The Netherlands
Netherlands, also known unofficially as Holland, constitutional monarchy of
northwestern Europe, bordered on the north and west by the North Sea, on the east
by Germany, and on the south by Belgium. With Belgium and Luxembourg, the
Netherlands forms the Low, or Benelux, Countries. The Netherlands Antilles and
Aruba, islands in the Caribbean, are part of the Netherlands. The European
portion of the Netherlands has a total area of 41,526 sq km (16,033 sq mi), of
which 33,939 sq km (13,104 sq mi) is land surface. The country's capital and
largest city is Amsterdam.
In the late 16th century a Dutch revolt against the authority of the king of
Spain, at the time ruler of what now constitutes the Low Countries, succeeded in
the northern provinces, which later became the Netherlands. The Dutch Republic,
officially established in 1648, fell in 1795 when the armies of Revolutionary
France imposed a pro-French government. In 1810, France annexed the Netherlands,
but with the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 to 1815, the present Dutch state,
officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands, came into being. Originally
Belgium was part of this new kingdom, but it seceded in 1830 and formed an
independent country. The present boundaries of the Netherlands are essentially
those established after the secession of Belgium, although they are similar to
the borders of the Dutch Republic.
The Netherlands, as its name suggests, is a low-lying country. About half of the
country's landmass lies below sea level. This amount would increase should the
polar ice caps melt and slowly raise the level of the sea due to global warming.
Much of the western part, situated below sea level, is covered with clay and peat
soils interspersed with canals, rivers, and arms of the sea. Farther to the east
the land lies slightly above sea level and is flat to gently rolling. The
elevation rarely exceeds 50 m (164 ft). Most of the land is devoted to
agriculture; only small areas of forest and heath remain.
The North Sea coastline of the Netherlands consists mostly of dunes. In the
southwest are gaps in the dunes formed by river mouths, creating a delta of
islands and waterways. In the north, 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 (purple areas on map).
A dike separating
it from the sea was completed in 1932, when work was begun to drain about 225,000
hectares (about 556,000 acres) to form reclaimed land known as polders, such as
Flevoland and the North East Polder. About three-quarters of the area had been
reclaimed by the early 1980s. The remaining freshwater lake is called the
IJsselmeer.
On February 1, 1953, the spring tide severely flooded the delta region in the
southwest and about 1800 people died. The Delta Plan, launched in 1958 and
completed in 1986, was implemented to prevent such flooding. Under the plan, the
Dutch shortened the coastline by about 700 km (about 435 mi); developed a system
of dikes; and built dams, bridges, locks, and a major canal. The dikes created
freshwater lakes and joined some islands.
Most of the eastern 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 southern part of Limburg Province.
Vaalserberg (321 m/1053 ft), the nation's highest point, is in this area.
The major rivers of the Netherlands are the Rhine, flowing from Germany, and its
several arms, such as the Waal and Lek rivers; and the Maas (a branch of the
Meuse) and the Schelde (Escaut), 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 northern and western 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 have created numerous
new freshwater lakes, the largest being the IJsselmeer.
The Netherlands shares the temperate maritime climate common to much of northern
and western Europe. The average temperature range in Vlissingen in the coastal
region is 1° to 5° C (34° to 41° F) in January and 14°
to 21° C (57° to 69° F) in
July. In De Bilt, in the densely populated central region of the country, the
average range is -1° to 4° C (31° to 40° F) in January and
13° to 22° C (55° to 72° F) in July. Annual precipitation averages
690 mm (27 in) in Vlissingen and
770 mm (30 in) in De Bilt. 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.
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.
The Netherlands was long thought to be poor in mineral resources. Peat, used as
fuel, was dug in several regions, and southern Limburg Province was known to
contain coal deposits. Salt also was produced. In the 1950s and 1960s great
natural-gas reserves were discovered in Groningen Province. Smaller deposits of
crude petroleum are located in the northeastern and western parts of the country.
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 River, and some
citizens seek to prevent land reclamation and the building of dikes in an effort
to preserve natural environments.
The great majority of inhabitants of the Netherlands are Dutch. They are mainly
descended from Franks, Frisians, and Saxons. Most residents of Friesland Province
are Frisian, a distinct cultural group with its own language. Fearing
overpopulation, the government encouraged Dutch emigration after World War II
(1939-1945), and some 500,000 people left. But an even larger number of people
entered the Netherlands—Europeans and Asians from the former Netherlands 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.
According to a 1995 estimate, the Netherlands has a population of about
15,499,000. The overall population density is about 373 persons per sq km (about
967 per sq mi), making the Netherlands one of the most densely populated
countries in the world. The nation is heavily urbanized, with about 89 percent of
the population living in urban areas. The largest cities are Amsterdam
(population, 1993 estimate, 719,856), the country's capital; Rotterdam (596,023),
one of the world's leading seaports; The Hague (444,661), the nation's seat of
government; and Utrecht (234,170), a manufacturing hub. Sixteen other cities had
between 100,000 and 200,000 inhabitants. Many of these cities are concentrated in
the western provinces of Noord-Holland (North Holland), Zuid-Holland (South
Holland), and Utrecht, comprising the large urban region called Randstad Holland.
The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken throughout
the country. In the province of Friesland, however, a large percentage of the
population speaks another Germanic language, Frisian, as its first language.
See: Dutch Language; Frisian
Language.
Roman Catholics constitute about 33 percent and Protestants 23 percent of the
Dutch population. About 3 percent are adherents of Islam, and the country also
has a small Jewish community. About 39 percent of the people do not belong to a
religious body. The Roman Catholics are concentrated in the southern part of the
country. The Protestants are divided among several denominations, the largest
being the Dutch 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.
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 are 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. By the 1980s most people had become less
firmly attached to a specific pillar.
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 so-called school struggle 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 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 six
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. Instruction is in Dutch, except in Friesland, where classes are also
taught in Frisian. In the early 1990s about 1.4 million pupils attended primary
schools, about 673,600 students were enrolled in general secondary schools, and
505,300 attended vocational secondary schools.
The number of students enrolled in institutions of higher education increased
dramatically in the 1960s, and by the early 1990s some 180,000 students attended
colleges and universities and 204,400 were engaged in third-level non-university
training. 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.
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 Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the cartographers Willem Janszoon
Blaeu and Jodocus Hondius, the writers Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft 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—and lives on today, particularly in Amsterdam, where
artists from many countries work.
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 Rijksmuseum, the
Rembrandt-Huis Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk 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, in Hoge
Veluwe National Park in Otterlo.
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