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Dutch history |
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The
makeup of the Netherlands and the origin of its name
this text was revised by mr. Peter L. Kessler
(home page: The
history files)
Introduction. Is it called the Netherlands, Holland, the Low
Countries or even Friesland? There is a lot confusion about the name of our
country. Nowadays we call it “Koninkrijk der Nederlanden” (Kingdom of the
Netherlands), shortened as “Nederland”. This kingdom consists of three
countries:
1.
“Nederland”
[= the Netherlands, i.e. the part of the kingdom on mainland Europe];
2.
“de
Nederlandse Antillen” [= the Netherlands Antilles]; and
3.
Aruba
(until 1986 one of the Netherlands Antilles; in 1986 this isle off the coast of
Venezuela gained a “status aparte”).
These three countries have their own
governments (and parliaments), but Queen Beatrix is the head of state of each
of these countries. Furthermore, there is a “koninkrijksregering”
[= government of the kingdom], which consists of representatives of the
governments of the three countries. There are only occasional meetings of this
“koninkrijksregering”.
Until 1975 Surinam was also part of the
Kingdom, and until 1963 New-Guinea, too. Indonesia (the former Dutch [East]
Indies) gained independence in 1949, but formed a union with the Netherlands
until 1956.
In English there is no real difference between
the name of the kingdom and of the country; in both cases it is translated with
the word “Netherlands” (plural). In Dutch there is a difference. The country is
called “Nederland” (singular) and the kingdom is called “Nederlanden” (plural);
so in fact the name of the country should be translated into English as
“Netherland”. On the Dutch coins, and since January 2002 on the Dutch euro’s,
there is the queen’s portrait with the words BEATRIX KONINGIN DER NEDERLANDEN
(Beatrix Queen of the Netherlands). This plural indicates that term describes
the kingdom rather than the country.
The tenth century. In the tenth century, the complete coast of
the Netherlands was called “Friesland” (in English, Frisia, but either term can
be used). After that the name was reserved only for the northern coast. The
western coast (sometimes called “West-Friesland” [= West Frisia]) became
part of the County of Holland. “Holland” (the same in English and Dutch) is an
adulteration of “Hout-Land”, which means in English “Wood-Land”, because there
were a lot of trees in the area.
The Middle Ages. In the early Middle Ages the country was an
assemblage of counties, duchies and dioceses, all of which were a part of the
German Empire (the Holy Roman Empire). The most important part of this area was
the County of Holland. Little by little (mostly by marriage) the titles of the
remaining regions came to be held by the dukes of Burgundy. So the dukes of
Burgundy not only claimed that important title, but also that of Count of
Holland, Duke of Brabant, etc. In 1477 duchess
Mary of Burgundy married emperor
Maximilian I of Habsburg. Because of this marriage the Dutch areas
became a possession of the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs also held possessions in
Austria, and most of the time the Habsburgs also reigned as emperor of the
German Empire.
After emperor
Maximilian I of Habsburg came his son Philip,
who married queen
Juana of Spain. Their son Charles [= emperor
Charles V of Germany] was the next ruler. He gave in 1556 his Austrian
possessions and the title of emperor to his brother, and in 1555 his
possessions Spain and the Netherlands to his son Philip [= king
Philip II of Spain].
The name of this group of areas was now “de
Nederlanden”, which could be translated as “the Netherlands” or “the Low
Countries” (the Dutch word “neder” (or simply “neer”) means “down”, and
“landen” is the plural of “land”, which in English is more or less the same
word). So “the Netherlands” and “the Low Countries” mean exactly the same
thing.
Originally, “the Netherlands” was a name for
Germany and the Netherlands combined (as they were under the Frankish
Carolingian Empire), and the westerly region (the modern Netherlands) was
called “the Netherlands at the sea”. Gradually “the Netherlands” came to
indicate only the western region, so the words “at the sea” were eventually
dropped.
The schism. It is important to know that until 1579 the
name “Netherlands” included also the territory which is nowadays known as
Belgium. On 6th January 1579 these southern regions of the Netherlands
signed the “Unie van Atrecht” [= the Union of Atrecht], in which they
declared that they were prepared to be loyal to the Roman Catholic king
Philip II of Spain. In reply, on 23rd January 1579 the
seven northern areas signed the “Unie van Utrecht” [= the Union of
Utrecht], in which they declared that they were not able to comply to the
orders of this Roman Catholic lord. This created a schism, splitting the
Netherlands into northern and southern sections (nowadays known as the
Netherlands and Belgium).
The independence. The Netherlands finally gained independence
from the Habsburgs in 1581. In this year the Northern Netherlands deposed their
nominal master, king
Philip II of Spain (who was not king of the Netherlands, but only
“lord”). The country was renamed “de Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden”
[= the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]; the words “Zeven” and
“Verenigde” were not always used, so there are also shorter versions of this
name. In fact, the word “republic” was a bit a misleading word, because most of
the time there was a Prince of Orange ruling the country as stadhouder (royal
“head of state”), king in all but name. Sometimes our country was also called
“de Zeven Provinciën” [= the Seven Provinces].
The French time. In 1795 the revolutionary French Republic
invaded the Netherlands. The old Republic was reformed on French model by its
new masters and was named “Bataafs(ch)e Republiek” [= Batavian Republic],
because the tribe of the Batavians were believed to be the ancestors of the
Dutch people. (The last stadhouder, prince
William V, called himself “Willem Batavus” [= William the
Batavian].)
From 1806 until 1810, the Netherlands was ruled
as a kingdom, with Napoleon’s well-meaning brother Louis
Napoleon (in Dutch: Lodewijk Napoleon) as king. It was called “Koningrijk
Holland” [= Kingdom Holland]. This was a misleading name, because Holland
was only one of the seven provinces (there were six other provinces, but
apparently they were not important).
From 1810 until 1813, the country was part of
the French Empire, ruled directly by emperor
Napoleon I. Once Napoleon had lost control of Germany, the British
sent a small expeditionary force to aid the Dutch, the French were rapidly
forced out.
The modern time. From 1813 until 1815, the country (then called
“de Verenigde Nederlanden” [= the United Netherlands]) was ruled by prince
William I, son of the last stadhouder prince
William V.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna decided that
the Southern Netherlands would be rejoined to the country (if only to take it
out of French control), and that prince
William I would be elevated to the status of king now that his
territory had been almost doubled. The country was then called “Verenigd
Koninkrijk der Nederlanden” [= United Kingdom of the Netherlands].
In 1830, the Southern Netherlands revolted against
king
William I, and in 1831 they proclaimed their independence and called
their new country Belgium
(in Dutch: “België”, in French: “Belgique”). This independence was recognized
by the Dutch government in 1839. So from 1839, the country was officially not
“Verenigd” [= United] any more, and was simply called “Koninkrijk der
Nederlanden” [= Kingdom of the Netherlands]. Most people probably didn’t
notice the change of name, because already in the period 1815-1839 the word
“Verenigd” was often omitted.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands remains to the
present day.
The origin of the word “Dutch”. The English word “Dutch” is perhaps
a bit strange, but it is derived from the old Dutch word “Duits” (or
“Duyts(ch)”), which means something like “from the people”. In older times
(until the nineteenth century) the Dutch spoke of “Nederduits(ch)” instead of
“Nederlands(ch)”. Nowadays they use this adjective “Duits” (without “Neder”)
only when they talk about their neighbours, the Germans (who call their own
country “Deutschland”).
Confusing, isn’t it? Well, it’s also confusing
for most of my countrymen. Our national anthem, the “Wilhelmus”, was written in
1570 as a sort of apology for prince
William I the Silent, to explain the reasons for his rebellion against
the king of Spain. This Wilhelmus begins with the words Wilhelmus van
Nassaue - ben ik, van duytschen bloed [= William of Nassau - am I, of
‘duyts’ blood]. During the German occupation in World War II a lot of
people in the Netherlands felt a bit awkward about singing these words, because
they interpreted it as “I am of German blood”. However, they still kept singing
it, because of its heroic content; it is the chant of the struggle for freedom,
and the confidence in the Almighty. (For the backgrounds and the complete
translation in English of the Wilhelmus: see Dutch
Ministery of Foreign Affairs; see also www.wilhelmus.nl.)
index – © Dirk
van Duijvenbode, Katwijk aan Zee (NL) – Last update: 12.VI.2004 |