Netherlands

File:Netherlands map.gif

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is a country in Europe. It is bordered by Belgium and Germany, and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). The country is often referred to as "Holland", this was originally the name of two densely populated provinces of the country (North-Holland and South-Holland), the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague all lie in these provinces that have always been the most influential regions in the Netherlands, leading to the point where foreigners would equate Holland with the Netherlands. The national football team is also known as Holland.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people. To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After the Katrina disaster a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see the works and how the technology can be applied in the USA, for low-lying cities like New Orleans.

Amsterdam, named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

Eindhoven is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation General Electric has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses).

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," tulips were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate (although comparable to other western European nations) and liberal legislation. Examples are licensed prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal softdrugs sold in the country's many coffee shops, wide abortion rights, same-sex marriages and euthanasia.

The legal status of softdrugs (marijuana, absinth, hashish and aagic mushrooms) has had no significant adverse effects on Dutch society. This is probably due to the fact that it has become a more or less socially accepted drug like alcohol and tobacco. This removes the need for dealers and effectively terminates its status as an anti-establishment symbol as well as its popularity among thrill-seeking youths. The Dutch government is currently (2007) considering banning magic mushrooms, after a French tourist committed suicide after eating one.

Queen's Day

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official holiday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a license. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of Orange-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national Fietsen op Dijken tour around the nation's dikes.