar by the members Van Ophuijsen resigned as president and member and founded, with Van Emden, Maurits Katan and a few others, a new society, the Society of Psychoanalysts in the Netherlands, of which the German immigrants became members. In the years to come the diplomatic analyst Westerman Holstijn put much energy in the reconciliation of the two societies, which succeeded in 1937. However, he himself resigned as a member, badly hurt by the lack of appreciation of his colleagues.
In 1938, after the Anschluss of Austria, Jeanne Lampl-de Groot and Hans Lampl came from Vienna to Amsterdam. Jeanne de Groot, a Dutch psychiatrist, had gone to Vienna in 1923 for analytic training with Freud and in 1925, after her marriage with Hans Lampl, to Berlin. In 1933 they had returned to Vienna. In Holland they started to reform the training program according to Viennese standards in cooperation with the members Le Coultre and Maurits Katan. Both the tripartite training model and lay analysis were accepted.
In May 1940 Holland was occupied by the Germans. When in November 1940 Jews had to resign as society members by German law, the non-Jewish psychoanalysts resigned as well in an act of solidarity and the Society virtually ceased to exist. Psychoanalytic training was organized underground with only two analysts functioning: Jeanne Lampl-deGroot and Le Coultre. In November 1945 the Society was refounded.
In 1946 some members founded the Psychoanalytical Institute (PAI), an ambulatorium where patients could come for psychoanalytic treatment at limited cost by candidates who earned a small fee. The house of the PAI became and as of 2005, still is the center of training, where, among other things, seminars are held and scientific meetings organized.
In 1947 Westerman Holstijn and Van der Hoop, who both had left the Society in discontent, founded with others the Dutch Psychoanalytical Association. Initially, the Association was meant to be a forum where one could discuss psychoanalysis in a free atmosphere without the stress of training. Soon, however, a training program was organized, though with much milder requirements than those of the Society. Training analyses were performed at low frequency and for a short period. During the first twenty-five or thirty years of its existence, the relationship between Society and Association varied from non-existent to very bad. Three successive presidents of the Association; Jan Groen, Poslavsky, and Stufkens, managed to raise the quality of training gradually to IPA level, coinciding with a much more friendly cooperation with the Society. The societies share an increasing number of mutual members. In 1983 the Association founded its own institute in Utrecht, the PIU. The psychoanalytic institutes of Society and Association fused into the Dutch Psychoanalytic Institute (NPI) in 1995, which serves the candidates of both societies. It is expected that the Association will be a component society of the IPA in the near future.
From 1945 until roughly 1970 psychoanalysis blossomed in Holland. The number of candidates steadily increased; there were more patients for analysis than could be treated; there was an active scientific life. Three IPA congresses were organized in Amsterdam, in 1951, 1965 and 1993. Van der Leeuw became vice-president of the IPA in 1963 and president from 1965-1969. Montessori was secretary from 1965-1969 and vice-president after that until 1975. Lampl-deGroot was honorary vice-president from 1963 until her death in 1987. Several Dutch held an office in the European Psychoanalytical Federation: Thiel and Dalewijk as vice-president, Mekking as treasurer, and Groen-Prakken as president.
In 1966 a child-analytic training was organized within the Society by Teuns, with great support of especially Frijling-Schreuder through many years to come. Teachers from the Hampstead clinic came to Leiden or Amsterdam for theoretical and technical seminars and supervision. Also in 1966 the government decided to subsidize psychoanalytical treatments as far as the patient could not afford the treatment himself. In 1980 therapies at the Institutes for mental health, including the analytic Institutes, became virtually free from payment. The important chairs in psychiatry, child psychiatry and clinical psychology at the universities were mainly occupied by psychoanalysts.
Over the course of the 1980s there was a decline in interest in psychoanalysis, as in most western communities. In Holland, the growing grip of the authorities on psychoanalytic practice, the near-disappearance of private practice, and the replacement of psychoanalytically-oriented university teachers by biologically oriented ones were important factors. The same period, however, saw a mounting interest in the application of psychoanalysis to other fields. In 1979 the analytic societies founded together the Dutch Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and in 1989 the Foundation for Psychoanalysis and Culture was established, by the analysts Baneke and De Jong and the scientists in literature Schönau and Hillenaar, to connect psychoanalytical with general cultural experience. The annual workshops, organized by the Association, to introduce modern analytic views to a wide audience of psychotherapists are always overbooked.
Traditionally, the Dutch have been tradesmen for many centuries. They played an active role also in the export of psychoanalytic knowledge to Germany in the first period after the war, and in the late twentieth century to some former Soviet satellite countries: Prague first, and from 1994 onward, to Romania and Lithuania, where regular seminars are organized.
Four main scientific threads have developed, mostly after 1945. From the predominantly ego-psychological orientation after 1938 a continuous trend emerged to integrate drive- and ego- psychology with observations on narcissistic development and pathology (Lamplde Groot, Le Coultre, Van der Leeuw, Spanjaard, Treurniet). Many analysts from before the war already came from Child Guidance Clinics. The direct observation and treatment of neurotic and psychotic children has led to a mutual influence of adult and child psychoanalysis and to the use of psychoanalytical approaches in prevention of childhood disorders (Frijling-Schreuder, Kamp, Van Waning). The Dutch training programs are founded upon integrated child and adult theoretical seminars. In the third place there was and is a vivid exchange between psychoanalysis and the adult psychiatric clinic (Kuiper, De Blécourt, Van Tilburg). The fourth mainstream is centered around the aftermath of war in the first, second, and the contemporary generation (Keilson, De Wind, Jacques Tas, Louis Tas, De Levita, Bruggeman). Among the solitary theoreticians in the widened scope of psychoanalysis, De Jonghe, Ladan, Stufkens, and Bögels should be mentioned.
Regularly, textbooks and analytic books on a specific topic are published in Dutch. In 1978 Keilson published his long-term investigation on Jewish war orphans in Germany, Sequentielle Traumatisierung bei Kindern (now translated into English). In 1985 the collected papers by Lampl-de Groot were published in English titled Man and Mind. In 1991 Halberstadt-Freud published Freud, Proust, Perversion and Love. In 1993, at the thirty-eighth IPA congress in Amsterdam, Dutch Art and Character, a Psychoanalytic View was edited by Baneke and others. In 1993 and 1995 two volumes of the Dutch Annual of Psychoanalysis appeared, edited by Ladan, Groen-Prakken, and Stufkens, and in 1996, on the occasion of a celebration of Treurniet, Psychoanalysis in a Post-Classical Context was published, edited by Groen-Prakken and featuring Treurniet's article "On an Ethic of Psychoanalytic Technique," alongside papers by foreign and Dutch friends.
Bibliography
Brinkgreve, Christien. (1984). Psychoanalyse in Nederland. Een vestigingsstrijd. Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers.
Bulhof, Ilse N. (1983). Freud en Nederland. Baarn: Ambo.
Freud, Sigmund. (1914d). On the history of the psychoanalytic movement. SE, 14: 1-66.
——. (1974a). The Freud/Jung letters: The correspondence between Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung (William McGuire, Ed.; Ralph Manheim and R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
Groen-Prakken, Han. (1993). The psychoanalytical society and the analyst, with special reference to the history of the Dutch Psychoanalytical Society 1917-1947. In Dutch Annual of Psychoanalysis, 1993 (p. 13-37). Amsterdam-Lisse: Swets and Zeitlinger.
—HAN GROEN-PRAKKEN
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Geography:
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The Netherlands
Constitutional monarchy in northwestern Europe, bordered by the North Sea to the west and north, Germany to the east, and Belgium to the south. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, and The Hague is the seat of the government. The Netherlands are also popularly known as Holland, after a region of the country.
- Half of the country lies below sea level. Much of this land has been reclaimed from the North Sea and is protected by dikes and irrigated by an intricate system of canals.
- During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, The Netherlands established a powerful commercial and colonial empire. The Dutch Empire included the settlement of New Amsterdam, which later became New York, and the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
- The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries also saw a flowering of Dutch painting by masters such as Rembrandt.
- During World War II, Germany invaded and occupied The Netherlands, exterminating most Dutch Jews. (See Anne Frank.)
CIA World Factbook:
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Netherlands
Introduction
| Background: | The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. |
Geography
| Location: | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany |
| Geographic coordinates: | 52 30 N, 5 45 E |
| Map references: | Europe |
| Area: | total: 41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km |
| Area - comparative: | slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey |
| Land boundaries: | total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km |
| Coastline: | 451 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: | temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters |
| Terrain: | mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m |
| Natural resources: | natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land |
| Land use: | arable land: 21.96% permanent crops: 0.77% other: 77.27% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 5,650 sq km (2003) |
| Total renewable water resources: | 89.7 cu km (2005) |
| Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 8.86 cu km/yr (6%/60%/34%) per capita: 544 cu m/yr (2001) |
| Natural hazards: | flooding |
| Environment - current issues: | water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain |
| Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: | located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde) |
People
| Population: | 16,715,999 (July 2009 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17.4% (male 1,485,873/female 1,416,999) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 5,720,387/female 5,604,014) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 1,070,496/female 1,418,230) (2009 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 40.4 years male: 39.6 years female: 41.2 years (2009 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.412% (2009 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 10.4 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.71 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 2.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
| Urbanization: | urban population: 82% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.4 years male: 76.8 years female: 82.14 years (2009 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.66 children born/woman (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.2% (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 18,000 (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 200 (2007 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch |
| Ethnic groups: | Dutch 80.7%, EU 5%, Indonesian 2.4%, Turkish 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccan 2%, Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 0.8%, other 4.8% (2008 est.) |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%, Muslim 5.8%, other 2.2%, none 42% (2006) |
| Languages: | Dutch (official), Frisian (official) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 16 years male: 17 years female: 16 years (2006) |
| Education expenditures: | 5.3% of GDP (2005) |
Government
| Country name: | conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland |
| Government type: | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital: | name: Amsterdam geographic coordinates: 52 23 N, 4 54 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: The Hague is the seat of government; time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, not to the Caribbean components |
| Administrative divisions: | 12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland) |
| Dependent areas: | Aruba, Netherlands Antilles |
| Independence: | 23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence) |
| National holiday: | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) |
| Constitution: | adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002 |
| Legal system: | based on civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch) |
| Political parties and leaders: | Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Pieter VAN GEEL]; Christian Union Party [Arie SLOB]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Mariette HAMER]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Agnes KANT]; plus a few minor parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Rene PAAS]; Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Bernard WIENTJES]; Federation for Small and Medium-sized businesses or MKB [Loek HERMANS]; Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Agnes JONGERIUS]; Social Economic Council or SER [Alexander RINNOOY KAN]; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP [Ad VERHOEVEN] |
| International organization participation: | ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Regina "Renee" JONES-BOS chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300, [1] 877-388-2443 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael GALLAGHER embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-2209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam |
| Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century |
Economy
| Economy - overview: | The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 3% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country has been one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007, but economic growth fell sharply in 2008 as fallout from the world financial crisis constricted demand and raised the specter of a recession in 2009. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $670.2 billion (2008 est.) $658.4 billion (2007) $636.1 billion (2006) note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $909.5 billion (2008 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 1.8% (2008 est.) 3.5% (2007 est.) 3.4% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $40,300 (2008 est.) $39,700 (2007 est.) $38,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 2% industry: 24.4% services: 73.6% (2008 est.) |
| Labor force: | 7.75 million (2008 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 2% industry: 18% services: 80% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 4.5% (2008 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 10.5% (2005) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 22.9% (1999) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 30.9 (2007) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 20.3% of GDP (2008 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $408.5 billion expenditures: $398.8 billion (2008 est.) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
| Public debt: | 43% of GDP (2008 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 1.5% (2008 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate: | NA |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate: | 8.72% (31 December 2007) |
| Stock of money: | NA note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi money circulating within their own borders |
| Stock of quasi money: | NA |
| Stock of domestic credit: | $1.876 trillion (31 December 2007) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $456.2 billion (31 December 2008) |
| Agriculture - products: | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
| Industries: | agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 2.1% (2008 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 105.2 billion kWh (2007) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 122.8 billion kWh (2007) |
| Electricity - exports: | 5.48 billion kWh (2007) |
| Electricity - imports: | 23.09 billion kWh (2007) |
| Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 89.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 4.3% other: 5.7% (2001) |
| Oil - production: | 88,950 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 984,200 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 1.639 million bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil - imports: | 2.648 million bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 100 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 76.33 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 46.42 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 55.66 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 25.73 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.416 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $47 billion (2008 est.) |
| Exports: | $537.5 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 24.4%, Belgium 13.6%, UK 9.1%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.1%, US 4.3% (2007) |
| Imports: | $485.3 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners: | Germany 17.7%, China 10.5%, Belgium 9.3%, US 7.3%, UK 5.8%, Russia 5.1%, France 4.4% (2007) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $24.28 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $2.277 trillion (30 June 2007) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $726.9 billion (2008 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $872.5 billion (2008 est.) |
| Currency (code): | euro (EUR) |
| Currency code: | EUR |
| Exchange rates: | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004) |
Communications
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 7.334 million (2007) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 17.3 million (2006) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: highly developed and well maintained domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; large cellular telephone system with 5 major operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology; one in five households now use Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) services international: country code - 31; submarine cables provide links to the US and Europe; satellite earth stations - 5 (3 Intelsat - 1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (2007) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 4, FM 567, shortwave 1 (2008) |
| Radios: | 15.3 million (1996) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 342 (2008) |
| Televisions: | 8.1 million (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .nl |
| Internet hosts: | 10.983 million (2008) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 52 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 15 million (2007) |
Transportation
| Airports: | 27 (2008) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2008) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2008) |
| Heliports: | 1 (2007) |
| Pipelines: | gas 3,816 km; oil 365 km; refined products 716 km (2008) |
| Railways: | total: 2,801 km standard gauge: 2,801 km 1.435-m gauge (2,064 km electrified) (2007) |
| Roadways: | total: 135,470 km (includes 2,582 km of expressways) (2007) |
| Waterways: | 6,215 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2007) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 622 by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 381, carrier 19, chemical tanker 44, container 76, liquefied gas 15, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 23, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 203 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 8, Denmark 29, Finland 14, France 1, Germany 75, Ireland 10, Italy 1, South Korea 1, Norway 12, Sweden 28, Turkey 1, UAE 5, UK 2, US 14) registered in other countries: 178 (Antigua and Barbuda 20, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 9, Cambodia 1, Canada 1, Cyprus 22, Germany 1, Gibraltar 21, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 6, Luxembourg 2, Marshall Islands 8, Netherlands Antilles 38, Panama 14, Paraguay 1, Philippines 23, Portugal 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, US 1, unknown 1) (2008) |
| Ports and terminals: | Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen |
Military
| Military branches: | Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police (2009) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 3,950,825 females age 16-49: 3,850,800 (2008 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 3,224,790 females age 16-49: 3,143,096 (2009 est.) |
| Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | male: 105,194 female: 100,341 (2009 est.) |
| Military expenditures: | 1.6% of GDP (2005 est.) |
Transnational Issues
| Disputes - international: | none |
| Illicit drugs: | major European producer of synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, and cannabis cultivator; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering; significant consumer of ecstasy |
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For general early occultism among German peoples, see the entry Teutons.
Spiritualism
Spiritualism was introduced into Holland in about 1857. The first Dutch Spiritualist on record is J. N. T. Marthese, who, after studying psychic phenomena in foreign countries, finally returned to his native Holland, taking with him the American medium D. D. Home. The latter held séances at The Hague before several learned societies, and by command of Queen Sophia a séance was given in her presence. The medium himself, in an account of the performance, stated that the royal lady was obliged to sit seven séances on consecutive evenings before any results were obtained. These results, however, were apparently satisfactory, for the queen was thereafter a staunch supporter of the movement.
During Home's visit Spiritualism gained a considerable following in Holland and the practice of giving small private séances became fairly widespread. Allegedly, spirit voices were heard at these gatherings, the touch of spirit hands was felt, and musical instruments were played by invisible performers.
Séances held at the house of J. D. van Herwerden in The Hague were particularly notable and were attended by many enthusiastic students of the phenomena. Van Herwerden recruited a 14-year-old Javanese boy of his household as the medium. The manifestations ranged from spirit rapping and table turning in the earlier séances to direct voice, direct writing, levitation, and materializations in later ones. The séances were described in van Herwerden's book Ervaringen en Mededeeling op een nog Geheimzinnig Gebied and took place between 1858 and 1862. One of the principal spirits purported to be a monk, Paurellus, who was assassinated some 300 years previously in that city. Afterward van Herwerden was induced by his friends to publish his diary, under the title Experiences and Communications on a Still Mysterious Territory.
For a time Spiritualist séances were conducted only in family circles and were of a private nature. But as the attention of intellectuals became more and more directed to the new phenomenon, societies were formed to promote research. Oromase, or Ormuzd, the first of these societies, was founded in 1859 by Major J. Revius, a friend of Marthese's, and included among its members many people of high repute. They met at The Hague, and the records of their transactions were carefully preserved. Revius was president until his death in 1871. He was assisted by the society's secretary, A. Rita. They assembled a fine collection of works on Spiritualism, mesmerism, and kindred subjects.
Another society, the Veritas, was founded in Amsterdam in 1869. The studies of this association were conducted in a somewhat less searching and scientific spirit than those of the Oromase. Its mediums specialized in trance utterances and written communications from the spirits, and its members inclined to a belief in reincarnation, an opinion at variance with that of the older society. Rotterdam had for a time a society known as the Research after Truth, which had similar manifestations and tenets, but it soon came to an end, although its members continued to devote themselves privately to the investigation of spirit phenomena.
Other equally short-lived societies were formed in Haarlem and other towns. In all of these, however, there was a shortage of mediums able to produce form materializations. To supply this demand a number of foreign mediums hastened to Holland, including Margaret Fox Kane (of the Fox sisters), the Davenport brothers, Florence Cook, and Henry Slade.
Before this the comparatively private nature of the séances and the high standing of those who took part in them had prevented the periodicals from making any but the most cautious comments on the séances. The appearance of professional mediums on the scene, however, swept away the barrier and let loose a flood of journalistic ridicule and criticism. This in turn provoked the supporters of Spiritualism to retort, and soon a lively battle was in progress between the Spiritualists and the skeptics. The consequence was that "the cause" was promoted as much by the articles that derided it as by those that were in favor of it.
Among the defenders of Spiritualism was Madame Elise van Calcar, who not only wrote a novel expounding Spiritualist principles but also published a monthly journal, On the Boundaries of Two Worlds, and held a sort of Spiritualist salon where enthusiasts could meet and discuss their favorite subjects. Dutch intellectuals, such as Drs. H. de Grood, J. Van Velzen, Van der Loef, and Herr Schimmel, were among authors who wrote in defense of the same opinions, and the writings of C. F. Varley, Sir William Crookes, and Alfred Russel Wallace were translated into Dutch.
A mesmerist, Signor Donata, carried on the practice of animal magnetism in Holland and endeavored to identify the magnetic force emanating from the operator with the substance of which disembodied spirits were believed to be composed. Progress of the movement was hampered by the many exposures of unscrupulous mediums, but on the whole the mediums, professional or otherwise, were well received. Haunted houses and poltergeists were also noted.
Psychical Research and Parapsychology
Some of the pioneers of psychical research in Holland were Frederik van Eeden (1860-1932), K. H. E. de Jong (1872-1960), P. A. Dietz (1878-1953), and Florentin J. L. Jansen (b. 1881). Van Eeden was an author and physician who sat with the English medium Rosina Thompson and was also acquainted with F. W. H. Myers. Van Eeden contributed "A Study of Dreams" to the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (vol. 26, p. 431), in which he used the term lucid dream to indicate those conditions in which the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming. This condition of consciousness in the dream state was emphasized by the British writer Oliver Fox as a frequent preliminary to astral projection.
Jong was a classical student whose doctoral thesis dealt with the mysteries of Isis. As World War II began, he was a lecturer in parapsychology at the University of Leiden and was responsible for a number of books and articles dealing with psi faculty.
Dietz attempted to organize a student social group for psychical research when studying biology at the University of Groningen. Although this was short-lived, Dietz went on to investigate parapsychological card tests, using himself as the subject. After qualifying as a medical doctor in 1924, he became a neurologist in The Hague. A few years later he and W. H. C. Tenhaeff founded the periodical Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie. In his book Wereldzicht der Parapsychologie (Parapsychological View of the Universe) Dietz coined the terms paragnosy for psychical phenomena and parergy for physical phenomena. He became a lecturer in parapsychology at the University of Leiden in 1931 and had a reputation as an excellent speaker.
Jansen seems to have established a parapsychological laboratory as early as 1907, while still a medical student. He founded the quarterly periodical Driemaandelijkse verslagen van het Psychophysisch Laboratorium te Amsterdam. He took a special interest in experiments with Paul Joire 's sthenometer and conducted a number of experiments to verify the od force proposed by Baron von Reichenbach. In 1912 he immigrated to Buenos Aires, where he worked as a physician.
Other pioneers included Marcellus Emants (1848-1932), a novelist who experimented with the famous medium Eusapia Palladino; engineer Felix Ortt (1866-1959), who published articles on parapsychology and a book on the philosophy of occultism and Spiritualism; and Captain H. N. de Fremery, who published a manual of Spiritualism and also contributed to Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie.
In 1920 the Studievereniging voor Psychical Research, the Dutch Society for Psychical Research, was founded in Amsterdam through the enterprise of Gerardus Heymans (1857-1930) of Groningen University. Although the society began well, it was soon criticized for an unsympathetic atmosphere for mediums, but in 1927 it received a new impetus from the psychologist W. H. C. Tenhaeff and the journal Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie. Some notable investigations over the years included studies of dowsing (water witching), physics and parapsychology, and precognitive elements in dreams.
The society was suppressed during World War II, and the Germans took the library to Germany and destroyed it. After the war the society was reconstructed and soon numbered a thousand members, including Javanese parapsychologist George Zorab. Some of the work in this period included observations on the noted psychic Gerard Croiset, an attempt to replicate the Whately Carington tests with Zener cards, and the investigation of "objective clairvoyance." Meanwhile, in 1933 Tenhaeff founded the Parapsychology Institute of the State University of Utrecht, later known as the Parapsychological Division of the Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht.
In 1953 the First International Conference of Parapsychological Studies, sponsored by the Parapsychology Foundation, New York, was held in Utrecht. In 1959 the Amsterdam Foundation for Parapsychological Research was established and began an investigation of the influence of psychedelics on ESP. Another investigation was a widely conducted inquiry into the occurrence of spontaneous phenomena.
In 1960 a controversy erupted in the Studievereniging voor Psychical Research over Tenhaeff's authoritarian control of the organization. Some members withdrew and founded the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Parapsychologie, which now provides the primary focus for parapsychological research in the country. By 1967 there was growing interest in parapsychology among students of five major universities, and various societies were set up. These were later grouped into the Study Center for Experimental Parapsychology.
The Federation of Parapsychological Circles of the Netherlands emerged as an umbrella for several small local parapsychological groups, including the Amsterdamse Parapsychologische Studiekring, the Haarlemse Parapsychologische Studiekring, the Haagse Parapsychologische Studiekring, and the Rottendamse Parapsychologische Studiekring.
Sources:
Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.
Dykshoorn, M. B., with Russell H. Felton. My Passport Says Clairvoyant. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1974.
Hurkos, Peter. Psychic. London: Arthur Baker, 1962.
Pleasants, Helene, ed. Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology. New York: Helix Press, 1964.
Pollack, Jack Harrison. Croiset the Clairvoyant. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964. Reprint, New York: Bantam Books, 1965.
National Anthem:
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National Anthem of: Netherlands
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik van Duitsen bloed
den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje
ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje
heb ik altijd geëerd.
Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
op U zo wil ik bouwen,
verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven,
uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hert doorwondt.
note: Dit zijn de twee gezongen coupletten.
hieronder volgt de volledige tekst.
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
Ben ik van Duitsen bloed,
Den vaderland getrouwe
Blijf ik tot in den dood;
Een Prince van Oranjen
Ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
Den Koning van Hispanjen
Heb ik altijd geeerd.
In Godes vrees te leven
Heb ik altijd betracht,
Daarom ben ik verdreven,
Om land, om luid' gebracht;
Maar God zal mij regeren
Als een goed instrument,
Dat ik zal wederkeren
In mijnen regiment.
Luidt u, mijn onderzaten,
Die oprecht zijn van aard,
God zal u niet verlaten,
Al zijt gij nu bezwaard;
Die vroom begeert te leven,
Bidt God nacht ende dag,
Dat hij mij kracht wil geven,
Dat ik u helpen mag.
Lijf en goed al te samen
Heb ik u niet verschoond,
Mijn broeders hoog van namen
Hebben 't u ook vertoond;
Graaf Adolf is gebleven
In Friesland in den slag,
Zijn ziel in 't eeuwig leven
Verwacht den jongsten dag.
Edel en hoog geboren,
Van keizerlijken stam,
Een vorst des rijks verkoren,
Als een vroom Christenman,
Voor Godes woord geprezen
Heb ik vrij onversaagd,
Als een held zonder vrezen,
Mijn edel bloed gewaagd.
Mijn schild ende betrouwen
Zijt gij, o God mijn Heer,
Op u zo wil ik bouwen,
Verlaat mij nimmermeer;
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven
Uw dienaar t'aller stond,
Die tirannie verdrijven
Die mij mijn hert doorwondt.
Van al die mij bezwaren,
En mijn vervolgers zijn,
Mijn God wilt doch bewaren
Den trouwen dienaar dijn;
Dat zal mij niet verrassen
In haren bozen moed,
Haar handen niet en wassen
In mijn onschuldig bloed.
Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde, 1568
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'Netherlands'
- Nations of the World - Netherlands: Kingdom of the; in NW Europe; capital Amsterdam and the Hague; area 15,770 sq. mi., pop. 14,864,000; Dutch; Protestant and Catholic; guilder
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Netherlands
This article is about the country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. For other uses, see Netherlands (disambiguation).
| Netherlands
Nederland
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| Motto: Je maintiendrai (French)[1] (Ik zal handhaven) (Dutch) (I will maintain) (English)1 |
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| Anthem: Het Wilhelmus |
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![Location of the Netherlands (dark green)– in Europe (light green & dark grey)– in the European Union (light green) — [Legend]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU-Netherlands.svg) Location of the Netherlands (dark green)
– in Europe (light green & dark grey) |
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 Location of the special municipalities of the Netherlands (green and circled)
in the Caribbean (grey) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Amsterdam2 52°19′N 05°33′E / 52.317°N 5.55°E |
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| Official language(s) | Dutch | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Frisian (in Friesland), Papiamento (in Bonaire), English (in Sint Eustatius and Saba)3 | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2008) | 80.7% Dutch, 5% EU varieties, 2.4% Indonesians, 2.2% Turks, 2% Surinamese, 2% Moroccans, 0.8% Caribbean 4.8% others[2] |
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| Demonym | Dutch | |||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy, Unitary parliamentary representative democracy |
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| - | Monarch | Beatrix der Nederlanden | ||||
| - | Prime Minister (Demissionary) | Mark Rutte (VVD) | ||||
| - | Deputy Prime Minister (Demissionary) | Maxime Verhagen (CDA) | ||||
| - | Current coalition (Demissionary) | VVD–CDA coalition, a minority cabinet | ||||
| Legislature | States-General | |||||
| - | Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| Independence | As result of the Eighty Years' War from the Habsburg Empire | |||||
| - | Declared | 26 July 1581 | ||||
| - | Recognised | 30 January 16484 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 41,543 km2 (135th) 16,039 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 18.41 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012 estimate | 16,847,007[2] (61st) | ||||
| - | Density | 404.1/km2 (28th) 1,046.6/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $704.034 billion[3] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $42,183[3] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $840.433 billion[3] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $50,355[3] | ||||
| Gini (2006) | 30.9[dated info] (medium) | |||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.910[4] (very high) (3rd) |
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| Currency | Euro (€): Netherlands5, United States dollar ($): Caribbean Netherlands6 | |||||
| Time zone | CET and AST (UTC+1 and −4) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST and AST (UTC+2 and −4) |
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| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .nl7 | |||||
| Calling code | +31, +5998 | |||||
| 1 | ^ The official motto is French; the literal translation to English is "I will maintain" (namely, the integrity and independence of the territory)[citation needed] | |||||
| 2 | ^ While Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, The Hague is the seat of the government. | |||||
| 3 | ^ Frisian (Friesland),[5] Papiamento (Bonaire)[6] and English (Sint Eustatius and Saba)[6] have a formal status in certain parts of the country. Yiddish and the Romani language are recognised as non-territorial languages.[citation needed] Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish are recognised as regional languages by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. | |||||
| 4 | ^ Peace of Westphalia | |||||
| 5 | ^ Before 2002: Dutch guilder. | |||||
| 6 | ^ The United States dollar is the sole legal tender within the Caribbean Netherlands. Before 2011: Netherlands Antillean guilder. | |||||
| 7 | ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. | |||||
| 8 | ^ 599 was the country code designated for the now dissolved Netherlands Antilles. The Caribbean Netherlands still use 599-7 (Bonaire), 599-3 (Sint Eustatius) and 599-4 (Saba). | |||||
The Netherlands (
i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders[7] with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague.[8] The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 25% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level,[9] and 50% of its land lying less than one metre above sea level.[10] This distinct feature contributes to the country's name: in Dutch (Nederland), English, and in many other European languages (e.g. German: Niederlande, Croatian: Nizozemska, Spanish: Países Bajos, French: Les Pays-Bas, Swedish: Nederländerna, Italian: Paesi Bassi, Finnish: Alankomaat and Catalan: Països Baixos), its name literally means "(The) Low Countries" or "Low Country". Most of the areas below sea level are man-made, caused by centuries of extensive and poorly controlled peat extraction, lowering the surface by several meters. Even in flooded areas peat extraction continued through turf dredging. As from the late 16th century land reclamation started and large polder areas are now preserved through elaborate drainage systems with dikes, canals and pumping stations. Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast and several low-hill ranges in the central parts.
The Netherlands was one of the first countries to have an elected parliament. Among other affiliations, the country is a founding member of the EU, NATO, OECD and WTO. Netherlands has the ninth-highest per capita income in the world. With Belgium and Luxembourg it forms the Benelux economic union. The country is host to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and five international courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The first four are situated in The Hague as is the EU's criminal intelligence agency Europol and judicial co-operation agency Eurojust. This has led to the city being dubbed "the world's legal capital".[11] The Netherlands has a capitalist market-based economy, ranking 13th of 157 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom.[12] In May 2011, the Netherlands was ranked as the "happiest" country according to results published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[13]
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Contents
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History
Habsburg Netherlands 1519–1581
Main article: History of the Netherlands
 An anachronous map of the Dutch colonial Empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the Dutch East India Company; dark green: the Dutch West India Company.
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Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, the Netherlands region was part of the Seventeen Provinces, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land in France and Germany.
The Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain began in 1568. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, a treaty in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army.[14] The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. In 1581 the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II of Spain as reigning monarch in the northern provinces.[15]
Queen Elizabeth I of England sympathised with the Dutch struggle against the Spanish, and in 1585 she concluded a treaty with the Dutch whereby she promised to send an English army to the Netherlands to aid the Dutch in their war with the Spanish.[16] In December 1585, 7,600 soldiers were sent to the Netherlands from England under the command of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. However, the English army was of no real benefit to the Dutch rebellion.[17]
Although Robert Dudley returned to the Netherlands in November 1586 with another army, the army still had little effect in the rebellion.[18] Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go easily, and war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognised the independence of the seven northwestern provinces in the Peace of Münster. Parts of the southern provinces became de facto colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.
Dutch Republic 1581–1795
Main article: Dutch Republic
After independence, the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelderland formed a confederation known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own government, the "States of the Province". The States-General, the confederal government, were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of Drenthe, mainly consisting of poor peatland, was part of the republic too, although Drenthe was not considered one of the provinces; it had its own States, but the landdrost of Drenthe was appointed by the States-General. Moreover, the Republic had come to occupy during the Eighty Years' War a number of so-called Generality Lands (Generaliteitslanden in Dutch). These territories were governed directly by the States-General. They did not have a government of their own and did not have representatives in the States-General. Their population was mainly Roman Catholic, and these areas were used as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Southern Netherlands.[citation needed]
The Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century. In the Dutch Golden Age ("Gouden Eeuw"), colonies and trading posts were established all over the world. Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam, on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in 1652. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships.[19] During the 17th century, the Dutch population increased from an estimated 1.5 million to almost 2 million.[20]
For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the Dutch Empire, see Evolution of the Dutch Empire.
Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and, according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider, Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount.[21] The republic went into a state of general decline in the later 18th century, with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists) as main factors.[citation needed]
In the 17th century, plantation colonies were established by the Dutch and English along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains. The earliest documented colony in Guiana was along the Suriname River and called Marshall's Creek. The area was named after an Englishman.[22] Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English. In 1667, the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Suriname conquered from the English, resulting from the Treaty of Breda. The English were left with New Amsterdam, a small trading post in North America, which is now known as New York City.[citation needed]
French domination 1795–1814
Further information: Batavian Republic and Kingdom of Holland
On 19 January 1795, one day after stadtholder William V of Orange fled to England, the Bataafse Republiek (Batavian Republic) was proclaimed, rendering the Netherlands a unitary state. From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic.
From 1806 to 1810, the Koninkrijk Holland (Kingdom of Holland) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother Louis Bonaparte in order to control the Netherlands more effectively. The name of the leading province, Holland, was used for the whole country. The Kingdom of Holland covered the area of the present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. In 1807, Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom. In 1809, however, after a failed British invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the Rhine to France.
King Louis Bonaparte did not meet Napoleon's expectations – he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's, allowed trade with the British in spite of the Continental System and even tried to learn Dutch – and he was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. He was succeeded by his five-year-old son Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. Napoleon Louis reigned as Louis II for just ten days as Napoleon ignored his young nephew’s accession to the throne. The Emperor sent in an army to invade the country and dissolved the Kingdom of Holland. The Netherlands then became part of the French Empire.
The Netherlands remained part of the French Empire until the autumn of 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig and forced to withdraw his troops from the country.
Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815–1940
Main articles: United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Kingdom of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands, son of the last stadtholder William V van Oranje, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and became Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. On 16 March 1815, the Sovereign Prince became King of the Netherlands.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna formed the United Kingdom of the Netherlands by expanding the Netherlands with Belgium in order to create a strong country on the northern border of France. In addition, William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The Congress of Vienna gave Luxembourg to William as personal property in exchange for his German possessions, Nassau-Dillenburg, Siegen, Hadamar, and Diez.
Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when King William III of the Netherlands died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess. Therefore the throne of Luxembourg passed over from the House of Orange-Nassau to the House of Nassau-Weilburg, a junior branch of the House of Nassau.
The largest Dutch settlement abroad was the Cape Colony. It was established by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at Cape Town (Dutch: Kaapstad) in 1652. The Prince of Orange acquiesced to British occupation and control of the Cape Colony in 1788. The Netherlands also possessed several other colonies, but Dutch settlement in these lands was limited. Most notable were the vast Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Dutch Guiana (now Suriname). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble, and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies.
During its colonial period the Netherlands was heavily involved in the slave trade. The Dutch planters relied heavily on African slaves to cultivate the coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Treatment of the slaves by their owners was notoriously bad, and many slaves escaped the plantations. Slavery was abolished by the Netherlands in Dutch Guiana and Curaçao and Dependencies in 1863, but the slaves were not fully released until 1873, after a mandatory 10 year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without state sanctioned torture. As soon as they became truly free, the slaves largely abandoned the plantations where they had suffered for several generations in favor of the city Paramaribo. Every year this is remembered during Keti Koti, 1 July, Emancipation Day (end of slavery).
During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly because of the great complexity involved in modernizing the infrastructure, consisting largely of waterways, and the great reliance its industry had on windpower.
Although the Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, it was heavily involved in the war.[23] German general Count Schlieffen, who was Chief of the Imperial German General Staff had originally planned to invade the Netherlands while advancing into France in the original Schlieffen Plan. This was changed by Schlieffen's successor Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in order to maintain Dutch neutrality. Later during the war Dutch neutrality proved essential to German survival until the blockade by Great Britain in 1916, when the import of goods through the Netherlands was no longer possible. However, the Dutch were able to continue to remain neutral during the war using their diplomacy and their ability to trade.[23]
Second World War 1940–1945
Main article: History of the Netherlands (1939–1945)
The Netherlands intended to remain neutral during the Second World War, although contingency plans involving the armies of Belgium, France and the United Kingdom were drawn up in case of German aggression. Despite this neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of their campaign against the Allied forces. French forces in the south and British ships in the west came to help but turned around quickly, evacuating many civilians and several thousand German prisoners of war from the German elite airborne divisions.
The country was overrun in five days. Only after (but not because of) the bombing of Rotterdam, the main element of the Dutch army surrendered on 14 May 1940, although a Dutch and French force held the western part of Zeeland for some time after the surrender. The Kingdom as such, continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in London.
During the occupation, over 100,000 Dutch Jews[24] were rounded up to be transported to Nazi German concentration camps in Germany, German-occupied Poland and German-occupied Czechoslovakia. By the time these camps were liberated, only 876 Dutch Jews survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany. Although there were thousands of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, as recounted in The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom and The Heart Has Reasons by Mark Klempner,[25] there were also Dutch who collaborated with the occupying force in hunting down hiding Jews.[26] Local fascists and anti-Bolsheviks joined the Waffen-SS in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, fighting on the Eastern Front as well as other units. Racial restrictions were relaxed to the extent that even Asians from Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) units were recruited.[27]
On 8 December 1941, the Netherlands declared war on Japan.[28] The government-in-exile then lost control of its major colonial stronghold, the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), to Japanese forces in March 1942. "American-British-Dutch-Australian" (ABDA) forces fought hard in some instances but were overwhelmed. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Japanese interned Dutch civilians and used Dutch and Indos (Eurasians of Dutch and Indonesian descent) alike as forced labour, both in the Netherlands East Indies and in neighbouring countries.[29] This included forcing women to work as "comfort women" (sex slaves) for Japanese personnel.
The Dutch Red Cross reported the deaths in Japanese custody of 14,800 European civilians out of 80,000 interned and 12,500 of the 34,000 POW captured.[30] A later UN report stated that 4 million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour (known as romusha) during the Japanese occupation.[31] Some military personnel escaped to Australia and other Allied countries from where they carried on the fight against Japan. The Japanese furthered the cause of independence for the colony, so that after VE day many young Dutchmen found themselves fighting a colonial war against the new republic of Indonesia.
Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and heir to the throne, sought refuge in Ottawa, Canada, with her two daughters, Beatrix and Irene, during the war. During Princess Juliana’s stay in Canada, preparations were made for the birth of her third child. To ensure the Dutch citizenship of this royal baby, the Canadian Parliament passed a special law declaring Princess Juliana's suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital “extraterritorial”.
On 19 January 1943, Princess Margriet was born. The day after Princess Margriet's birth, the Dutch flag was flown on the Peace Tower. This was the only time in history a foreign flag has waved above Canada’s Parliament Buildings. In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army, which included Canadian, British and Polish troops, was responsible for liberating much of the Netherlands[32] from German occupation. The joyous "Canadian summer" that ensued after the liberation, forged deep and long-lasting bonds of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada[33] (See Canada–Netherlands relations). In 1949, Dutch troops occupied an area of 69 km2 (27 sq mi) of the British zone of occupied Germany and annexed it. At that time, these areas were inhabited by almost 10,000 people.[citation needed]
Recent history 1945–present
After the war, the Dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) grouping, was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and was among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the EEC (Common Market) and then the European Union.
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid ontzuiling (literally: depillarisation), a term that describes the decay of the old divisions along class and religious lines. Youths, and students in particular, rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters such as women's rights, sexuality, disarmament and environmental issues.
Today, the Netherlands is regarded as a liberal country, considering its drugs policy and its legalisation of euthanasia. On 1 April 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation to recognize same-sex marriage.
On 10 October 2010 the Netherlands Antilles—a former country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean—was dissolved. Referendums were held on each island of the Netherlands Antilles between June 2000 and April 2005 to determine their future status. As a result the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands) were to obtain closer ties with the Netherlands. This led to the incorporation of these three islands into the country of the Netherlands as special municipalities upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands.
Geography
Main article: Geography of the Netherlands
The European area of the Netherlands lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.
The country is divided into two main parts by three large rivers, the Rhine (Rijn) and its main distributaries, the Waal and the Meuse (Maas). These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between earlier fiefdoms and hence created traditionally a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognizable north and south of these "Large Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren).
The southwestern part of the Netherlands is a river delta and two tributaries of the Scheldt (Westerschelde and Oosterschelde). Only one significant branch of the Rhine flows northeastward, the IJssel river, discharging into the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). This river also forms a linguistic divide: people to the east of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland, which has its own language).[34]
Floods
Main articles: Flood control in the Netherlands, Floods in the Netherlands, and Storm tides of the North Sea
Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss is the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the southwest.
On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history.[35] The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72-square-kilometre (28 sq mi) Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The last major flood in the Netherlands took place in early February 1953, when a huge storm caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest of the Netherlands. More than 1,800 people drowned in the ensuing inundations. The Dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale program of public works (the "Delta Works") to protect the country against future flooding. The project took more than thirty years to complete.
The disasters were partially increased in severity through human influence. People had drained relatively high lying swampland to use it as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. Due to the flooding, farming was difficult, which encouraged foreign trade, the result of which was that the Dutch were involved in world affairs since the early 14th/15th century.[36] The flooding problem remains unsolvable to this day. Also, up until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.
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To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (These agencies exist to this day, performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders.[citation needed]
In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 2,500 square kilometres (965 sq mi) were reclaimed from the sea.[37][38]
Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climate change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.[39][40][41]
Delta Works
Main article: Delta Works
After the 1953 disaster, the Delta Works were constructed, a comprehensive set of civil works throughout the Dutch coast. The project started in 1958 and was largely completed in 1997 with the completion of the Maeslantkering. A main goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland to once per 10,000 years (compared to1 per 4000 years for the rest of the country). This was achieved by raising 3,000 kilometers (1,864 mi) of outer sea-dykes and 10,000 kilometers (6,214 mi) of inner, canal, and river dikes, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dyke reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history[citation needed] and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.[42]
Climate
The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is southwest, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. This is especially the case with places within direct proximity of the Dutch coastline, which sometimes are over 10 °C (18 °F) warmer (in winter) or cooler (in summer) than places in the (south)east of the country.
The following tables are based on mean measurements by the KNMI weather station in De Bilt between 1981 and 2010:
| Climate data for De Bilt (1981–2010 averages), all KNMI locations (1901–2011 extremes). | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
20.4 (68.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
32.2 (90.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
38.4 (101.1) |
37.1 (98.8) |
38.6 (101.5) |
35.2 (95.4) |
30.1 (86.2) |
21.1 (70.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
38.6 (101.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
6.4 (43.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
14.0 (57.2) |
18.0 (64.4) |
20.4 (68.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.1 (37.6) |
3.3 (37.9) |
6.2 (43.2) |
9.2 (48.6) |
13.1 (55.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
17.9 (64.2) |
17.5 (63.5) |
14.5 (58.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
3.7 (38.7) |
10.1 (50.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.2 (32.4) |
2.3 (36.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
7.8 (46.0) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12.3 (54.1) |
9.9 (49.8) |
6.9 (44.4) |
3.6 (38.5) |
1.0 (33.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −27.4 (−17.3) |
−26.8 (−16.2) |
−20.7 (−5.3) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
0.7 (33.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−14.4 (6.1) |
−22.3 (−8.1) |
−27.4 (−17.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 69.6 (2.74) |
55.8 (2.197) |
66.8 (2.63) |
42.3 (1.665) |
61.9 (2.437) |
65.6 (2.583) |
81.1 (3.193) |
72.9 (2.87) |
78.1 (3.075) |
82.8 (3.26) |
79.8 (3.142) |
75.8 (2.984) |
832.5 (32.776) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 62.3 | 85.7 | 121.6 | 173.6 | 207.2 | 193.9 | 206.0 | 187.7 | 138.3 | 112.9 | 63.0 | 49.3 | 1,601.5 |
| Source: Knmi.nl[43] | |||||||||||||
Ice days (maximum temperature below 0 °C) usually occur from December until February, with the occasional rare ice day prior to or after that period. Freezing days (minimum temperature below 0 °C) occur much more often, usually ranging from mid November to late March, but not rarely measured as early as mid October and as late as mid May. If one chooses the height of measurement to be 10 cm. above ground instead of 150 cm., one may even find such temperatures in the middle of the summer.
Warm days (maximum temperature above 20 °C) in De Bilt are usually measured in the time span of April until October, but in some parts of the country such temperatures can also occur in March or even in November or February (this is usually not in De Bilt, however). Summer days (maximum temperature above 25 °C) are usually measured in De Bilt from May until September, tropical days (maximum temperature above 30 °C) are rare and usually occur only from June until August.
Precipitation throughout the year is relatively equally shared by each month. Summer and autumn months tend to gather a little bit more precipitation than other months, mainly because of the intensity of the rainfall rather than the frequency of rain days (this is especially the case in summer, when lightning too is much more frequent than otherwise).
The number of sunshine hours is affected by the fact that due to the geographical latitude the length of the days varies between barely eight hours in December and nearly 17 hours in June.
Environment
Further information: List of national parks of the Netherlands and List of extinct animals of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has 20 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves. Most are owned by Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten and include lakes, heathland, woods, dunes and other habitats.
Phytogeographically, the Netherlands is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of the Netherlands belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests.
In 1871 the last old original natural woods (Beekbergerwoud) were cut down, and most woods today are planted monocultures of trees like Scots Pine and trees that are not native to the Netherlands.[citation needed] These woods were planted on anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts (overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe).
Politics
Main article: Politics of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. In 2010, The Economist ranked the Netherlands as the 10th most democratic country in the world.
The monarch is the head of state, at present Queen Beatrix. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers. The monarch can exert some influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where they serve as neutral arbiter between the political parties. Additionally, the king (the title queen has no constitutional significance) has the right to be briefed and consulted. Depending on the personality and qualities of the king and the ministers, the king might have influence beyond the power granted by the constitution.
In practice, the executive power is formed by the ministerraad, the deliberative council of the Dutch cabinet. The cabinet consists usually of 13 to 16 ministers and a varying number of state secretaries. One to three ministers are ministers without portfolio. The head of government is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. In fact, this has been continuously the case since 1973. The Prime Minister is a primus inter pares, meaning he has no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. Currently, the Prime Minister is Mark Rutte.
The cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the States-General, which also has legislative powers. The 150 members of the House of Representatives, the Lower House, are elected in direct elections, which are held every four years or after the fall of the cabinet (by example: when one of the chambers carries a motion of no-confidence, the cabinet offers its resignation to the monarch). The States-Provincial are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the Senate, the upper house, which has less legislative powers, as it can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them.
Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with government in the Social-Economic Council. This body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily.
The Netherlands has a long tradition of social tolerance. In the 18th century, while the Dutch Reformed Church was the state religion, Catholicism, other forms of Protestantism, such as Baptists and Lutherans, and Judaism were tolerated. In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. This tradition of tolerance is linked to Dutch criminal justice policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT rights, euthanasia, and abortion, which are among the most liberal in the world.
Political parties
Main article: Political parties of the Netherlands
Due to the multi-party system, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since suffrage became universal in 1919, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family were the Christian democrats, currently represented by the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), second were the social democrats, of which the Labour Party (PvdA), and third were the liberals, of which the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is the main representative.
These parties cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats had always been a partner: so either a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats was ruling or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals. In the 1970s, the party system became more volatile: the Christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties became successful, such as the radical democrat and progressive liberal D66.
In the 1994 election, the CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by VVD, D66, and PvdA. In the 2002 elections, this cabinet lost its majority, due to an increased support for the CDA and the rise of the LPF, a new political party around Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated a week before the elections. A short-lived cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, which was led by CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende. After the 2003 elections in which the LPF lost most of its seats, a cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the health care system, and the immigration policies.
In June 2006, the cabinet fell after D66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against minister of immigration and integration Rita Verdonk, who had instigated an investigation of the asylum procedure of VVD MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A caretaker cabinet was formed by CDA and VVD, and general elections were held on 22 November 2006. In these elections, the CDA remained the largest party and the SP made the largest gains. The formation of a new cabinet took three months, resulting in a coalition of CDA, PvdA, and ChristianUnion.
On 20 February 2010, the cabinet fell when the PvdA refused to prolong the involvement of the Dutch Army in Uruzgan, Afghanistan.[44] Snap elections were held on 9 June 2010, with devastating results for the previously largest party, the CDA, which lost about half of its seats, resulting in 21 seats. The VVD became the largest party with 31 seats, closely followed by the PvdA with 30 seats. The big winner of the 2010 elections was Geert Wilders whose PVV more than doubled in number of seats.[45] Negotiation talks for a new government have resulted in a VVD-led minority government in coalition with CDA as of 14 October 2010. This minority government was supported by PVV[46] until 21 April 2012, when negotiations on new austerity measures collapsed, paving the way for early elections.[47]
Administrative divisions
Main articles: Provinces of the Netherlands, Municipalities of the Netherlands, Water board (Netherlands), Public body (Netherlands), and Caribbean Netherlands
The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor). All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 430 in total (13 March 2010).
The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.
The administrative structure on the 3 BES islands, also known as the Caribbean Netherlands, is different. These islands have the status of openbare lichamen (public bodies) and are generally referred to as special municipalities. They are not part of a province.[48]
Provinces of the Netherlands
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Special municipalities of the Netherlands
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Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of the Netherlands
The history of Dutch foreign policy has been characterised by its neutrality. Since the Second World War the Netherlands has become a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU. The Dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade.
The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to atlantic cooperation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. One of the more controversial international issues surrounding the Netherlands is its liberal policy towards soft drugs.
During and after the Dutch Golden Age, the Dutch people built up a commercial and colonial empire, which fell apart quickly after the Second World War. The historical ties inherited from its colonial past still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands.
Military
Main article: Military of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has one of the oldest standing armies in Europe; it was first established as such by Maurice of Nassau. The Dutch army was used throughout the Dutch Empire. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. The army was unsuccessfully deployed during the Belgian revolution in 1830. After 1830, it was deployed mainly in the Dutch colonies, as the Netherlands remained neutral in European wars (including World War I), until the Netherlands was invaded in World War II and quickly defeated by the Wehrmacht in May 1940.
The Netherlands abandoned its neutrality in 1948 when it signed the Treaty of Brussels, and later became a founding member of NATO in 1949. The Dutch military was therefore part of the NATO strength in Cold War Europe, deploying its army to several bases in Germany. In 1996 conscription was suspended, and the Dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. Since the 1990s the Dutch army has been involved in the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War, it held a province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, and it was engaged in Afghanistan.
The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):
- Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army
- Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps
- Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force
- Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Military Police, tasks include military police and border control
General Peter van Uhm is the current Commander of the Netherlands armed forces. All military specialities except the submarine service and the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (Korps Mariniers) are open to women. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is almost impossible for women to become a commando.[53] The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel.[54] In April 2011 the government announced a major reduction in its military due to a cut in government expenditure, including a decrease in the number of tanks, fighter aircraft, naval ships and senior officials.[55]
Economy
Main articles: Economy of the Netherlands and List of Dutch companies
The Netherlands has a developed economy and has been playing a special role in the European economy for many centuries. Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. Other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, and tourism. Examples include Unilever, Heineken, financial services (ING), chemicals (DSM), petroleum refining (Shell), electronical machinery (Philips, ASML) and car navigation TomTom.
The Netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 7th in GDP (nominal) per capita. Between 1997 and 2000 annual economic growth (GDP) averaged nearly 4%, well above the European average. Growth slowed considerably from 2001 to 2005 with the global economic slowdown, but accelerated to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2007. Inflation is 1.3%, and unemployment is at 4.0% of the labour force. By Eurostat standards, unemployment in the Netherlands is at 4.1% (April 2010) – the lowest rate of all European Union member states.[56] But in Q3 and Q4 2011, the Dutch economy contracted 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively due to European Debt Crisis, while in Q4 the Eurozone economy shrunk by 0.3 percent.[57] The Netherlands also has a relatively low GINI coefficient of 0.326. Despite ranking only 7th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being.[58] On the Index of Economic Freedom Netherlands is the 13th most free market capitalist economy out of 157 surveyed countries.
Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.[59] The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. It is situated near Dam Square in the city's centre. As a founding member of the euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "Gulden" (guilder), on 1 January 1999, along with 15 other adopters of the Euro. Actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 January 2002. One euro was equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders.
The Netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. Amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in Europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.[60] Since the enlargement of the EU large numbers of migrant workers have arrived in the Netherlands from central and eastern Europe.[61]
The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the United States. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007. The Netherlands moved up from the 11th position in the Global Competitiveness Index[62] to the 9th position in 2007.
One of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated near Slochteren. Exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. With just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.[63]
Agriculture
A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the United States and France, with exports earning $55 billion annually. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all the world's tomatoes, and trade of one-third of the world's exports of chilis, tomatoes and cucumbers goes through the country. The Netherlands also exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples.[64]
Transport
Rotterdam has the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland, and into France. In 2006, Rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled.[65] The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has an estimated population of 16,735,100 (as of 5 November 2011).[66] It is the 11th most populous country in Europe and the 61st most populous country in the world. Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10.0 million people. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased from 10.0 to 15.9 million people, but the rate of population growth was less than that of the previous fifty years.[67] The estimated growth rate is currently 0.436% (as of 2008).[2]
The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.82 children per woman (as of 2011),[2] which is high compared with many other European countries, but below the rate of 2.1 children per woman required for natural population replacement. Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 83.08 years for newborn girls and 78.84 for boys (2012 est[68]). The country has a migration rate of 2.55 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants per year.
The majority of the population of the Netherlands are ethnically Dutch. A 2005 estimate counted: 80.9% Dutch, 2.4% Indonesian, 2.4% German, 2.2% Turkish, 2.0% Surinamese, 2.0% Moroccan, 0.8% Antillean and Aruban, and 6.0% others.[69] The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, with an average height of 1.81 metres (5 ft 11 in) for adult males and 1.67 metres (5 ft 6 in) for adult females. People in the south are on average about 2 cm shorter than those in the north.[70]
Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United States. According to the 2006 US Census, more than 5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch ancestry.[71] There are close to 3 million Dutch-descended Afrikaners living in South Africa.[72] In 1940, there were 290,000 Europeans and Eurasians in Indonesia,[73] but most have since left the country.[74] According to Eurostat, in 2010 there were 1.8 million foreign-born residents in the Netherlands, corresponding to 11.1% of the total population. Of these, 1.4 million (8.5%) were born outside the EU and 0.428 million (2.6%) were born in another EU Member State.[75]
The Netherlands is the 30th most densely populated country in the world, with 395 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,023 /sq mi)—or 484 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,254 /sq mi) if only the land area is counted. It is the 8th most densely populated country in Europe with a population density of 393/km2. The Randstad is the country's largest conurbation located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities: Amsterdam in the province North Holland, Rotterdam and The Hague in the province South Holland, and Utrecht in the province Utrecht. The Randstad has a population of 7 million inhabitants and is the 6th largest metropolitan area in Europe.
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Largest cities or towns of Netherlands http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijst_van_grootste_gemeenten_in_Nederland (nl) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City name | Province | Pop. | ||||||
 Amsterdam |
1 | Amsterdam | North Holland | 790,044 |  Den Haag |
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| 2 | Rotterdam | South Holland | 616,250 | ||||||
| 3 | Den Haag | South Holland | 501,725 | ||||||
| 4 | Utrecht | Utrecht | 316,448 | ||||||
| 5 | Eindhoven | North Brabant | 217,120 | ||||||
| 6 | Tilburg | North Brabant | 207,406 | ||||||
| 7 | Almere | Flevoland | 193,303 | ||||||
| 8 | Groningen | Groningen | 192,735 | ||||||
| 9 | Breda | North Brabant | 176,562 | ||||||
| 10 | Nijmegen | Gelderland | 165,127 | ||||||
Language
Main article: Languages of the Netherlands
The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by the vast majority of the inhabitants. Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland, called Fryslân in that language. A dialect of Frisian and Dutch is spoken in most villages in the west of the province of Groningen.[76] Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east, like the Twents in the Twente region, and Drents in the province Drenthe. They are recognised by the Netherlands as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as well as the Meuse-Rhenish Franconian varieties in the southeastern province of Limburg, here called Limburgish language.[34] English is an official language in the special municipalities of Saba and Sint Eustatius. It is widely spoken on these islands. Papiamento is an official language in the special municipality of Bonaire. The three islands are known as the BES islands. Yiddish and the Romani language were recognised in 1996 as non-territorial languages.[77]
There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of conversational English, 55– 59% of German, and 19% of French. The children start with English courses at primary schools when they are about nine years old. English is a mandatory course in all secondary schools.[78] In most lower level secondary school educations (vmbo), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years. In higher level secondary schools (havo and vwo), two additional modern foreign languages are mandatory during the first three years. Only during the last three years in vwo one foreign language is mandatory. The standard modern languages are French and German, although schools can change one of these modern languages with Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, or Russian.[79] Additionally, schools in the Frisia region teach and have exams in Frisian, and schools across the country teach and have exams in classical Greek and Latin for secondary school (called gymnasium or vwo+).
Religion
Main article: Religion in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries in Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), and fewer than 20% visiting church regularly.[80] According to the most recent Eurobarometer poll 2005,[81] 34% of the Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
Currently, Roman Catholicism is the single largest religion of the Netherlands, forming the religious home of some 28% of the Dutch population in 2011.[82] The Protestant Church of the Netherlands follows with 16% of the population.[82] It was formed in 2004 as a merger of the two major strands of Calvinism: the Dutch Reformed Church (which represented roughly 8.5% of the population), the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (3.7% of the population), and a smaller Lutheran Church. Other Protestant churches, mostly orthodox Calvinist splits, represent 6% of the population. In 1947, 44.3% belonged to Protestant denominations, 38.7% belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 17.1% were unaffiliated.[83]
In 2006, there were 850,000 Muslims (5% of the total Dutch population).[84] The Netherlands has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely ethnic Dutch people. There are approximately 200,000 Hindus, most of them are of Surinamese origin. Sikhs are another religious minority numbering around 12,000, mainly located in or around Amsterdam. There are five gurudwaras in the Netherlands. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 6,400 Bahá'ís in 2005.[85]
Although the Holocaust deeply affected the Jewish community (killing about 75% of its 140,000 members at the time[86]), it has managed to rebuild a vibrant and lively Jewish life for its approximately 45,000 current members. Before World War II, 10% of the Amsterdam population was Jewish.[87]
Freedom of education has been guaranteed by the Dutch constitution since 1917, and schools run by religious groups (especially Catholic and Protestant) are funded by the government. All schools must meet strict quality criteria.
Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion, and SGP) base their policy on Christian belief in varying degrees. Although the Netherlands is a secular state, in some municipalities where the Christian parties have the majority, the council meetings are opened by prayer.
Municipalities in general also give civil servants a day off on Christian religious holidays, such as Easter and the Ascension of Jesus.[88]
Education
Main article: Education in the Netherlands
Education in the Netherlands is compulsory between the ages of 4 and 16, and partially compulsory between the ages of 16 and 18.
All children in the Netherlands usually attend elementary school from (on average) ages 4 to 12. It comprises eight grades, the first of which is facultative. Based on an aptitude test, the 8th grade teacher's recommendation and the opinion of the pupil's parents or caretakers, a choice is made for one of the three main streams of secondary education (after completing a particular stream, a pupil may still continue in the penultimate year of the next stream):
- The vmbo has 4 grades and is subdivided over several levels. Successfully completing the vmbo results in a low-level vocational degree that grants access to the mbo ("middle-level applied education"). This form of education primarily focuses on teaching a practical trade. With the mbo certification, a student can apply for the hbo.
- The havo has 5 grades and allows for admission to the hbo ("higher professional education"), which are universities of professional education (or applied sciences) that award professional bachelor degrees that gives access to the university system.
- The vwo (including atheneum and gymnasium) has 6 grades and prepares for studying at a research university. The university consists of a three year bachelor's degree, followed by a one, two or three year master's degree, and finally a four year doctoral degree. Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are temporary employees of a university.
Culture
Main article: Culture of the Netherlands
The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan, argued that light travelled as waves, invented the pendulum clock and was the first physicist to use mathematical formulae. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.
In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Hella S. Haasse, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in the Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages.
Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese, Delftware pottery, and cannabis are among the items associated with the Netherlands by tourists.
Sport
Main article: Sport in the Netherlands
Approximately 4.5 million of the 16 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two thirds of the population older than 15 years participates in sports weekly.[89]
In the Netherlands, football, basketball, baseball, speed skating, korfball, handball, swimming, rowing, cycling, field hockey, volleyball, equestrian sports, sailing, and tennis are popular sports[citation needed]. A lot of amateurs practice them, and the Netherlands is a strong competitor in international tournaments for these sports. In the Dutch Caribbean, baseball is a popular sport, with the islands frequently sending teams to the annual Little League World Series.
Organization of sports began at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Federations for sports were established (such as the speed skating federation in 1882), rules were unified and sports clubs came into existence. A Dutch National Olympic Committee was established in 1912. Thus far, the nation has won 246 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and another 86 medals at the Winter Olympic Games.
Cuisine
Main article: Dutch Cuisine
Traditional Dutch cuisine consists of working class meals. Many traditional dishes are mashed dishes, for instance potatoes mashed with kale (boerenkool), sauerkraut (zuurkool), or endive (andijvie). These dishes are served with greasy, smoked sausage (rookworst) and gravy. Another traditional dish is split pea soup (erwtensoep).
As the Netherlands always had strong ties with (former) colonies Indonesia and Suriname, dishes from those countries have mixed with Dutch cuisine. Common Asian dishes in the Netherlands include noodles (bami) and rice (nasi) dishes.
Colonial heritage
Main article: Dutch Empire
Further information: Dutch East Indies and Indos in the Dutch East Indies
From the 17th century exploitations of the Dutch East India Company, through 19th century colonisations, Dutch imperial possessions continued to expand, reaching their greatest extent by establishing a hegemony of the Dutch East Indies in the early 20th century. The Dutch East Indies, which later formed modern-day Indonesia, was one of the most valuable European colonies in the world and the most important one for the Netherlands.[90] Over 350 years of mutual heritage has left a significant cultural mark on the Netherlands.
In The Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, the Netherlands urbanised considerably, mostly financed by corporate revenue from the Asian trade monopolies. Social status was based on merchants' income, which reduced feudalism and considerably changed the dynamics of Dutch society. When the Dutch Royal Family was established in 1815, much of its wealth came from Colonial trade.[91]
Universities such as the Royal Leiden University founded in the 16th century have developed into leading knowledge centres about Southeast Asian and Indonesian studies.[92] Leiden University has produced leading academics such as Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, and still has academics who specialise in Indonesian languages and cultures. Leiden University and in particular KITLV are educational and scientific institutions that to this day share both an intellectual and historical interest in Indonesian studies. Other scientific institutions in the Netherlands include the Amsterdam Tropenmuseum, an anthropological museum with massive collections of Indonesian art, culture, ethnography and anthropology.[93]
The traditions of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) are maintained by the Regiment Van Heutsz of the modern Royal Netherlands Army. A dedicated Bronbeek Museum, a former home for retired KNIL soldiers, exists in Arnhem to this day.
A specific segment of Dutch literature called Dutch Indies literature still exists and includes established authors, such as Louis Couperus, the writer of "The Hidden Force", taking the colonial era as an important source of inspiration.[95] One of the great masterpieces of Dutch literature is the book "Max Havelaar" written by Multatuli in 1860.[96]
The majority of Dutchmen that repatriated to the Netherlands after and during the Indonesian revolution are Indo (Eurasian), native to the islands of the Dutch East Indies. This relatively large Eurasian population had developed over a period of 400 years and were classified by colonial law as belonging to the European legal community.[97] In Dutch they are referred to as 'Indische Nederlanders' (Indies Dutchmen) or more specifically as Indo (short for Indo-European).[98]
Including their 2nd generation descendants, Indos are currently the largest foreign born group in the Netherlands. In 2008, the Dutch Census Buro for Statistics (CBS)[99] registered 387,000 first and second generation Indos living in the Netherlands.[100] Although considered fully assimilated into Dutch society, as the main ethnic minority in the Netherlands, these 'Repatriants' have played a pivotal role in introducing elements of Indonesian culture into Dutch mainstream culture.
Practically each town in the Netherlands will have a 'Toko' (Dutch Indonesian Shop) or Indonesian restaurant[101] and many 'Pasar Malam' (Night market in Malay/Indonesian) fairs are organised throughout the year. Many Indonesian dishes and foodstuffs have become commonplace in the Netherlands. Rijsttafel a colonial culinary concept and dishes such as Nasi goreng and sateh are still very popular in the Netherlands.[102]
See also
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- ^ Becker, Jos and Joep de Hart (2006) (in Dutch). Godsdienstige veranderingen in Nederland. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. ISBN 90-377-0259-7. OCLC 84601762.
- ^ "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 – page 11" (PDF). http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Kerkelijke gezindte en kerkbezoek; vanaf 1849; 18 jaar of ouder". 15 October 2010. http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37944&D1=0-5,10&D2=29-40&VW=T.
- ^ "Volkstellingen 1795–1971". Volkstellingen.nl. http://www.volkstellingen.nl/. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Towards a new estimation on the number of Muslims in the Netherlands" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics, the Netherlands. 2006. http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/ACE89EBE-0785-4664-9973-A6A00A457A55/0/2007k3b15p48art.pdf. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ JCH Blom (July 1989). "The Persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands: A Comparative Western European Perspective". European History Quarterly 19 (3): 333–351. DOI:10.1177/026569148901900302.
- ^ Jewish Amsterdam. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- ^ "Feestdagen Nederland". Beleven.org. http://www.beleven.org/feesten/lijsten/landen.php?land=Nederland. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ (Dutch) Sport in Nederland
- ^ Jonathan Hart, Empires and Colonies, page 200
- ^ To this day the Dutch Royal family is in fact the wealthiest family of the Netherlands, one of the foundations of its wealth was the colonial trade."In Pictures: The World's Richest Royals". Forbes. 30 August 2007. http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/30/worlds-richest-royals-biz-royals07-cx_lk_0830royalintro_slide_15.html?thisSpeed=30000. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ Some of the University faculties still include: Indonesian Languages and Cultures; Southeast Asia and Oceania Languages and Cultures; Cultural Anthropology
- ^ [tudelft.nl]
- ^ Note: 1927 garden party, at the country estate Arendsdorp on the Wassenaarse weg near The Hague, for the benefit of the victims of the storm disaster of 2 06 1927 in the Netherlands. The market is opened by the minster of Colonies dr. J.C. Koningsberger.
- ^ Nieuwenhuys, Rob Mirror of the Indies: A History of Dutch Colonial Literature translated from Dutch by E. M. Beekman (Publisher: Periplus, 1999) Book review.
- ^ Etty, Elsbeth literary editor for the NRC handelsblad "Novels: Coming to terms with Calvinism, colonies and the war." (NRC Handelsblad. July 1998) [1]
- ^ Bosma U., Raben R. ‘Being "Dutch" in the Indies: a history of creolisation and empire, 1500–1920’ (University of Michigan, NUS Press, 2008) ISBN 9971-69-373-9 [2]
- ^ Note: Of the 296,200 so called Dutch 'repatriants' only 92,200 were expatriate Dutchmen born in the Netherlands. See: Willems, Wim, ’De uittocht uit Indie 1945–1995’ (Publisher: Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2001) pp.12–13 ISBN 90-351-2361-1
- ^ Official CBS website containing all Dutch demographic statistics.
- ^ De Vries, Marlene. Indisch is een gevoel, de tweede en derde generatie Indische Nederlanders. (Amsterdam University Press, 2009) ISBN 978-90-8964-125-0 [3] [4] P.369
- ^ Overview website (incomplete)
- ^ [dutchfood.about.com]
- Statistics
- Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (2006). Health statistics. Retrieved 17 June 2006.
- "The Netherlands: Economic structure". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/countries/Netherlands/profile.cfm?folder=Profile%2DEconomic%20Structure. Retrieved 20 June 2007.[dead link]
- Articles
- "Country profiles: The Netherlands". BBC. 3 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1043423.stm. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- "Background Note: The Netherlands". United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3204.htm. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- "The Netherlands: Political forces". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/countries/Netherlands/profile.cfm?folder=Profile%2DPolitical%20Forces. Retrieved 20 June 2007.[dead link]
- "The Netherlands: History in brief". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/countries/Netherlands/profile.cfm?folder=History%20in%20brief. Retrieved 20 June 2007.[dead link]
- Books
- Paul Arblaster. A History of the Low Countries. Palgrave Essential Histories Series New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 298 pp. ISBN 1-4039-4828-3.
- J. C. H. Blom and E. Lamberts, eds. History of the Low Countries (1998)
- Jonathan Israel. The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806 (1995)
- J. A. Kossmann-Putto and E. H. Kossmann. The Low Countries: History of the Northern and Southern Netherlands (1987)
External links
| Find more about Netherlands on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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- Government
- Overheid.nl – official Dutch government portal
- Government.nl – official Dutch government web site
- CBS – Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics
- Provinces of Netherlands at statoids.com
- General information
- Netherlands entry at The World Factbook
- Netherlands at the Open Directory Project
- Wikimedia Atlas of Netherlands
Geographic data related to Netherlands at OpenStreetMap- Key Development Forecasts for the Netherlands from International Futures
- Travel
- Netherlands travel guide from Wikitravel
- Holland.com – English website of the Netherlands tourist office
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Translations:
Top
Netherlands
Français (French)
n. - Hollande, Pays-Bas
Deutsch (German)
n. - Niederlande
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Holanda
Español (Spanish)
n. - Holanda
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
荷兰
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 荷蘭
한국어 (Korean)
네덜란드(왕국) (공식명은 the Kingdom of the ~; 수도 Amsterdam; 정부 소재지는 The Hague), Low Countries
idioms:
- netherlands Antilles 네덜란드 안틸레스 (카리브해에 위치한 두 그룹으로 나우어진 네덜란드 군도)
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