The Netherlands

 

Where on earth are The Netherlands???

The Netherlands, officially ‘Kingdom of the Netherlands’, is a constitutional monarchy with a population of 16,669,112 people. It is a part of Northwest Europe, covering an area of 41,344 square kilometres (15,963 square miles). Major cities include Amsterdam, the capital (783,364 inhabitants); The Hague (500,000 inhabitants) where the Government resides; and Rotterdam (612,502 inhabitants), with one of the biggest sea ports in the world. Our present Queen is Beatrix has ascended the nation’s throne in 1980. The present crown prince, Willem Alexander, will succeed her.

We have the flattest country of Northwest Europe with an average altitude of 10 meters above sea level. Reclaimed from the sea and protected by 2,400 kilometres of dunes and dikes; 40% of its land lies under sea level. Drainage canals cross the country, and main rivers are interconnected by artificial waterways, to prevent the land from flooding. Despite being a very densely populated country (401,4 people per square kilometre, 156,5 people per square miles), the Netherlands still maintain a high standard of living.

 

History of Holland

The name ‘Netherlands’ arose originally from ‘Nederduits’, which means lower Germany, which in time converted to ‘Nederland’, meaning Lowland. Holland, the name by which the Netherlands are being known to many, is actually the name of the two most western provinces.

Settled in Roman times by Germanic tribes, the low countries passed successively to the Franks between the 4^th and 8^th century, the Holy Roman Empire in the 10^th century, and the dukes of Burgundy between the 14^th and 15^th century. After 1477 the country came under the rule of the Spanish house of Habsburg. Between 1568 and 1573 there were national uprisings against the Spanish rule, which King Philip II attempted to oppress. In 1579 the Dutch provinces, led by Prince William of Oranje-Nassau, established the Union of Utrecht, and independence was declared in 1581.

The 17^th century was Holland’s ‘golden age’, a time of commercial prosperity, colonial expansion, religious tolerance and cultural achievement. Most of the country’s prosperity was owed to two trading enterprises, Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company. The East India Company was granted a monopoly on Dutch trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Strait of Magellan. The company subdued local rulers; drove the British and Portuguese from Indonesia, Malaya and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and dominated trade with the Moluccas. The Dutch West India Company was organised in 1623; it was given jurisdiction over a wide range of coast in Africa and the Western Hemisphere, and battled Portugal unsuccessfully for control over North-east Brazil (1624 -1654). The company founded Fort Amsterdam (1626), which grew to be called New Amsterdam and which was later traded with the US in return of Surinam. Nowadays, New Amsterdam is known as New York City.

In the 18^th century the United Provinces, conquered by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars, were reconstituted (1795) as the Batavian Republic. In 1806 they were transformed by Napoleon Bonaparte into the Kingdom of Holland under Louis Bonaparte; and finally, at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created, including Belgian territory. In 1830, Belgium seceded from the Dutch Kingdom as a separate kingdom.

In the 20^th century Holland kept her neutrality in World War I. During World War II, between 1940 and 1945, the country fell under German occupation and suffered severely under brutal rule. On May 5^th 1945 the Allied Forces liberated the country. The Netherlands had yet another war at Dutch East Indies, which ended in 1949 with the independence of Indonesia.
Post war recovery was rapid, despite the loss of the Eastern empire and disastrous local floods in 1953. Under a series of coalition governments, the Dutch economy expanded greatly and the country took a leading role in Western European integration.

 

The Dutch language

 

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken by 98% of the country’s inhabitants. 5% of this population speaks Frisian as well. The other 2% speaks a different language. Dutch belongs, along with German, English, Frisian and the Scandinavian languages, to the ‘Germanic’ subgroup of Indo-European languages, and dates back to the 9^th century. It is a product of a mixture of various dialects, in which the language of the province of Holland eventually gained the upper hand, because of its political predominance in the 17^th century. The ‘States Translation’ of the Bible completed the linguistic unification in 1636.

Dutch is spoken by 24 million people in the Netherlands, in Belgium, Surinam, Aruba, NL Antilles, Indonesia and France. The language is taught at more than 250 universities in 48 countries around the world, from the USA to South Africa (African). On a world wide ranking scale of some 6,000 languages, Dutch comes 48^th when it comes to the number of speakers. Frisian is spoken by almost a million people in a province in the north of the Netherlands. It is the second official language of the country.

 

Population and Economics

 

Ethnically, 81% are Dutch, 5% are Frisian, 2% is Turkish, 2% is Moroccan and the remaining 10% is Surinam and others. Religion in the country shows great diversity; since 42% are non-religious, 30% are Roman Catholic, 14% are Dutch reformed, 6% are Protestant, 4% are Muslims and 4% have other religions.

Population grows 0.4% per annum and the population doubling time is about 116 years. Age distribution of the population follows the pattern of industrialised countries.

Infant Mortality Rate is 6^0/₀₀ (3^rd lowest in the world) and life expectancy is 76 years for males, 81 years for females. There are 29,882 physicians in the country and 94,000 hospital beds in 144 hospitals around the country. Education is compulsory for everyone under the age of 16 and the literacy rate in the country is above 99%.

Industry is primarily on textiles, machinery, electrical equipment, iron and steel, refined petroleum, processed foods, ships and chemicals. Agricultural commodities include dairy products (cheese), poultry and horticultural goods (bulbs). Foreign trade, the financial industry and tourism are very important. Large natural gas reserves supply over half of the country’s energy needs; natural gas is a major export.

 

What is typically Dutch?

 

For many, the Netherlands is a synonym for windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cows, bikes and cheese. But there is more…

The Dutch are known for their liberal attitude towards politics, other cultures and races, sex, religion and lifestyles. Therefore the Netherlands has been a refuge for many of the oppressed throughout history. Although the country’s tolerance towards soft drugs and the right of euthanasia are often criticised by the world today, it was the same tolerance under which democracy, arts and science were able to flourish. You can still be amazed to experience this attitude in daily life (you may come across a pantomime artist, on the streets of Amsterdam, stopping a tram to get his imaginary elephant in).

However, the Dutch also have many traditions, which are still honoured. Examples are ‘wadlopen’ (walking to the northern islands from the shore through shallow sea at the midsummer), ‘fierlejeppen’ (jumping over a ditch by using a long stick), ‘Elfstedentocht’ (an ice-skating race of almost 200 kilometres through eleven Frisian towns), baking ‘oliebollen’ on New Years’ Eve, ‘Koninginnedag’ (the celebration of the birthday of the former Queen on April 30^th), and the famous ‘Sinterklaas’ festival for children (St. Nicholas day on December 5^th).

 

What to wear in the Netherlands?

 

Another typical Dutch nuisance is the weather. The Netherlands are a green country with fertile land, but this is at a certain cost. It rains quite frequently, and sunny days are relatively rare. The climate is largely effected by the warm gulf-stream. It is mild in summertime. The average minimum temperature in July and August is about 17,5 ° Celsius. In daytime the temperature varies from 15 ° till 30 ° Celsius. Therefore, light clothing with a thin pullover in the evenings is recommended.

Despite being the most ‘sunny’ months of the year, there might fall some rain now and then. So, don’t forget to bring an umbrella or a raincoat, you will need them!