(Du. neder, “low”), officially Kingdom of the Netherlands (Du. Koninkrijk der Nederlanden), constitutional monarchy, NW Europe. It is bounded on the N and W by the North Sea, on the E by Germany, and on the S by Belgium. The Netherlands Antilles, consisting of islands in the Caribbean Sea, is part of the state. The Netherlands is often called Holland after a historic region, part of the present-day nation. The term Low Countries, used for the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as a group, is descriptive of their near or below sea level location; they are also called the Benelux Countries. The Netherlands proper has an area of 41,526 sq km (16,033 sq mi), about 18% of which is water surface.

LAND AND RESOURCES

The Netherlands, as its name suggests, is a low-lying country. Much of its W part is situated below sea level and is covered with clay and peat soils interspersed with canals, rivers, and arms of the sea. Farther to the E the land lies slightly above sea level and is flat to gently rolling. The elevation rarely exceeds 50 m (164 ft). Much of the land is devoted to agriculture; only small areas of forest and heath remain.

Physiographic Regions.

The North Sea coastline of the Netherlands consists mostly of dunes. In the SW are gaps in the dunes formed by river mouths, creating a delta of islands and waterways. In the N, the dunes were broken through by the sea, thereby creating the West Frisian Islands and behind them a tidal sea called the Waddenzee. Adjacent to the narrow strip of dunes is an area lying below sea level that is protected by dikes and kept dry by continuous mechanical pumping. The former Zuider Zee, a large arm of the sea, is being reclaimed. A dike separating it from the sea was completed in 1932, when work was begun to drain about 225,000 ha (about 556,000 acres) to form polders such as Flevoland and the Northeast Polder. The remaining freshwater lake is called the Ijsselmeer.

The islands of the delta region are also undergoing change. Following dangerous flooding that occurred in 1953, a program was initiated to protect the region by constructing dikes to block off the arms of the delta from the North Sea. These dikes created freshwater lakes and joined some islands.

Most of the E half of the Netherlands consists of low-lying land covered by sandy soil deposited by glaciers and rivers. Hilly country (the foothills of the Ardennes) and loam soils are found only in the S part of Limburg Province. Vaalserberg (322 m/1056 ft), the highest point of the Netherlands, is in this area.

Rivers and Lakes.

The major rivers of the Netherlands are the Rijn (Rhine), flowing from Germany, and its several arms, such as the Waal and Lek rivers; and the Maas (Meuse) and the Schelde, flowing from Belgium. These rivers and their arms form the delta with its many islands. Together with numerous canals, the rivers give ships access to the interior of Europe.

In the N and W portions of the Netherlands are many small lakes. Nearly all the larger natural lakes have been pumped dry, but the delta redevelopment program and the reclamation of the Zuider Zee, a landlocked arm of the North Sea, have created numerous new freshwater lakes, the largest being the IJsselmeer.

Climate.

The Netherlands shares the temperate maritime climate common to much of N and W Europe. The average January temperature is 1.7° C (35° F), and the mean July temperature is 17.2° C (63° F). The average annual precipitation for the country is about 760 mm (about 30 in). Cloudless days are uncommon, as is prolonged frost. Because the Netherlands has few natural barriers, such as high mountains, the climate varies little from region to region.

Mineral Resources.

The Netherlands was long thought to be poor in mineral resources. Peat, used as fuel, was dug in several regions, and S Limburg Province was known to contain coal deposits. Salt also was produced. In the 1950s and '60s great natural-gas reserves were discovered in Groningen Province. Smaller deposits of crude petroleum are located in the NE and W parts of the country.

Plants and Animals.

The natural landscape of the Netherlands has been altered by humans in many ways over the centuries. Because land is scarce and fully exploited, areas of natural vegetation are not extensive. The tall grasses of the dunes and the heather of the heaths continue to provide habitats for rabbits, but larger wildlife, such as deer, have disappeared except in parks. The remnants of oak, beech, ash, and pine forests are carefully managed. Land reclamation projects have created new habitats for many species of migratory birds.

Environmental Protection.

The natural environment of the Netherlands is vulnerable to pollution and destruction. A number of national parks and nature preserves have been established to preserve portions of the natural landscape. The Netherlands is active in international efforts to clean the waters of the Rhine R., and some groups of citizens seek to prevent land reclamation and the building of dikes in an effort to preserve natural environments.

POPULATION

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries of the world. The Dutch make up the great majority of the nation's inhabitants. They are mostly descended from Franks, Frisians (see Frisian Language), and Saxons. Fearing overpopulation, the government encouraged Dutch emigration after World War II, and some 500,000 persons left. But an even larger number of people entered the Netherlands—Europeans and Asians from the former Dutch East Indies dependency (now part of Indonesia); industrial workers from Turkey, Morocco, and other Mediterranean countries; and, more recently, residents of Suriname, also a former Dutch dependency, and the Netherlands Antilles. Consequently, the country's population, particularly in the large cities, now includes several ethnic minorities.

Population Characteristics.

According to a 1994 estimate, the Netherlands had a population of 15,401,000, an increase of about 17.9% over the 1971 census total. For 2003 the population was estimated at 16,141,000. The overall population density was about 389 persons per sq km (about 1007 per sq mi). The nation is heavily urbanized; about 27% of the people live in cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants, and another 62% inhabit smaller cities and towns. No single city in the Netherlands is of enormous size. The largest cities are Amsterdam (pop., 2001 est., 1,105,000), the country's capital; Rotterdam (596,000), one of the world's leading seaports; The Hague (444,700), the nation's administrative center; and Utrecht (234,200), a manufacturing hub. Sixteen other cities had between 100,000 and 200,000 inhabitants. Many of these cities are concentrated in the W provinces of North Holland, South Holland, and Utrecht, comprising the large urban region called Randstad Holland.

Language.

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken throughout the country. In the province of Friesland, however, some residents speak another Germanic language, Frisian, as their first language. See also Germanic Languages.

Religion.

The country's major religion is Christianity, of which Roman Catholics constitute about 31% and Protestants 21% of the Dutch population. Muslims (see Islam) account for about 4%, and the country also has a small Jewish community. About 39% of the people do not belong to a religious body. The Roman Catholics are concentrated in the S part of the country. The Protestants are divided among several denominations, the largest being the Netherlands Reformed church. The Netherlands has no official religion, but the Reformed church has had a close association with the Dutch state since the founding of the Dutch Republic. All the country's monarchs have been members of the Reformed church.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

The organization of cultural activity and social life in the Netherlands began to change significantly in the 1960s. Until then, most facets of Dutch life were organized systematically in what were called “pillars,” or groups. In education, politics, the communications media, medicine, the trade unions, and other segments of Dutch life, institutions were specifically Protestant, Roman Catholic, or public (nondenominational) and were represented on committees at all levels of government. As the country underwent change, socialist and liberal nonsectarian pillars joined the denominational pillars, and some institutions became independent of the pillar system. In recent years, the pillar system has continued to weaken.

Education.

From the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, the Netherlands has enjoyed a high level of basic education and comparatively high literacy rates. In the 19th century, efforts were made to systematize education and to secure adequate financing for schools. As the state became more deeply involved in education, a dispute arose concerning the fate of nonpublic, mainly church-related, schools. The “school struggle,” as it was called, became a major political issue and was not fully settled until 1917, when a constitutional amendment guaranteed equal, tax-paid financial support for both public and nonpublic schools. Today, about one-third of the elementary and secondary schools in the Netherlands are public, and about two-thirds are nonpublic, mainly Roman Catholic or Protestant. School attendance is compulsory for children aged 5 through 16 years. Pupils attend a primary school for eight years and then enter one of several types of secondary schools, which offer training for entering a university or other advanced institution or for pursuing a vocation. In the early 1990s more than 1.5 million pupils attended primary schools, and nearly 1.2 million students were enrolled in secondary, vocational, and teacher-training schools.

The number of students enrolled in institutions of higher education increased dramatically in the 1960s, and by the early 1990s some 389,000 students attended colleges and universities. Major institutions include the University of Amsterdam (1632) and the state universities of Groningen (1614), Leiden (1575), and Utrecht (1636). The Netherlands has several technical universities and schools of fine arts.

Culture.

The Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus had wide influence in the 16th century, and the country's cultural life as a whole achieved an international reputation in the 17th century, which is often called its Golden Age. Among the influential Dutch figures of that time were the jurist Hugo Grotius, the scientists Christiaan Huygens and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the cartographers Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571–1638) and Jodocus Hondius (1563–1611), the writers Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (1581–1647) and Joost van den Vondel, the philosopher Baruch Spinoza, and numerous theologians. In addition, foreigners lived in Holland to enjoy its tolerant atmosphere, the most famous being the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes and the English philosopher John Locke. Well-known figures of the Golden Age include the great 17th-century Dutch artists, such as Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen. The Dutch artistic tradition continued to be vigorous in more recent centuries, producing such noted and influential painters as Vincent van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, and Karel Appel (1921–2006), and lives on today, particularly in Amsterdam, where artists from many countries work. See Baroque Art and Architecture; Dutch Literature; Frisian Literature; Renaissance Art and Architecture.

Cultural Institutions.

The Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam has an international reputation, and another major Dutch symphony orchestra is in Rotterdam. The main libraries of the Netherlands are those of the State University of Leiden and the University of Amsterdam and the Royal Library in The Hague. In addition, the country has many public libraries. Of the country's numerous museums the most famous are those displaying the work of Dutch painters. These include the world-renowned Rijksmuseum (state museum), the Rembrandt-Huis Museum, the Vincent van Gogh National Museum, and the Stedelijk (municipal) Museum, all in Amsterdam; the Royal Picture Gallery (Mauritshuis), in The Hague; the Boymans–van Beuningen Museum, in Rotterdam; and the Kröller-Müller National Museum, located in Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo.

ECONOMY

The Netherlands has played 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, and trade with the country's colonial empire was important in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Since the independence of Indonesia in the late 1940s, the Dutch economy has been redirected from colonial trade to that with European nations; a diversified manufacturing base was created as employment in agriculture fell; and the country became a major energy exporter as large deposits of natural gas were discovered. In all these changes the national government played a major role, particularly by its economic planning. The government's influence is great even though most firms are privately owned, because it distributes about 40% of the Dutch national income. Also important in the economic growth of the Netherlands are the activities of a number of large private firms with multinational holdings.

National Output.

From 1965 to 1980 the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Netherlands grew at an average yearly rate of 3.8%, about equal to that of neighboring countries of continental Europe. Between 1980 and 1992, however, the GDP increased by only 2.3% annually. About 23% of the GDP is produced by manufacturing and energy-related activities; about 16% by trade; about 9% by public utilities, transportation, and communications; 6% by construction; 4% by agriculture; and 42% by the service sector. The annual gross national product in the early 1990s was about $20,480 per capita.

Labor.

Of the approximately 6.5 million employed workers, about one-fourth belong to labor organizations, the largest of which are the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation and the Christian National Federation of Trade Unions in the Netherlands. The government systematically enters into negotiations between employers and unions to secure collective bargaining agreements consistent with its economic plans.

Agriculture.

Despite the small size of the country and the high density of its population, agriculture of the Netherlands is highly productive and a major generator of exports. The export value of meat, flowers, vegetables, butter, and cheese substantially exceeds the value of imported grain, tropical products, and animal fodder. This specialized agriculture occurs mainly on small family farms. Meadows and pastures occupy about 32% of the nation's land area, while 27% is devoted to cultivation. Annual crop production in the early 1990s (in metric tons) included sugar beets, 8.3 million; potatoes, 7.6 million; vegetables and melons, 3.7 million; and wheat, 1 million. There were 4.9 million cattle, 13.7 million pigs, and 105 million chickens.

Forestry and Fishing.

Because little of the Netherlands is covered by forest, timber production is of minor importance. Fishing, however, is a traditional activity that continues to be significant despite the reduction of the stock resulting partly from water pollution in the North Sea. Herring, plaice, mackerel, and mussels are leading components of the annual catch, which totaled 443,100 metric tons in the early 1990s.

Mining, Manufacturing, and Energy.

The industrial structure of the Netherlands is closely related to the country's sources of energy. For centuries the Dutch relied heavily on windmills and peat for energy. As these became outmoded, coal increased in importance. Deposits in Limburg Province supplied a part of Dutch needs, but most coal was imported. Petroleum and natural gas became increasingly important after World War II; these fuels also were imported, and the port of Rotterdam became a leading center for receiving and refining petroleum. In the 1950s and '60s the Dutch discovered large reserves of natural gas in Groningen Province. Production rose rapidly, permitting the last domestic coal mines to be closed in 1973 and making the Netherlands a major exporter of natural gas. In the early 1990s the annual output of crude petroleum was 19.5 million barrels; natural gas, 91 billion cu m (3.2 trillion cu ft).

The Dutch manufacturing sector is highly diversified, and much of it is of recent origin; industrial production was relatively unimportant until after World War II. Heavy industry, such as the manufacture of steel, transportation equipment, and large machinery, is much less important in the Netherlands than in neighboring countries. The rapid post-1945 growth of manufacturing has been led by the chemical and electronics industries. Also highly important to the manufacturing sector are, among others, the production of processed food and beverages, tobacco items, construction materials, ships, refined petroleum, and printed material.

Installed electricity-generating capacity in the early 1990s was 17.5 million kw; the output of electricity totaled 74.3 billion kwh.

Currency and Banking.

The euro, equal to 100 cents, is the legal tender of the Netherlands (1 euro equals U.S.$.89; Jan. 17, 2002). As of Jan. 1, 1999, the Netherlands adopted the euro, the common currency of the European Union (EU), at a fixed conversion rate of 2.20371 guilders to 1 euro. The guilder, or gulden, ceased to be the national currency on Jan. 1, 2002; euro notes and coins were expected to replace the circulation of the guilder toward the end of January. De Nederlandsche Bank (1814), the Dutch central bank, is a full participant in the European System of Central Banks (see European Central Bank). Amsterdam is the leading center of Dutch banking and insurance and the home of the country's principal stock exchange.

Foreign Trade and Tourism.

The Dutch economy is extremely open to world trade. Much of the flow of goods into its ports is intended for transshipment to other countries, mainly members of the EU. Throughout the 1980s and early '90s the value of Dutch exports generally exceeded that of its imports; in 1992, for example, the country's imports cost about $117.9 billion, and exports earned about $128.9 billion. Major imports are machinery and transport equipment (about 32% of total imports), basic and miscellaneous manufactured goods (30%), food and live animals (11%), chemicals (11%), and crude petroleum (6%). Leading exports of the country are manufactured goods (24%), machinery and transport equipment (24%), food and live animals (18%), chemicals (16%), and mineral fuels (9%). Fellow members of the EU account for most Dutch imports and exports. Germany is the most important single trading partner, accounting for about 27% of Dutch trade. Natural-gas exports have helped increase Dutch foreign exchange earnings, as has the influx of tourists. More than 3.9 million foreigners visit the Netherlands every year, attracted by its sandy beaches, by boating on its rivers and lakes, and by historical sites and cultural activities. The Dutch are themselves eager travelers, however, and they generally spend nearly twice as much abroad as foreigners spend in the Netherlands.

Transportation.

Because the Dutch economy is internationally oriented, good transportation facilities have long been essential to its prosperity. Rotterdam is one of the world's leading seaports, and Amsterdam also is a major port. Both ports owe their importance to canals and rivers that provide easy access to the sea as well as to the interior of Europe. The New Waterway links Rotterdam to the North Sea, which is connected to Amsterdam by the North Sea Canal. Dutch canals and rivers navigable by vessels of more than 1000 gross tons have a total length of about 2400 km (about 1490 mi) and reach almost every part of the country. The Dutch oceangoing merchant fleet comprised some 560 ships with an aggregate displacement of nearly 4.6 million deadweight tons in the late 1990s, and some 5000 Dutch commercial vessels plied inland waterways.

The railroad network of some 2740 km (some 1700 mi) of operated track, about 73% of which is electrified, densely covers the Netherlands and provides frequent passenger train service. Competition from barges and trucks prevents the railroads from being major freight carriers. In the mid-1990s the nation had about 115,600 km (about 71,800 mi) of paved roads; the number of motor vehicles exceeded 6.2 million by the end of the decade. Bicycle use continues to be important for local travel; roads with separate bicycle lanes spanned some 19,100 km (some 11,900 mi) in the mid-1990s.

The busiest international airport of the Netherlands is Schiphol, near Amsterdam, and smaller airports serve Groningen, Maastricht, Rotterdam, and other cities. Domestic air travel is of little importance. Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) is the country's leading air carrier.

Communications.

The modern Dutch telecommunications network in the late 1990s encompassed 9.3 million main telephone lines, 3.4 million cellular telephone subscribers, 5 million personal computers, 1.6 million Internet users, and 8.5 million televisions. Under the Media Act of 1988, two national organizations coordinate radio and television broadcasting: an independent consortium provides production facilities, while a firm representing both government and the private sector transmits general interest programming. Most programs are produced by nonprofit associations that are given funds raised by taxing radio and television receiver owners and are allocated air time according to the number of members they have. The major producers include VARA (socialist), NCRV (Protestant), KRO (Roman Catholic), and AVRO and TROS (both nonsectarian). The country also has many smaller producers.

In addition to the many dozens of regional and local newspapers, there are several nationally distributed newspapers, each tending to be associated with a particular political or social position. For example, the NRC-Handelsblad (published in Rotterdam) is liberal and nonsectarian, the Volkskrant (Amsterdam) has Roman Catholic ties, and Trouw (Amsterdam) is close to the Reformed church. The daily with the largest circulation is the independent Telegraaf (Amsterdam). J.de V., JAN de VRIES, Ph.D.

GOVERNMENT

The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. It is governed under an 1814 constitution, as subsequently revised and amended.

Executive.

The head of state of the Netherlands is the hereditary monarch, who has had little power in running the government since the constitution was revised in 1848. The principal executive official of the country is the prime minister, who heads a cabinet that is responsible to the States-General (legislature).

Legislature.

The Dutch parliament, called the States-General, consists of the First Chamber, composed of 75 members elected to terms of up to four years by the provincial legislatures, and the Second Chamber, made up of 150 members popularly elected to terms of up to four years under a system of proportional representation. Either or both chambers may be dissolved by the monarch on condition that new elections be held within 40 days. The Second Chamber is by far the more important of the two; the First Chamber has little more than a rarely exercised veto power over the legislative process.

Judiciary.

The judicial system of the Netherlands includes four main levels of courts. The highest tribunal is the supreme court, which sits in The Hague. Other major judicial bodies are courts of appeal, district courts of justice, and canton courts. All Dutch judges are appointed for life by the monarch.

Local Government.

The Netherlands is made up of 12 provinces—Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, North Brabant, North Holland, Overijssel, South Holland, Utrecht, and Zeeland. The political identity of each province can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Today each is governed by a commissioner appointed by the monarch and a popularly elected legislature (Provincial States). The country is further divided into nearly 650 municipalities, ranging from the largest city to the smallest village. Each municipality is governed by a popularly elected council and a burgemeester (mayor) appointed by the Crown. These lower levels of government have only limited taxing power and depend on the central government for most of their finances.

Political Parties.

The Netherlands uses systems of proportional representation in electing municipal, provincial, and national assemblies. This allows even small political parties to win a seat. In the 1994 Second Chamber elections, for example, a dozen parties won representation. On the national level, the Netherlands has always been governed by coalitions of parties, the formation of which has often proved difficult.

In the late 1990s the largest political groups were the Labor party, a socialist organization; the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, a liberal, business-oriented party; the Christian Democratic Appeal, a moderate group; Democrats 66, which seeks greater direct citizen participation in the political system; and the Green Left Alliance. Of the many smaller parties in the Netherlands, most are on the far left or the far right.

Health and Welfare.

The Dutch government administers one of Europe's most comprehensive welfare states. Participation in the health insurance system is compulsory for everyone earning below a certain wage (about 70% of the population). All Dutch citizens are also protected by unemployment benefits; sick pay; a guaranteed income for those physically unable to work; pensions for widows, orphans, and the elderly; minimum-wage regulations; as well as family allowances.

Health conditions and facilities are excellent. In the early 1990s the Netherlands had about 37,500 physicians and 87,900 hospital beds. Average life expectancy at birth was 80 years for women and 74 for men; the infant mortality rate was 6.3 per 1000 live births.

Defense.

The military defense of the Netherlands is secured by the participation of its army, navy, and air force in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A joint Dutch-German army corps of nearly 30,000 men was formed in 1995. Prior to August 1996, when conscription to the armed forces was ended, all males between the ages of 20 and 35 years had to serve for nine months. In the late 1990s, total members of the Dutch armed forces numbered about 57,000.

International Organizations.

In addition to the EU and NATO, the Netherlands is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Benelux Economic Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the Council of Europe.

HISTORY

Historical accounts of the Netherlands date from the 1st century bc, when the Romans (see Rome, History of) conquered most of the present area of the country. At the time the region was inhabited by Frisians, a Germanic tribe that lived in the north, and by other Germanic and minor Celtic tribes (see Celts).

The Roman Era.

Before the conquest, the Romans had annexed lands to the southeast extending beyond the Rhine River. They penetrated the Netherlands region mainly to control the several mouths of the Rhine, which were then farther to the north than they are now. Under Roman rule, general peace and prosperity prevailed for more than 250 years. Roman traders entered the area freely, selling products from Italy and Gaul. The Romans built temples, established a number of large farms, and introduced their civilization to the region.

About ad 300 the hold by the Romans began to weaken, and nonindigenous German tribes pushed into the area from the east. The Frisians, in the north, held their ground, but Saxons occupied the eastern part of the region, and the Franks moved into the west and south.

The Low Countries and The Holy Roman Empire.

The Franks were the most powerful of the invaders. Their lands extended southward into what is now northern France and eastward across the Rhine. Eventually, the Frankish kings subjugated the Frisians and the Saxons and converted them to Christianity. By 800 the entire territory of the Netherlands was part of the realm of Charlemagne. After Charlemagne died, his empire disintegrated, and in 843 the Treaty of Verdun trisected it. The Netherlands became part of Lotharingia (Lorraine) and still later, in 925, of the Holy Roman Empire. At that time a Dutch nation did not exist, and the immediate loyalties of the inhabitants were to local lords. Gradually over the next centuries the whole region came to be called the Low Countries, or Netherlands, including present-day Belgium.

During the 9th and 10th centuries Scandinavian raiders, called Vikings, frequently invaded the coastal areas, sailing far up the rivers in search of loot. The need for a stronger system of defenses against such marauders gradually led to an increase in the power of the local rulers and their vassals, the nobles, who were largely a warrior class. Concurrently, the towns began to grow in importance, as artisans and merchants settled in them and improved their defenses. The gradual development of powerful towns was a notable feature of Dutch history during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. Under the leadership of wealthy merchants the towns began to challenge the power of the nobles who ruled the countryside. The merchants often supported the regional ruler in his campaigns against unruly vassals, at the same time exacting from him privileges designed to promote commerce and to strengthen the town and the position of the merchant class.

In the early Middle Ages such political entities as the counties of Flanders and Holland, the bishopric of Utrecht, and the duchies of Brabant and Gelderland were established. In the far north, however, the Frisians did not submit to a regional ruler but continued to obey their local headmen. At the beginning the association of these political entities with the Holy Roman Empire was largely nominal, but they enjoyed many privileges. Some trade was conducted with German coastal cities to the east, such as Bremen and Hamburg, and France was a major cultural influence.

The Spanish and the Austrian Netherlands.

Through marriage, war, and political maneuvering, most of the region known as the Low Countries, including the present-day Netherlands—Holland, Utrecht, North Brabant, and Gelderland—came into the hands of the dukes of Burgundy, who in 1348 took entire control. In 1477 through the marriage of Mary of Burgundy (1457–82) with the Habsburg Maximilian (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), Burgundian possessions passed into Austrian Hapsburg control and eventually, through the Spanish line of the imperial House of Habsburg, into Spanish control. By the mid-16th century this area, including even the land of the Frisians, was under the benevolent control of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, grandson of Maximilian I, who was also king of Spain. In 1555–56, however, Charles resigned both Spain and the Netherlands to his son, Philip II, who was Spanish by birth and education. His oppressive rule led to the epochal war of independence waged from 1566 to 1648 by the Protestant Dutch against Catholic Spain, then the most powerful nation in Europe.

The Struggle for Independence.

The political disaffection between the Low Countries and Spain coincided with the Protestant revolt against the Roman Catholic church, which was the state church of Spain. Calvinism, a Protestant movement, rapidly gained ground during this period; its adherents in the Low Countries challenged the Roman Catholic church, particularly the Inquisition. In 1566 riots in which mobs destroyed images in Catholic churches spread across the country. In response, a wrathful Philip sent to the Netherlands Spanish troops commanded by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, duke of Alva. The excessively harsh policies of the duke and of the Inquisition resulted in open revolt in the Low Countries. William I, the Silent, prince of Orange, who was one of the principal noblemen of the region, led the revolt. Initially unsuccessful, the Dutch then concentrated their efforts in the north. After William's naval supporters, called the Sea Beggars, seized the Holland port of Brill (Brielle) in 1572, the rebels took control of most northern towns, which became the bases of the revolt. William tried to maintain the unity of the north and south but was able to hold only the north against the brilliant campaigns of reconquest led by a new Spanish commander, Alessandro Farnese. In 1576 the northern provinces declared their independence from Spain as the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (recognized by Spain only in 1648). The predominantly Catholic southern provinces (roughly the area of modern Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) remained loyal to Spain and were subsequently known as the Spanish Netherlands and eventually (after 1714) as the Austrian Netherlands when these provinces passed to the Austrian line of the House of Habsburg.

In 1579 the Union of Utrecht, an anti-Spanish alliance of all northern and some southern territories, was formed. In addition to its political implications, the union signified the final divergence of the northern part of the Low Countries, which came under Protestant domination and later became the Netherlands, from the southern part, which was again overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and later became Belgium. In 1581 the Dutch provinces within the Union of Utrecht proclaimed their independence from Spain. Subsequently, the new nation suffered a series of reverses in the war with Spain, sustaining a major loss when William the Silent was assassinated in 1584. By 1585 the Spanish had reconquered practically all the south, including the important port of Antwerp. Eventually, however, the tide of war turned in favor of the Dutch. From 1585 to 1587 English troops were sent overseas to aid the insurgent cause, and in 1588 the English destroyed the great Spanish Armada, a victory that drastically curtailed the ability of Spain to wage war abroad. The seven provinces in the Union of Utrecht were cleared of Spanish troops by 1600.

From 1609 to 1621 a truce was in effect between the Spanish and the Dutch, but the Thirty Years' War, which began in 1618, dragged on hostilities until 1648, when the Spanish signed the Treaty of Münster (see Westphalia, Peace of), by which the sovereignty of the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces was recognized. The republic thus severed all theoretical ties with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and became one of the great powers on the Continent, a republic in the midst of monarchies.

The Dutch Republic of the United Provinces.

With its independence eventually assured, an era of great commercial prosperity opened, as did the so-called Golden Age of Dutch art (see Renaissance Art and Architecture: Flemish and Dutch Art of the Renaissance), with such painters as Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer. By the mid-17th century the Dutch republic was the foremost commercial and maritime power of Europe, and Amsterdam was the financial center of the Continent.

Exploration and colonization.

About 1600 a Dutch merchant expedition of three vessels sailed from Amsterdam to Java. This was the first of numerous journeys that left Dutch geographic names scattered over the globe, from Spitsbergen to Cape Horn and from Staten Island to Tasmania. These voyages resulted in the establishment or acquisition of many trading stations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and America.

In 1602 the Dutch parliament granted to the Dutch East India Co. a charter that gave it a trading monopoly with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and west of the Strait of Magellan in South America. The charter also conferred many sovereign powers on the company, including the right to wage war and to conclude peace. The Dutch West India Co., founded in 1621, established colonies in the West Indies, Brazil, and North America.

The East India Co. established itself first in the Moluccas (now Maluku), or Spice Islands, and later on West Java, where Batavia (modern Jakarta) became the center of the company's enterprises. These enterprises were devoted mostly to trade and to the establishment of trading posts. Their functions generally did not include governing. Subsequently, pressed by the necessity of maintaining peace among the native rulers, the Dutch began to govern the territories (now called Indonesia) in order to maintain trade.

Internal developments.

William the Silent had been succeeded as stadtholder and military commander by his son Maurice (1567–1625), who in turn was followed by his brother Frederick Henry. These men governed in conjunction with the States-General, an assembly composed of representatives of each of the seven provinces but usually dominated by the largest and wealthiest province, Holland. The stadtholder's power varied, depending on his personal qualities of leadership, and the office eventually became hereditary in the house of Orange.

Under Maurice, the republic was divided by a religio-political conflict between the Arminians (Remonstrants) and the Gomarists (High Calvinists), two factions within the Reformed (Calvinist) church, over predestination. The Arminian cause was championed by Holland under its leader, Jan van Olden Barneveldt (or Oldenbarneveldt); the other provinces and Maurice sided with the Gomarists, who prevailed. The dispute ended with Barneveldt's execution for treason in 1619.

Frederick Henry's son, William II of Orange (1626–50), became involved in a bitter quarrel with the province of Holland, and after his death no stadtholder was appointed in Holland and four other provinces for more than 20 years. William III of Orange, who was stadtholder from 1672 until his death in 1702, was also king of England after 1689.

The Decline of the Dutch Republic.

Inevitably, the Dutch and the English, the leading maritime trading nations of the world, came into sharp commercial rivalry and military conflict. The issues between the two countries were contested, but not settled, by the two Anglo-Dutch Wars, the first waged in 1652–54 and the second in 1664–67. As a result of the latter conflict the Dutch lost New Amsterdam in North America but acquired Dutch Guiana (now Suriname). Other wars, costly in men and money, followed against England (1672–74) and France (1672–78, 1689–97, 1702–13).

After the War of the Spanish Succession, in which the Dutch were allies of the British against the French, the economic and political power of the Netherlands began to decline. Eventually the Dutch Republic was overshadowed by the expanding power of Great Britain on the sea and France on the land.

When William III died without heirs in 1702, a distant relative of his, John William Friso (1687–1711), successfully claimed the Orange title. In 1747 his son became stadtholder in all seven provinces as William IV (1711–51).

In the late 18th century a struggle broke out between the party of the house of Orange, which had become conservative, and the Patriot party, which desired democratic reforms. The Orange party enjoyed a brief triumph with the help of an invading Prussian army in 1787, but in 1795 French troops and a force consisting of self-exiled Dutch citizens replaced the republic of the seven United Provinces with the Batavian Republic, which was modeled on the revolutionary French Republic. The Austrian Netherlands proclaimed itself the Repubic of the United States of Belgium in 1789; five years later the entire area fell under French control during the French revolutionary wars. In 1797 it was formally ceded to France. For the history of the Austrian Netherlands after 1815, see Belgium.

The Napoleonic Era and the Union with Belgium.

The Batavian Republic survived only until 1806, when Napoleon I transformed the country into the kingdom of Holland. In 1810 he incorporated it into the French Empire. While the Dutch were under French rule, the British seized Dutch colonial possessions. After the fall of Napoleon, the independence of the Netherlands was restored in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna. In addition, the territory now comprising Belgium was made part of the kingdom of the Netherlands.

The reunion of the two regions was not a happy one, for they had become widely disparate in political background, tradition, religion, language, and economy. In 1830 the Belgians revolted and established their independence as a sovereign state. A conference in London of the major European powers formulated the conditions of separation in 1831. The stipulations were accepted by the Dutch king, but when they were later revised by the conference in favor of the Belgians, a Dutch army invaded Belgium and routed the opposing forces. The conditions of separation were again revised and were finally accepted by both countries in 1839.

The Development of Parliamentary Democracy.

The second half of the 19th century was marked by a liberalization of the Netherlands government under the impact of the revolutions that had swept Europe during the 1840s. The seeds of reform were contained in the new constitution of 1848, which became the foundation of the present democracy. Under its provisions arbitrary personal rule by the monarch was no longer possible. The members of the first chamber of parliament, who had formerly been appointed by the king, were thereafter elected by the provincial states (assemblies). Members of the states and of the second chamber of parliament were chosen by all persons paying taxes in excess of a stipulated sum. The almost solidly Roman Catholic southern provinces of Limburg and North Brabant, treated as conquered territories under the republic, had been given equal status with other provinces under the monarchy, but it remained for the constitution of 1848 to remove the religious restrictions against their citizens. Thus a powerful Roman Catholic political party was able to form and to contend with the Liberal group and the emerging conservative Protestant parties. Through the late 19th century suffrage was gradually extended, and agitation for social reform increased markedly. The rise of a strong labor party and the organization of workers into labor unions resulted in further social reforms.

Administration of the colonies was also reformed. In Indonesia, the area under Dutch control was increased, burdensome taxation was gradually abandoned, and, after 1877, no financial surpluses from that colony were used for the benefit of the treasury of the Netherlands.

From about 1880 to 1914 the Netherlands enjoyed an era of economic expansion. This period ended during World War I, when the nation suffered hardship through loss of trade as a result of the Allied blockade of the Continent. The principal postwar problems of the country were economic, and these were aggravated by the depression of the 1930s.

World War II and After.

At the outbreak of World War II the Netherlands again declared its neutrality, but in 1940 the country was overrun by the Germans, following an aerial bombardment that destroyed the greater part of Rotterdam. Much destruction was also wrought in other parts of the country not only by the Germans but also by the Dutch, who opened many dikes as desperate defense measures, and later by the Allies in aerial assaults on German-held positions. The Germans occupied the country until ousted in 1944–45.

The years following World War II were marked by intensive efforts to rebuild the country and to restore its trade and industry. In 1945 the Netherlands became a charter member of the UN. In 1948 it received funds through the European Recovery Program. The Netherlands joined with Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Luxembourg to form the Brussels Treaty Organization in 1948, and was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. The country joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, the European Defense Community Treaty in 1952, and the London-Paris accords in 1955, thus becoming a full-fledged member of the Western European multinational defense establishment. The late 1940s and early '50s were also a time of rising prices, generally unfavorable trade balances, and governments dominated by the Labor party.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands lost a war against Indonesian nationalists in the East Indies. In 1949 the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty in the East Indies (excluding Netherlands New Guinea) to the Indonesian government. Netherlands New Guinea remained under Dutch rule until 1962.

Economic Problems.

The Roman Catholic People's party came to power in 1959 and retained pluralities in the lower house in the elections of 1963 and 1967, but the government coalitions that the party formed in the 1960s proved unstable. Unrest in the Netherlands Antilles beset the government in 1969, and marines were dispatched to assist police in riot control. The inflation of the 1960s continued into the '70s as a major political problem. Wage and price controls were imposed in 1970, and taxes increased in 1971. In the elections of 1971 the four-party governing coalition lost its majority, and after two months of efforts a coalition headed by the Anti-Revolutionary party formed a government. This cabinet fell in 1972, however, and a caretaker government ruled until May 1973, when Joop den Uyl (1919–87), leader of the Labor party, was sworn in as premier of a five-party coalition. When Suriname attained full independence in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Surinamese immigrants further burdened the Dutch economy.

Shifting Coalitions.

In 1977, following parliamentary elections in the spring, the governing coalition of Premier den Uyl fell apart over proposed reforms. A new premier, Christian Democrat Andreas van Agt (1931– ), was sworn in later in the year. In 1980, Princess Beatrix succeeded to the throne on the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana. Van Agt's cabinet lost its parliamentary majority in May 1981, but he formed a new coalition that lasted from September 1981 to May 1982. Parliamentary elections were held in September 1982, after which van Agt unexpectedly resigned his party leadership. His successor as head of the Christian Democratic party was Ruud Lubbers (1939– ), who formed a new coalition in November 1982 and remained in power after the elections of May 1986 and September 1989. Elections in May 1994 dealt a severe blow to the Christian Democrats, and in August the Labor party leader, Willem (Wim) Kok (1938– ), became prime minister. A buoyant economy was the key factor in the parliamentary elections of May 1998, which strengthened the hand of Kok's Labor party.

In recent years, Dutch governments have implemented some of the world's most liberal social policies. Prostitution is legal, and as a matter of public policy, laws against the sale of small quantities of soft drugs, such as marijuana, are not enforced. Euthanasia was legalized under specified conditions in 1993, and same-sex domestic partnerships have been recognized since 1998. In September 2000 the lower house of the Dutch parliament voted to extend full legal sanction to homosexual marriages (see Homosexuality), effective January 2001.