This is a quick overview of The Netherlands.
The Netherlands is quite distinctive in culture, lifestyle and achievements; and as with most countries, geography and philosophy have played a strong role in shaping its character.
The Netherlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands
Geography
The Netherlands is one of our near neighbours, just over the Channel from Kent; and located between Belgium and Germany.
It is small in size (41,000 sq km) (a third the size of England) but quite densely populated (17m).
Overall, the country has a very compact feel: space is limited, and the Dutch have become expert at using space efficiently, and creating good quality places.
A third of the country is below sea level (see Land and Water below).
The land is also very flat.
Much of the population is concentrated in a small area in the middle-west of the country (the Randstad, or 'Edge City'): notably Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the four largest cities; and various other sizeable towns: Haarlem, Delft and Leiden. One can travel between these places within an hour, which is quite disconcerting for a Brit, since our major cities are several hours apart.
The north, east and south-east of the country is more rural and sparsely populated.
Rotterdam is mainly an industrial city and the largest port in Europe - the harbour is one mile long.
In the past, the Netherlands had several colonies: some Caribbean islands ('the Dutch Antilles'), Surinam in South America and Indonesia. The Antilles were fully part of the Netherlands until recently. Dutch colonists also founded the city of New Amsterdam on the east coast of America, whose name was later changed to New York by the British.
Country Name The name 'Netherlands' ('Nederlands' in Dutch) means 'lower countries', referring to their low altitude.
The country is also commonly called Holland, after the two provinces North and South Holland which contain the largest cities and towns. The Dutch themselves call their country both 'Netherlands' and 'Holland': contrary to popular belief in the UK, it is not a mistake peculiar to the British.
The word 'Dutch' refers to 'the people' - just as 'Deutsch-land' (Germany) means 'land of the people'.
Flag and colour The Dutch flag comprises three stripes: red, white and blue.
The emblematic colour of the Netherlands is of course orange, after William of Orange (see History), one of the founding figures of the modern country. Orange is also the football team's colour, and when there is an international football tournament, there is orange in abundance in Dutch towns.
Did you know ? Carrots were originally white and purple (like swedes and turnips). But they were re-engineered to be orange, in memory of William of Orange.
Variety and contrast Culturally (as well as geographically), the Netherlands packs a lot in to a small space: a vibrant modern society with a long heritage, and both cities and towns and extensive countryside. Also, there is heritage, modern design, sports, food, fashion etc. This makes it ideal for a holiday, if you want to see a lot of different things in a short space of time.
Land and Water A defining feature of Dutch life is the land and water. A third of the country (the west) is below sea level and under constant threat of flooding. The Netherlands is said to be on a war footing and under siege by the sea. Sand dunes on the coast form a natural barrier, but the Dutch deploy a whole armoury of instruments to defend their land: dykes, dams, canals and windmills. The primary purpose of windmills is to pump water out of the land into the canals.
Without all these instruments, much of the land would be a soggy mess, of little use to anyone. By constant pumping out of water, the Dutch have created fairly dry land which actually makes excellent farming soil. They have even reclaimed land from the sea, by gradually building small pockets of land (polders). The whole province of Flevoland was created in this way. The philosopher Descartes (1600s) once said: 'God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands'.
There is a famous story of a boy who saved a town by putting a finger in a hole in the sea-defence wall. The story is fictional, but it contains a powerful truth: that the Dutch are not far away from flooding disaster at any moment. There were two major floods during the 1900s which caused considerable loss of life and property.
However, as a result of all this, the Dutch have become expect water managers and are in high demand as consultants around the world where flooding is an issue.
Politics - Domestic Like the UK, the Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy, with a monarch. Because the Netherlands has PR, most governments are coalitions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Netherlands
It is made up of twelve provinces. This may be why the country's name is in the plural.
The centre of government is in The Hague, with both Parliament (Binnenhof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binnenhof ) and Royal Palace. However, Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, as set out in the constitution.
The largest party is the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by Mark Rutte, the current Prime Minister. But they only hold about 20% of the seats.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, political affiliations led to four main groupings: Catholics, Protestants, business people and socialists. Later there was a major re-configuration which led to parties along the left-right spectrum, as in the UK.
The current monarch, Willem-Alexander, is the first king in over 100 years: there were three queens from 1890 to 2013 - Wilhelmina, Julian and Beatrix. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_Netherlands
Politics - International The Netherlands was one of the six founding members in 1957 of the then European Economic Community (EEC), along with Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Italy.
It also has a strong reputation for international law, and The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as well as a range of other international peace commissions (such as resolving disputes in various parts of the world). Info on The Peace Palace, home of the ICJ: https://www.vredespaleis.nl/?lang=en
History The Netherlands can make a fair claim to being the first modern Western nation, in the 1600s, which is seen as the Golden Age of the Dutch. They were first to urbanise on a large scale, the first to become major international traders and by the late 1600s were the wealthiest country in the world. As if that wasn't enough, in the 1700s, they went on to become pioneers of the mechanics of a modern state, with bills of rights and a constitution. Since then, the Netherlands have not been as prominent a player, but have settled down to being a good performing European country.
Like many countries, the Netherlands went through a stormy and complex transition from the Middle Ages to modernity, with conflict between being a monarchy and a republic and being tangled up in various alliances and conflicts. A key player in all this was William of Orange (in the 1500s), a 'stadholder', or 'city ruler', who has come to be seen as a founding figure of the modern state: he led a rebellion against the Spanish and founded the United Republic of the Netherlands. (Note: he was an ancestor of the later William of Orange who features in British history in the 1600s).
The Netherlands was neutral in WW1, but occupied by Nazi Germany during WW2. The Dutch put up stiff resistance and by the end of the war there were serious food shortages, which the Allies sought to alleviate by dropping food parcels. Among other things, bicycles were confiscated, presumably to reduce the mobility of the people.
Famous Dutch people
painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer
philosopher: Erasmus, the humanist scholar
footballers Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullitt
writer: Anne Frank, whose diary during WW2 in Amsterdam has become a classic
Philosophy Modern Netherlands has been strongly shaped by two main philosophies:
Calvinist Protestantism (esp from 1600s to 1900s): with an emphasis on honesty, hard work, modesty, self-reliance, fairness
progressive secularism (esp from 1900s onwards): emphasizing human rights, justice, freedom, rationality - and continually progressing these.
The single most defining philosophy of the Dutch is probably the emphasis on freedom in the sense of letting people do what they want:
* in the past, this has made the Netherlands a popular destination for political refugees or writers with unorthodox or suppressed views such as Spinoza the pantheist philosopher or Tyndale the Bible translator
* this leads to a wide range of lifestyles in the country: generally, the central west Randstad is most liberal, while the rural east is more conservative. Both extremes are represented: parts of Dutch society are very liberal-progressive, while some conservative parts resist modernity such as new technology (cars, tv, mobile phones, IT).
* it also leads to debates of how free the state should let people be. For example, smoking cannabis in public used to be legal in Amsterdam, but when the number of people on harder drugs increased, this law was reined back in and smoking cannabis is now restricted to designated 'cannabis cafes'.
Architecture, Planning, Houses The Dutch are leaders in innovative modern design and you will see some v interesting and unusual shapes and colours in modern buildings. https://www.google.com/search?q=modern+dutch+architecture&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB824GB824&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt7PvombrkAhVxQRUIHeUOAyEQ_AUIEigB&biw=1504&bih=860
Dutch towns are generally v well laid out, to give each home and street good quality environment, yet without taking up a lot of room.
Historically, the classic Dutch town (eg Leiden, Delft, Amsterdam) would be organised around canals, with terraced houses owned by merchants along the waterside.
Transport The Dutch famously cycle a lot. Because the land is v flat, it is v easy to cycle (no hills to struggle with), so it has become a favourite means of getting around.
Dutch towns also share space between transport modes a lot: not just pedestrians and cyclists, but also cars, buses and trams - they all use the same space. This is quite hard work for a Brit to negotiate (plus of course the Dutch drive on the other side of the road) - you need to keep your wits about you, as there seem to be vehicles coming at you from all angles !
Flowers The Dutch have a huge flower industry and export 92% of the world's flowers (a pretty amazing stat from such a small country !)
They specialise in bulb plants such as tulips, crocuses and daffodils which thrive in the damp Dutch soil. They are farmed on an industrial scale, with field after field of flowers. https://www.google.com/search?q=netherland+fields+flowers&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB824GB824&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiziYvmi7zkAhXqSRUIHQ3NBRYQ_AUIEygC&biw=1426&bih=845&dpr=1.5
When tulips arrived in the Netherlands in the 1600s, they were the subject of massive financial speculation, leading to 'Tulip Fever' and then a 'tulip bubble' which burst, leaving many people financially ruined.
Dutch food Classic Dutch food revolves around key local farming produce: breakfast and lunch will include bread, cheese, butter, cold meat, fish; and dinner will be meat and vegetables. https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB824GB824&biw=1504&bih=860&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=vUdxXc_zI9CbgQbm9I0I&q=traditional+dutch+food&oq=traditional+dutch+food&gs_l=img.1.0.0j0i24l9.28125.29410..31012...0.0..0.62.633.12......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30j0i8i7i30.wDetWKLJqJs Some favourites are: stroopwafels (thin waffles with syrup which you melt over a hot drink) and bitterballs (snacks with cheese, eggs or meat).
However, traditional Dutch food is in rapid retreat with a strong advance of international cuisine: Dutch towns are full of Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, Argentinian and Mexican restaurants but it is harder to find a Dutch dinner in the evening.
Meanwhile, Dutch beer remains v popular. Famous brands include Amstel, Grolsch, Heineken; but for the connoisseur, there is a wide range of subtler light and dark beers. https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB824GB824&biw=1504&bih=860&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UkZxXbPUCeaDjLsPisSMyAE&q=dutch+beer&oq=dutch+beer&gs_l=img.3..0l10.252826.256120..256356...3.0..0.65.737.14......0....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..0i67.Fc-8aNhNSfo&ved=0ahUKEwizxYz6mrrkAhXmAWMBHQoiAxkQ4dUDCAY&uact=5
Dutch language Dutch is a Germanic language, distinctive for lots of rough 'ch' sounds. It is spoken by 24 million people in the world. If you know German, you will be able to guess a lot of the words.
The Dutch language, like Dutch food, is somewhat in retreat. The reasons are: it is one of the smaller languages; and the Dutch are v proactive in speaking English and using English to maintain an international role. The Dutch speak excellent English and find this v helpful for international trade and discussion: many university courses are offered in English; and the Dutch government website is presented in English (you have to look to find the Dutch version). The Dutch also see English as quite cool and will adopt English words rather than create new Dutch ones. Also, because Dutch is less widely-spoken, few people of other languages learn to speak it well. Although there is a very long way to go before the extinction of the Dutch language (see how Scot and Irish Gaelic and Welsh still survive, with conscious support), there is the beginning of a downward trend.
Painting Dutch painting of the 1600s is renowned as some of the world's finest, with names such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer and Hals, known as 'the Old Masters'. This was financed by the wealth from international trade. It set Western art in a new direction with paintings of ordinary people and places. https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&biw=1426&bih=845&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=6x9yXbndIY2d1fAPyt6ayAg&q=dutch+paintings+17th+century&oq=dutch+paintings&gs_l=img.1.4.0l10.3856.16466..19012...0.0..0.279.1099.12j0j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30j0i8i7i30.Zrq4cjvCd7o
There were major Dutch painters in other times: Hieronymous Bosch in the 1500s and Van Gogh in the 1800s.
Famous paintings include:
The Night Watch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Watch
The Girl with the Pearl Earring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring
Football The Netherlands is one of the superpowers of world football. They have been in three World Cup finals (1974, 1978, 2010), though have not won a World Cup.
The top three teams are Ajax (Amsterdam), Feyenoord (Rotterdam) and PSV (Eindhoven).
They are famous for their 'total football' way of playing, by which any player can take any position in the course of a game.
The most celebrated Dutch player of all time is Johan Cruyff, whose career peak was in the early 1970s.
What is it like being in the Netherlands ? The country is well organised and well run, with a variety of interesting things to do and see: food, history, leisure, landscape, buildings, culture. Also, the Dutch are very easy to be with: they are very engaging and are always happy to chat or help out if you have a question. They are also clear, direct and sincere. At the same time, they are not over-bearing and will respect your space. Altogether, the Netherlands is a very pleasant place to spend time.
Round-Up So, to recap, here are some key words to remember about the Netherlands: flowers, football, paintings, cheese, beer, windmills, water, land, trade, orange, Randstad, Calvinism, secularism, freedom, justice.
Three major places
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the big beating heart of the Netherlands and probably the best place to go to get a sense of Dutch culture. Constitutionally, it is also the capital of the Netherlands, though the government is actually located in The Hague.
It is a very relaxed city, full of cafes, museums, bookshops and parks.
Most of the inner city was built in the 1600s and retains the same design: a set of canals in concentric semi-circles around the north, with rows of terraced houses along the canal banks.
The architecture is modest and functional, rather than grand and picturesque.
The river Amstel flows through the city, and the city’s name means ‘bridge over the Amstel’.
Highlights: the Rijksmuseum (enormous - would take several days to go round); the Van Gogh Museum; Anne Frank's house.
The Hague
The Hague is quite different from Amsterdam: a pleasant regional city.
As the seat of government, it has several splendid buildings.
It has quite an international populace, partly because of the various international justice commissions.
A surprise twist is that next door to the Hague is the seaside town of Scheveningen, which is just like Blackpool, with a pier, promenade and hordes of beach-goers.
The city’s name means ‘The Hedge’ because it was originally the land around the local duke’s palace.
Highlights: the Parliament, the royal palaces, the Mauritshuis (art gallery with lots of Old Masters paintings), the Peace Palace.
Delft
Delft is like a mini-Amsterdam, also mainly built in the 1600s, with canals and terraced houses.
Various claims to fame: home of Vermeer, William of Orange and the famous blue Dutch china.
6 September 2019
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