Netherlands

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The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland (IPA: ) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden), which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, located in northwestern Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. The current borders were established in 1839.

The Netherlands is often referred to by the name Holland. This is not terminologically precise, since the provinces of North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces (for more on this and other naming issues see Netherlands (terminology)). It is also sometimes known as the Low Countries, which is the meaning of the original Dutch title Nederlanden. The Dutch title has now changed to Nederland, the Low Country, but this version has not been adopted in the English language.

The Netherlands is a densely populated and geographically low-lying country and is popularly known for its windmills, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), dikes, tulips, bicycles and social tolerance. Its policies are liberal toward drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia. The country is host to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Capital

Amsterdam is the capital city (hoofdstad), and The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage) is the Netherlands' seat of government (regeringszetel), the home of the monarch (residentie), and the location of most foreign embassies.

History

Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. 1568 saw the start of the Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent from Spain, and they formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily and war continued until 1648 when Spain finally recognised Dutch independence.

Republic

After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV of Spain, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the so-called Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire)

Read more at Wikipedia.org