Netherlands

Lore & Background

Netherlands literally means 'lower countries', in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, 26% of which is below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 14th century. In the Republican period, the Dutch Republic experienced major political, economic, and cultural development; this period is commonly known as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, established multiple colonies and trading posts. While neutral in the First World War, the Netherlands was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940 during the Second World War, which lasted until the end of the war in 1945.

In Their Own Story

Morning mist clings to the flat horizon where sky and water blur into one grey canvas. A lone windmill creaks rhythmically against the dawn, its massive sails turning with a slow, deliberate grace to pump excess rainwater from the polder back into the canal. On a cobblestone bridge in Delft, a cyclist pauses, checking a watch that ticks with the same precision as the city's historic clock tower. Below, the water lies still, reflecting the red-brick facades of warehouses that once smelled of Java spices and Peruvian silver. Here, the boundary between land and sea has always been a fluid negotiation, not a fixed border. The morning silence is broken only by the distant, low hum of a cargo ship cutting through the fog, heading toward the restless heart of Rotterdam.

Reader's Guide

With a population of over 18 million people, all living within a total area of 41,850 km2 (16,160 sq mi)—of which the land area is 33,500 km2 (12,900 sq mi)—the Netherlands is the 26th most densely populated country, with a density of 541 people per square kilometre (1,400 people/sq mi). Nevertheless, it is the world's second largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness. The four largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Amsterdam is the country's most populous city and the nominal capital, though the primary national political institutions are in The Hague. The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised prostitution and euthanasia, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. A developed country, its mixed-market advanced economy is the eighteenth-largest in the world, and has the eleventh-highest per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the States General, cabinet, and Supreme Court. The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest in Europe. Schiphol is the busiest airport in the Netherlands, and the fourth busiest in Europe. The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD, and World Trade Organization, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. It hosts intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are in The Hague.

Did You Know?

• The Netherlands is the world's second largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value.
• The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001.
• The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest in Europe.
• Schiphol is the fourth busiest airport in Europe.