For most of us, the small European country that we all love, what with the Gouda cheese, beautiful fields of tulips, and iconic canals, is known as Holland, or The Netherlands. But are the two really the same thing? Turns out, no, they definitely are not.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, after Napoleonās defeat. During the 18th century, many wars were waged with the British and French, weakening the economy and eventually making The Netherlands a French Imperial province. Originally, The Kingdom of the Netherlands was comprised of the Netherlandās 12 provinces, Belgium and Luxembourg. Due to unpopular protestant reforms, Belgium and Luxembourg left the kingdom in 1830, and new borders were drawn up in 1839.
The economy improved, and the population began to grow. Netherlands means ālower countriesā, which makes sense, since 26% of the country is falling below sea level. Holland actually refers to only 2 of the 12 provinces, North Holland (Noord) and South Holland (Zuid). These two provinces were the wealthiest and had the biggest city (Amsterdam), so Holland became synonymous with the entire country. The problem with this is that out of the 20 million annual tourists that visit, few ventured farther than Amsterdam, missing out experiencing the beauty and culture of the rest of the nation. In 2020, the government launched a campaign to re-brand the country in the face of global competition. The nickname āHollandā was removed from all official correspondence and tourism promotions and was replaced with a tulip and NL. This proved to be far more successful than anticipated. Projections are that by 2030, The Netherlands could see an influx of up to 42 million tourists yearlyā¦not bad for a country of 17 million!
Now we know that The Kingdom of the Netherlands is the official name, but why are the people called Dutch? The term comes from an Old English word thiod or theod, which simply means āpeopleā or ānationā. This also explains why Germany is called Deutschland in German. The name stuck with English speaking people, and to this day is a common adjective such as Dutch language, Dutch food, etc. The people of The Netherlands refer to themselves as āNederlandseā or Nederlanders.
As the people of The Kingdom of the Netherlands have worked hard, and successfully, to re-brand their image, we want to share some links to a real Dutch treatā¦stroopwaffels. Enjoy!
