Netherlands
The Netherlands[1] (Dutch: Nederland) is a constitutional monarchy located in northwestern Europe which borders France to the south and the Rhineland to the east, also sharing a maritime border with the United Kingdom in the southwest. Its name is not to be confused with the term 'Kingdom of the Netherlands', which since the late 20th century has been used to collectively refer to the European country and its overseas territories.
The Netherlands Nederland | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
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| Capital and largest city | Amsterdam |
| Administrative center | The Hague |
| Official languages | Dutch |
| Recognised regional languages | Flemish Zeelandic Frisian Friso-Saxon |
| Demonym | Dutch Netherlander |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy |
| Establishment | |
• Creation of the Habsburg Netherlands | 1482 |
• Independence of the Dutch Republic | 1588 |
| 1692–1712 | |
• Monarchy established | 1814 |
In 1588, an independent Dutch republic seceded from the Habsburg Netherlands. Dominated by stadtholders of the Nassau dynasty, the country was occupied by the Augustine Republic until 1814, when it was established as a sovereign monarchy with William I of the Netherlands as king. The Dutch Empire continuously declined over the 19th century, leadings to the Tulips Uprising of 1910. In the post-Great War era, the country dealt with massive social and political unrest and colonial insurgencies, the most notable being the East Indies Crisis. In the late 20th century, the country entered into an economic union with the Rhineland.
History
In the April of 1588, the States-General declared a republic decidedly sovereign from the Habsburg Netherlands. From its inception, the young state began to establish colonial outposts in Indonesia and America. In 1648, the Republic concluded a peace treaty with Spain. From 1650, the office of stadtholder was vacant. The First Anglo-Dutch War, ending in 1654, forced the Republic to agree to exclude the House of Orange from the stadtholderate, thereby enacted in the Act of Exclusion. In 1660, the Act of Exclusion was revoked when Princess Mary Henrietta petitioned her Dutch-born son, William, Prince of Orange, become a 'child of the state'.
The Second Anglo-Dutch War resulted in a Dutch victory in 1667 and the consolidation of the colony of New Netherland. Initially bitter, relations between the two countries improved once Princess Mary Henrietta ascended the English throne as Henrietta I. With newfound mutual cooperation, the two countries spearheaded an effort to contain France, establishing the Triple Alliance in 1668 with Sweden. In 1676, the Peace of Nijmegen halted French expansion and affirmed Anglo-Dutch supremacy over northwestern Europe. Three years earlier, Henrietta's I son ended the First Stadtholderless Period when he officially became stadtholder William III.
Upon Henrietta I's death in 1692, William III united England, Scotland, Ireland, the Dutch Republic, and the Electoral Palatinate in personal union. During this era, popularly known as the Anglo-Dutch Union, the Netherlands developed a close relationship with Britain, with both countries influencing each other culturally, politically, and economically. However, commercial rivalry, religious conflict, and political differences made it so the Union was not renewed after William III's death in 1712. The Pact of Hyde Park divided his realm between his sons; William IV would inherit Britain and Ireland, while Maurice II would succeed his father as stadtholder of the Netherlands and Elector Palatine.
After the end of the Union, the Dutch resume an independent expansion of their colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and America. In 1728, after 16 years of conflict and indecision within the Council of State and the States-General, Maurice II was officially installed as stadtholder. In the aftermath of the Great Silesian War of 1750–1755, the Netherlands proper gained control of the County of East Frisia. Meanwhile in colonial America's Prince Maurice's War, the Dutch colony of Tussenland gained large swathes of territory from New France.
France, under the control of Augustine Spiga, declared a republic in 1795. They soon invaded the Dutch Republic, subduing the country by 1798. Stadtholder Maurice III fled to England, where he composed the Kew Letters, ordering the cession of Dutch colonies to the British to protect them from French aggression. The colony of New Netherland defied the stadtholder, gaining independence in 1798 with the conclusion of the Autumn War. The Netherlands were liberated from French occupation in 1812. By the end of the decade, the Netherlands had reorganized itself into an Orange-Nassau monarchy, with William I of the Netherlands, nephew of Maurice III, as monarch. The 1814 Treaty of Vienna had awarded the new kingdom parcels of territory, including portions of the disestablished Habsburg Netherlands.
In 1833, the eldest son of William I, Frederick the Reformer, ascended to the throne. From 1850 to 1857, the Wars of Humiliation (a collective term referring to the Second Hispano-Dutch War and the Canton War) had caused the Dutch to make massive territorial and economic concessions to other European powers. Swathes of American territory, the Spice Islands, and claims on Timor were ceded to the Spanish Empire. The monopoly on Chinese trade to Europe was broken by the rise of French and British colonial ventures into eastern Asia. At the dawn of the 20th century, the Netherlands initiated the Dutch-Mexican War in order to protect Amerikaener settlers in northern Mexico.
The independence of Tussenland in 1905 marked a turning point in modern Dutch history. The Dutch public became increasingly distraught at the government's refusal to enact reform and their excessive spending on colonial wars. In 1910, the Tulips Uprising brought months of riots and demonstrations from a coalition of social and political groups in the country. However, political infighting between various anti-government factions led to the failure of the movement.
Government and Politics
| Unitary parliamentary monarchy |
The Netherlands is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy consisting of fifteen provinces within a unitary framework. Due to the predominance of the executive branch and the civil bureaucracy, the country is often described with the phrase pro Deo et patria etiam Bureaucratia ('For King and Country, and also Bureaucracy). Since the 19th century, great emphasis on the values of pragmatism and classical republicanism, both of which have informed the governance of the country to this day.
The monarch is the head of state and is advised by the Council of State, an institution founded in 1531. They have had their powers severely limited by a constitution, which granted vast political powers to the Prime Minister, who heads the Cabinet of the Netherlands. Since the 1960s, the political responsibilities and capacities of the Prime Minister have greatly increased due to a myriad of domestic and overseas crises. For example, in times of crisis, they are permitted to take up unchallenged command of military actions for up to 190 days without parliamentary approval or royal assent.
Based out of the Binnenhof, the States-General is the age-old bicameral legislature of the Kingdom, consisting of 150 seats. The members of the Senate, the upper house, are elected by the fifteen provincial assembles. National legislative elections occur every four years or in the event of the resignation of the Cabinet. Allocation of seats to parties aims to approximately be in proportion to the number of votes received through candidates' positions on electoral lists.
Military
Originally established in the 16th century, the Dutch Royal Forces (Koninklijke Krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Netherlands. They are divided into four main branches; the Royal Navy, the Royal Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Royal Marechaussee, which functions as a national gendarmerie and police force. The Royal Navy is considered the largest in Europe, being rivaled only by the British Royal Navy in size and accomplishment. The Forces employ an active force of 180,000, with a reserve of 1,300,000. All branches are open to female members with the exception of the Shocktroops Special Corps and the Submarine Service.
A significant part of the budget of the Netherlands goes towards funding the Royal Forces, a policy decision which has remained controversial and even detestable in the eyes of the Dutch public and numerous pacifist organizations.
Notes
- ^ The country may be referred to in Dutch, English, and other languages by a variety of names including the terms the Low Countries, Holland, and Belgica.