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main article: military of the netherlands

a leopard 2 main battle tank of the royal netherlands army
the netherlands has the oldest standing army in europe; it was first established as such by maurice of nassau. the dutch army was used throughout the dutch empire. after the defeat of napoleon, the dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. the army was unsuccessfully deployed during the belgian revolution in 1830. after 1830, it was deployed mainly in the dutch colonies, as the netherlands remained neutral in european wars (including wwi), until the netherlands was invaded in wwii and quickly defeated by the wehrmacht in may 1940.

hnlms evertsen, a royal dutch navy frigate
after wwii, the netherlands dropped their neutrality, and the dutch army became part of the nato army strength in cold war europe; holding several bases in germany. in 1996 conscription was suspended, and the dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. since the 1990s the dutch army has been involved in the bosnian war, the kosovo war, has been holding a province in iraq after the defeat of saddam hussein, and was engaged in afghanistan.
the military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix koninklijke (royal):
koninklijke landmacht (kl), the royal netherlands army
koninklijke marine (km), the royal netherlands navy, including the naval air service and marine corps
koninklijke luchtmacht (klu), the royal netherlands air force
koninklijke marechaussee (kmar), the royal military police, tasks include military police and border control
general peter van uhm is the current commander of the netherlands armed forces. all military specialities except the submarine service and the royal netherlands marine corps (korps mariniers) are open to women. the korps commandotroepen, the special operations force of the netherlands army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is found impossible for women to become a commando.[citation needed] the dutch ministry of defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel.[47]
[edit]economy

main articles: economy of the netherlands and list of dutch companies

amsterdam stock exchange performance
the netherlands has a very strong economy and has been playing a special role in the european economy for many centuries. since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the dutch economy. the netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical, goods and tourism. examples include (unilever, heineken), financial services (ing), chemicals (dsm), petroleum refining (shell), and electrical machinery (philips, asml).
the netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 7th in gdp (nominal) per capita. between 1998 and 2000 annual economic growth (gdp) averaged nearly 4%, well above the european average. growth slowed considerably from 2001 to 2005 with the global economic slowdown, but accelerated to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2007. inflation is 1.3%, and unemployment is at 4.0% of the labour force. by eurostat standards, unemployment in the netherlands is at 4.1% (april 2010) – the lowest rate of all european union member states.[48] the netherlands also has a relatively low gini coefficient of 0.326. despite ranking only 7th in gdp per capita, unicef ranked the netherlands 1st in child well-being.[49] on the index of economic freedom netherlands is the 13th most free market capitalist economy out of 157 surveyed countries.

the netherlands introduced the euro in 1999. it is one of the 17 sovereign states that make up the eurozone.
amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the netherlands.[50] the amsterdam stock exchange (aex), part of euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of europe's largest bourses. it is situated near dam square in the city's centre. as a founding member of the euro, the netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "gulden" (guilder), on 1 january 1999, along with 15 other adopters of the euro. actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 january 2002. one euro was equivalent to 2.20371 dutch guilders.
the netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the uk and germany, with the port of rotterdam being the largest port in europe. other important parts of the economy are international trade (dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the voc), banking and transport. the netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its european partners. amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.[51]
the country continues to be one of the leading european nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the u.s. the economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. the pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007.the netherlands moved up from the 11th position in the global competitiveness index[52] to the 9th position in 2007.
[edit]infrastructure, agriculture and resources

a frisian holstein cow in the netherlands: intensive dairy farming is an important part of agriculture.
see also: transport in the netherlands and rail transport in the netherlands
rotterdam has the largest port in europe, with the rivers meuse and rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to basel, switzerland, and into france. in 2006, rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (teu) handled.[53] the port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. the harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the european continent and overseas. from rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. in 2007, the betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from rotterdam to germany, was completed.
a highly mechanised agricultural sector employs 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. the dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the united states and france, with exports earning $55 billion annually. a significant portion of dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. the netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of chilis and cucumbers.the netherlands also exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples.[54]
one of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated near slochteren. exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. with just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.[55]

main article: politics of the netherlands

thorbecke reformed the dutch government to a parliamentary monarchy.
the netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. the netherlands is described as a consociational state. dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. in 2010, the economist ranked the netherlands as the tenth most democratic country in the world.
the monarch is the head of state, at present queen beatrix. constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers. the monarch can exert some influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where they serve as neutral arbiter between the political parties. additionally, the king (the title queen has no constitutional significance) has the right to be informed and consulted. depending on the personality and qualities of the king and the ministers, the king might have influence beyond the power granted by the constitution.
in practice, the executive power is formed by the ministerraad, the deliberative council of the dutch cabinet. the cabinet consists usually of thirteen to sixteen ministers and a varying number of state secretaries. one to three ministers are ministers without portfolio. the head of government is the prime minister of the netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. in fact, this has been continuously the case since 1973. the prime minister is a primus inter pares, meaning he has no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. currently, the prime minister is mark rutte.

the binnenhof is the centre of dutch politics.
the cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the states-general which also has legislative powers. the 150 members of the house of representatives, the lower house, are elected in direct elections, which are held every four years or after the fall of the cabinet (by example: when one of the chambers carries a motion of no-confidence, the cabinet offers its resignation to the monarch). the states-provincial are directly elected every four years as well. the members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the senate, the upper house, which has less legislative powers, as it can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them.
both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. they meet regularly with government in the social-economic council. this body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily.
while historically the dutch foreign policy was characterised by neutrality, since the second world war the netherlands became a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the un, nato and the eu. the dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade.
the netherlands has a long tradition of social tolerance. in the 18th century, while the dutch reformed church was the state religion, catholicism and judaism were tolerated. in the late 19th century this dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. this tradition of tolerance is linked to dutch criminal justice policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, lgbt rights, euthanasia, and abortion which are among the most liberal in the world.
[edit]political parties
main article: political parties of the netherlands

seats in the dutch house of representatives after the 2010 elections
due to the multi-party system, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed. since suffrage became universal in 1919, the dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family were the christian democrats, currently represented by the christian democratic appeal (cda), second were the social democrats, of which the labour party (pvda), and third were the liberals, of which the people's party for freedom and democracy (vvd) is the main representative.
these parties cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the christian democrats had always been a partner: so either a centre left coalition of the christian democrats and social democrats was ruling or a centre right coalition of christian democrats and liberals. in the 1970s, the party system became more volatile: the christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties became successful, such as the radical democrat and progressive liberal d66.
in the 1994 election, the cda lost its dominant position. a "purple" cabinet was formed by vvd, d66, and pvda. in the 2002 elections, this cabinet lost its majority, due to an increased support for the cda and the rise of the lpf, a new political party around pim fortuyn, who was assassinated a week before the elections. a short-lived cabinet was formed by cda, vvd, and lpf, which was led by the cda leader, jan peter balkenende. after the 2003 elections in which the lpf lost most of its seats, a cabinet was formed by cda, vvd, and d66. the cabinet initiated an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the health care system, and the immigration policies.
in june 2006, the cabinet fell after d66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against minister of immigration and integration rita verdonk, who had instigated an investigation of the asylum procedure of vvd mp ayaan hirsi ali. a care taker cabinet was formed by cda and vvd, and the general elections were held on 22 november 2006. in these elections, the cda remained the largest party and the sp made the largest gains. the formation of a new cabinet took three months, resulting in a coalition of cda, pvda, and christianunion.
on 20 february 2010, the cabinet fell as the pvda refused to prolong the involvement of the dutch army in uruzgan, afghanistan.[39] snap elections were held on 9 june 2010, with devastating results for the previously largest party, the cda, which lost about half of its seats, resulting in 21 seats. the vvd became the largest party with 31 seats, closely followed by the pvda with 30 seats. the big winner of the 2010 elections was geert wilders' pvv which more than doubled in number of seats.[40] negotiation talks for a new government have resulted in a vvd-led minority government in coalition with cda as of 14 october 2010. this minority governent is supported by pvv.[41]
[edit]administrative divisions
main articles: provinces of the netherlands, municipalities in the netherlands, water board (netherlands), and bes islands

provinces of the netherlands.
the netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a governor, who is called commissaris van de koningin (commissioner of the queen), except for the province limburg where the commissioner is called gouverneur (governor). all provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 430 in total (13 march 2010).
the country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. as of 1 january 2005 there are 27. the creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. in fact, the dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.
the administrative structure on the 3 bes islands is different. the islands have the status of openbare lichamen (public bodies) and are generally referred to as special municipalities. they are not part of a province.[42]
provinces of the netherlands

the netherlands intended to remain neutral during the second world war. there were, however, contingency plans involving the armies of belgium, france and the united kingdom. regardless, nazi germany invaded the netherlands on 10 may 1940 as part of their campaign against the allied forces. french forces in the south and british ships in the west came to help but turned around quickly, evacuating many civilians and several thousand german prisoners of war from the german elite airborne divisions.
the country was overrun in five days. only after, but not because of, the bombing of rotterdam the main element of the dutch army surrendered on 14 may 1940; although a dutch and french force held the western part of zeeland for some time after the surrender. the kingdom as such, continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in london.
during the occupation, over 100,000 dutch jews[22] were rounded up to be transported to nazi german concentration camps in germany, german-occupied poland and german-occupied czechoslovakia. by the time these camps were liberated, only 876 dutch jews survived. dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in german factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on german soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for german soldiers in the netherlands and for shipment to germany. although there were thousands[23] of dutch who risked their lives by hiding jews from the germans, as recounted in the hiding place (book) by corrie ten boom and the heart has reasons[24] by mark klempner, there were also thousands[25] of dutch who collaborated with the occupying force in hunting down hiding jews. local fascists and anti-bolsheviks joined the waffen-ss in the 4th ss volunteer panzergrenadier brigade netherlands, fighting on the eastern front as well as other units.

dutch resistance members with troops of the us 101st airborne in front of eindhoven cathedral during operation market garden in september 1944.
on 8 december 1941, the netherlands declared war on japan.[26] the government-in-exile then lost control of its major colonial stronghold, the netherlands east indies (indonesia), to japanese forces in march 1942. "american-british-dutch-australian" (abda) forces fought hard in some instances but were overwhelmed. during the japanese occupation of indonesia, the japanese interned dutch civilians and used dutch and indos (eurasians of dutch and indonesian descent) alike as forced labour, both in the netherlands east indies and in neighbouring countries.[27] this included forcing women to work as "comfort women" (sex slaves) for japanese personnel.
the dutch red cross reported the deaths in japanese custody of 14,800 european civilians out of 80,000 interned and 12,500 of the 34,000 pow captured.[28] a later u.n. report stated that 4 million people died in indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour (known as romusha) during the japanese occupation.[29] some military personnel escaped to australia and other allied countries from where they carried on the fight against japan. the japanese furthered the cause of independence for the colony, so that after ve day many young dutchmen found themselves fighting a colonial war against the new republic of indonesia.
princess juliana of the netherlands, the only child of queen wilhelmina and heir to the throne, sought refuge in ottawa, canada, with her two daughters, beatrix and irene, during the war. during princess juliana’s stay in canada, preparations were made for the birth of her third child. to ensure the dutch citizenship of this royal baby, the canadian parliament passed a special law declaring princess juliana's suite at the ottawa civic hospital “extraterritorial”.

on 19 january 1943, princess margriet was born. the day after princess margriet's birth, the dutch flag was flown on the peace tower. this was the only time in history a foreign flag has waved above canada’s parliament buildings. in 1944–45, the first canadian army was responsible for liberating much of the netherlands from german occupation. the joyous "canadian summer" that ensued after the liberation, forged deep and long-lasting bonds of friendship between the netherlands and canada.[30] in 1949, dutch troops occupied an area of 69 km2 (27 sq mi) of the british zone of occupied germany and annexed it. at that time, these areas were inhabited by almost 10,000 people.[citation needed]

signing of the rome treaty. the netherlands is a founding member of the eec in 1957 and the european union in 1993.
[edit]recent history 1945–present
after the war, the dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. the netherlands was one of the founding members of the benelux (belgium, the netherlands and luxembourg) grouping, was among the twelve founding members of the north atlantic treaty organisation (nato), and was among the six founding members of the european coal and steel community, which would later evolve, via the eec (common market), into the european union.
the 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid ontzuiling (literally: depillarisation), a term that describes the decay of the old divisions along class and religious lines. youths, and students in particular, rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters like women's rights, sexuality, disarmament and environmental issues. today, the netherlands is regarded as a liberal country, considering its drugs policy and its legalisation of euthanasia. on april 1, 2001, the netherlands became the first nation to allow same-sex marriage.
[edit]geography

rivers in the netherlands
main article: geography of the netherlands
the country is divided into two main parts by three large rivers, the rhine (rijn) and its main distributaries, the waal and the meuse (maas). these rivers functioned as a natural barrier between earlier fiefdoms and hence created traditionally a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognizable north and south of these "large rivers" (de grote rivieren).
the southwestern part of the netherlands is a river delta and two tributaries of the scheldt (westerschelde and oosterschelde). only one significant branch of the rhine flows northeastward, the ijssel river, discharging into the ijsselmeer, the former zuiderzee ('southern sea'). this river also forms a linguistic divide: people to the east of this river speak dutch low saxon dialects (except for the province of friesland, which has its own language).[31]
[edit]floods
main articles: flood control in the netherlands, floods in the netherlands, and storm tides of the north sea
over the centuries, the dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. most notable in terms of land loss is the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of zeeland in the southwest.
on 14 december 1287, st. lucia's flood affected the netherlands and germany killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history.[32] the st. elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72-square-kilometre (28 sq mi) biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. the last major flood in the netherlands took place in early february 1953, when a huge storm caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest of the netherlands. more than 1,800 people drowned in the ensuing inundations. the dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale program of public works (the "delta works") to protect the country against future flooding. the project took more than thirty years to complete.

the areas of the netherlands that are above sea level
the disasters were partially increased in severity through human influence. people had drained relatively high lying swampland to use it as farmland. this drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. the problem remains unsolvable to this day. also, up until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.
to guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. in the first millennium ad, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. later, these terps were connected by dikes. in the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (english "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (these agencies exist to this day, performing the same function.) as the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. by the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level. the windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders.
in 1932, the afsluitdijk (english "closure dike") was completed, blocking the former zuiderzee (southern sea) from the north sea and thus creating the ijsselmeer (ijssel lake). it became part of the larger zuiderzee works in which four polders totalling 2,500 square kilometres (965 sq mi) were reclaimed from the sea.[33][34]
[edit]delta works
main article: delta works