When you hear the word " Holland , " you probably visualise brightly coloured tulip , winding canal , windmills , cheese and even those adorable wooden shoes . Hearing " the Netherlands " might also put forward the same images , which could lead to someHolland vs. Netherlandsconfusion .
Worry not ! We can clear up this confusion passably speedily . And along the path , you ’ll learn a few things about the the Kingdom of the Netherlands , a shoes in Europe that boasts high agricultural yield , canals , liberal politics and lot and lots of bicycles .
A Plain and Simple Answer
Although Holland has become colloquially synonymous with the Netherlands ( and the Dutch government even usesHolland.comas its prescribed locomotion web site ) , it ’s really just a region of the northwestern European country .
The Holland region — which bluster the densely populated and well - known metropolis of Amsterdam , Rotterdam and The Hague ( Den Haag ) — is often thought of as its own country . You might have thought that yourself before read this clause .
Technically , you ’d be incorrect , but but do n’t feel too bad about it . Even some Dutch citizens are n’t wholly absolved on that question .
Holland and the Netherlands: Trade Routes and Loose Talk
So , when did this confusion of names first begin ? We can traceone story backto Dutch sailors who traversed the open seas during the Golden Age in hunting of new state , trade routes and spice .
When ask what area they were from , the sailors were known to say they were from " Noord Holland " or " Zuid Holland " ( that ’s North Holland or South Holland ) , which made many outsider believe Holland was a commonwealth .
We can likely forgive those outsider ; after all , credit book and up - to - engagement atlases were in inadequate supply back then . But even geography and history mavens were n’t always correct , and for good reason : The Kingdom of the Netherlands itself has gone through many name changes over the years , add to the mental confusion .
Early History in Holland and the Netherlands
In the days of the Holy Roman Empire ( we could go back further , but you have to set about somewhere ) , what was then call the Low Countries was full of reciprocally competitory minor kingdoms , duchies , fiefdoms and so away .
societal , technical and agricultural innovation led to a rising course of merchant and tradesmen , and thus the beginnings of a general acculturation . Both the Netherlands ( which have in mind " low countries " and could come to to any relatively low - lying part of Europe ) and Holland were in regular manipulation , with Holland referring to a specific knowledge base among several of those part .
Over the next few centuries of Dutch chronicle , there were various political formations , as well as subjection by other powerful agent , such as theHabsburgs , the Burgundians and the Spanish .
Eventually , Holland , Zeeland , Groningen , Friesland , Utrecht , Overijssel and Gelderland fall together in confederacy , setting the base for the modern state acknowledge as The Netherlands .
The Dutch Golden Age
From 1588 to 1795 , the body politic was known as the Republic of Seven United Netherlands . After the democracy was capture by Gallic troops in 1795 , it became the Batavian Republic . French EmperorNapoleon Bonaparte named his brother Louis kingin 1806 , rick the body politic into a realm .
AfterNapoleon ’s withdrawal from the arena , the Netherlands remain a kingdomruled by William VI of Orange . William VI was sovereign prince of the Dutch Republic , and in 1815 he became Rex of the United Netherlands , which included the southern Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg .
But in 1831 , leading European powersdecided Belgium should be independent , and the Netherlands as we do it it today make out to be .
At that time , the surface area known as Holland made the big contribution to the entire nation ’s economy and wealth . So , it was the most commonly used name when advert to the intact country .
The Netherlands Today
In realness , Holland reach up just two of 12 province of the Netherlands — North and South Holland ( or Noord - Holland and Zuid - Holland ) , which are locate on the west coast of country . North and South Holland are family to the state ’s capital letter Amsterdam ; its seat of government , The Hague ; and Europe ’s most important port , The Port of Rotterdam .
The other 10 state in the Netherlands are :
Each responsibility has its own capital , ego - principle and administration . That mean plainly calling the Netherlands " Holland " is similar to referring to theUnited Kingdom as England .
It is right and appropriate , however , to say that you are trip to Holland if you are visiting Amsterdam , the upper-case letter city within Holland .
The People of the Netherlands
Now , how do you refer to the people who live in the Netherlands ( and Holland ) ? In short , Dutch is the broad term used to describe all thepeople of the Netherlands .
If you ’re from , say , a Dutch town in the provinces of North and South Holland you are referred to as a " Hollander . " The Dutch economic consumption " Nederlands " as one way to describe Dutch high society , and " Nederlanders " when consult to the people of the Netherlands . But these terms are seldom used in the English speech communication .
Still broken ? No worries . Most Dutch multitude will pardon visitors who ruffle up these terms . Just do n’t fuddle them withthe Danish . That ’s a whole unlike story .
