The Netherlands
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The Netherlands is a small nation, slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey. It is bordered to the North and West by the North Sea, to the South by Belgium and to the East by Germany. The shape of the Netherlands can be described as two triangles: the larger triangle consists of the European land mass and the smaller triangle consists of a peninsula marking the North Western edge of the nation by projecting from the hypotenuse of the larger triangle. Most of the Netherlands is flat. Over one fifth of the land has been reclaimed from the sea by a system of dikes, which were originally maintained by windmill operated pumps in twelfth century . These wind powered pumps have now been replaced by pumps that run on either electricity, diesel, or steam. The Southwestern through the Northern areas of the Netherlands form a combined delta for the Rhine, Muese, and Scheldt rivers. Much of the land that has been reclaimed is below sea level. The Southern and Eastern areas of the Netherlands are higher and consist of low undulating plains.
CULTURE
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. It has a parliamentary system similar to that of England. Domestic social issues are very important to the Dutch people. The largest portion of the national budget is devoted to social welfare programs. There is a constant housing shortage in the Netherlands. As a result the government subsidizes public and private housing and has instituted urban rent control. The most prominent Dutch art form has been painting because of great Dutch painters like Van Gogh, Mondrian, Van Doesburg, and de Kooning. Reitveld and Oldenburg are other Dutch artists have risen to prominence in architectural design and sculpture respectively.
HISTORY
The Netherlands was originally inhabited by Celtic and Germanic tribes . In the first century the Netherlands was absorbed by the Roman expansion. In the fifth century an invasion of Germanic tribes ended Roman rule. After that point, the Netherlands was then claimed by many countries and rulers until the early sixteenth century when it was conquered by the Spanish. During the reformation many Dutch were converted from Catholicism to Calvinism. In 1579, Prince William of Orange lead a Calvinist inspired revolt against Philip II. War continued between the seceded states and Spain until 1648 when Dutch independence was recognized by Spain. During the seventeenth century, the Netherlands became the leading European economic power, due to its extensive colonial holdings. In 1688, the House of Orange was asked by British parliament to take over the vacated English crown. This forged strong ties between the two nations. The English line of the House of Orange eventually died off and the Dutch House of Orange was re-established as the monarchy in the Netherlands. A Dutch constitution was written in 1848, modeling a parliamentary system after the British. The Netherlands declared neutrality in both world war I and II. However, during W.W.II it was occupied by the Nazis. Since W.W.II, the Netherlands has joined NATO and the EEC for more international influence.
On-Line Reference to
The Netherlands
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