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1. 30684753 * : O : ( / MSJ ?
2. fter bağımsızlık, holland, Zeeland, groningen, Friesland, utrecht, Overijssel ve gelre illerinde yedi birleşik hollanda bir cumhuriyet olarak bilinen bir konfederasyon kurdular. Tüm bu illerin özerk olduğu ve kendi hükümeti, "il devletler" vardı. devletlerin, konfederal devlet, genel hague oturmuş edildi ve yedi ilin her temsilcilerinden oluşuyordu. Drenthe illerden biri olarak kabul olmamasına rağmen özellikle yoksul peatland oluşan Drenthe seyrek nüfuslu bölgede, çok cumhuriyetin bir parçası oldu.
Drenthe, ancak kendi devletleri vardı Drenthe landdrost devletlerin genel tarafından atandı. cumhuriyet sözde genellik topraklarının bir sayı (Hollanda içinde generaliteitslanden) işgal etti. bu topraklarda devletler genel doğrudan idare edildi, bu yüzden kendilerine ait bir devlet yoktu ve devletler genel temsilcileri yoktu. bu topraklarda en ciksen yıllık savaş sırasında işgal edildi. bunlar çoğunlukla katolik roman edildi cumhuriyet ve güney hollanda arasında bir tampon bölge olarak kullanılmıştır.

ne inşa Hollandalı Batavia Andries Beeckman tarafından, şimdi jakarta olduğunu c. 1656.
Hollandalı imparatorluk büyük denizcilik ve 17. yüzyılın ekonomik güçlerinden biri haline geldi. Hollandaca altın çağ ("Gouden eeuw") olarak, koloniler ve ticaret Mesajları tüm dünyada kuruldu. Kuzey Amerika'da Hollandalı yerleşim 1614 yılında Manhattan güney ucunda, yeni amsterdam kurucu ile başladı. Güney Afrika'da, Hollanda 1652 yılında burun kolonisi yerleşti. 1650 tarafından, Hollanda 16000 ticaret gemileri vardı. [17] 17. yüzyıl, yaklaşık 1.5 milyon yükseldi Hollanda nüfus içinde yaklaşık 2 milyon. [18]

ikinci anglo-Hollandaca savaş sırasında dört gün 'savaş, 1 -4 Haziran 1666.
birçok ekonomik tarihçiler dünyadaki ilk iyice kapitalist ülke olarak hollanda görüyoruz. erken modern Avrupa'da bu zengin ticaret merkezi (amsterdam) ve ilk tam zamanlı borsa özellikli. Sigorta ve emeklilik fonları gibi liderliğindeki tüccarların yaratıcılığı büyüme-daralma döngüsü gibi olaylar, dünyanın ilk varlık-enflasyon balonu, 1636-1637 ve lale mani, ve, Sayle, dünyanın ilk ayı murray göre Raider, isaac le maire, kim stok damping ve ardından bir indirim de geri alarak aşağı fiyatları zorladı. [19] Cumhuriyet england ve uzun süredir devam eden rekabet arasından ekonomik rekabet, daha sonra 18. yüzyılda genel düşüş bir devlet girdi Hollanda toplumunda iki ana hizip, staatsgezinden (cumhuriyetçiler) ve ana faktörler olarak prinsgezinden (royalists veya orangists).
17. yüzyılda, plantasyon koloniler Hollanda tarafından kurulmuş ve verimli Guyana ovalarında birçok nehir boyunca ingilizce. Guyanası erken belgelenen koloni Surinam nehir ve adı marshall's dere boyunca oldu. alan bir ingiliz almıştır. [20] anlaşmazlıklar Hollanda ve ingilizce arasında ortaya çıktı. 1667 yılında, Hollanda breda bir antlaşma sonucu, ingilizce itibaren fethedilen Surinam ve doğmakta olan ağaçlandırma koloni tutmaya karar verdi. Yeni amsterdam, şimdi New York kenti olarak bilinen kuzey Amerika, küçük bir ticaret merkeziydi ile kaldı ingilizce.
Hollandalı imparatorluk kurdu toprakları, kapsamlı bir liste için Hollanda imparatorluğun evrim bakın.

Hollanda sömürge imparatorluğunun bir anachronous haritası. açık yeşil: ülkelerle tarafından yönetilen ya da Hollanda Doğu Hindistan Şirketi tarafından yönetilen ülkelerle kaynaklanan koyu yeşil: Hollanda Batı Hindistan şirketi.
Fransız hakimiyeti 1795-1814 [değiştir]
Daha fazla bilgi: batavian cumhuriyet ve holland krallığı
19 Ocak 1795 tarihinde, portakal stadtholder william v bir gün sonra ingiltere kaçtı, bataafse republiek (batavian cumhuriyet) hollanda üniter bir devlet oluşturma, ilan edildi. 1806 1795 arası, batavian cumhuriyet fransız cumhuriyeti sonra modellenmiş bir cumhuriyet olarak hollanda belirlenir.
1810, Koninkrijk holland (holland krallığı) 1806 den kardeşi louis tarafından yönetilen bir kukla krallık olarak Napolyon Bonapart tarafından kurulmuş daha etkin hollanda kontrol amacıyla Bonaparte. önde gelen il, holland adını, bütün ülke için kullanılmıştır. holland krallığı Limburg ve Fransız topraklarında idi Zeeland parçaları, dışında, günümüze hollanda bir alanı kaplıyordu. 1807 yılında, Prusyalı East Frisia ve Jever krallık eklendi. 1809 yılında, ancak başarısız bir ingiliz işgalinden sonra, holland fransa için Ren güney tüm toprakları üzerinde vermek zorunda kaldı.
Kral Louis Bonaparte'ın Napoleon beklentilerini karşılamayan - onun yerine kardeşinin Hollandalı çıkarlarına hizmet çalıştı - ve o zorunda kaldı 1 Temmuz 1810 tarihinde feragat. onun beş yaşındaki oğlu Napoleon Louis Bonaparte'ın geçti. Napoleon louis napoleon olarak tahtın genç yeğeni üyelik yok sadece on gün boyunca louis ii olarak hüküm sürdü. imparator ülkeyi işgal etmek ve holland krallığı çözünmüş bir ordu gönderdi. hollanda sonra Fransız imparatorluğu'nun bir parçası oldu.
hollanda Napoleon leipzig bir savaşta yenildi ve ülkeden askerlerini geri çekmek zorunda kaldı 1813 yılının sonbaharında kadar Fransız imparatorluğu'nun bir parçası olarak kaldı.
hollanda 1815-1940 krallığı [değiştir]
ana makaleler: hollanda birleşik krallık ve krallık hollanda ve
hollanda ve william i, son stadtholder william v van oranje oğlu, 1813 yılında hollanda döndü ve hollanda egemen prensi oldu. 16 Mart 1815 tarihinde, egemen prens hollanda kralı oldu.
1815 yılında, Viyana ve kongre sipariş fransa kuzey sınırında güçlü bir ülke yaratmak için belçika ile hollanda genişleterek hollanda ve birleşik krallık kurdu. Buna ek olarak, william luxembourg kalıtsal büyük dükü oldu. vienna ile kongre onun Alman eşyalarını, Nassau-Dillenburg, siegen, Hadamar ve diez karşılığında kişisel mülkiyet olarak william için luxembourg verdi.
belçika isyan ve 1830 yılında bağımsızlığına kavuşan, Lüksemburg ve Hollanda arasında kişisel birlik hollanda kralı william iii hiçbir kalan erkek mirasçıları ile öldüğü 1890 yılında kesilmiş olduğu saptandı. üstünlük yasalar sonraki grand düşes olma kızı kraliçe Wilhelmina engelledi. Bu nedenle Nassau-Weilburg, Nassau evin bir genç şubesi evine Orange-Nassau evden geçti luxembourg tahtına.

o Surinam için büyük britanya alışverişinde önce yeni amsterdam o, 1664 yılında ortaya çıktı gibi. ingiliz egemenliği altında o new york olarak tanındı.
en büyük Hollandalı yerleşim yurt dışında burun kolonisiydi. 1652 yılında: o burnu kasaba (kaapstad Hollanda) 'de Hollanda Doğu Hindistan Şirketi adına Ocak van riebeeck tarafından kurulmuştur. portakal prensi 1788 yılında işgal ve kontrol burun koloninin british razı. hollanda da, ama birçok diğer koloniler sahip bu topraklarda Hollandalı yerleşim sınırlıydı. en önemli geniş Hollanda Doğu Hint Adaları (şimdi Endonezya) ve Hollanda Guyanası (şimdi Surinam) idi. Bu 'kolonilerin ilk Hollanda Doğu Hindistan Şirketi ve Hollanda Batı Hindistan şirketi, hem toplu özel işletmeler tarafından uygulandı. üç yüzyıl sonra bu şirketler, bunların (1815 ve 1791 yıllarında sırasıyla) Hollanda Hükümeti tarafından satın alındı işletilen toprakları ve mali başı belaya girdi. ancak daha sonra resmi koloni oldunuz.
sömürge döneminde hollanda ağır köle ticareti dahil oldu. Hollandalı nehirleri boyunca kahve, kakao, şeker kamışı ve pamuk tarlaları yetiştirmek için african köle ağır dayanıyordu yetiştiricilerinin. sahipleri tarafından köle tedavisi ve rootkitler kötüydü birçok köle tarlaları kaçtı. kölelik, ancak 1863 yılında Hollandalı Guyanası hollanda tarafından kaldırıldı köle tam bu sırada onlar az ödemek için ve yaptırım devlet olmadan işkence tarlaları üzerinde çalışmak için gerekli olduğu bir zorunlu 10 yıllık bir geçiş döneminden sonra, 1873 yılına kadar serbest değildi. en kısa sürede gerçekten serbest oldu, büyük ölçüde onlar şehir Paramaribo lehine birkaç nesildir geçiren tarlaları terk edilmiş köle. Her yıl bu Keti koti sırasında hatırlanır 1 Temmuz, kurtuluş günü (köleliğin sonu).
19. yüzyılda, hollanda, altyapı modernizasyonu su yolları büyük ölçüde oluşan yer büyük karmaşıklık ve sanayi WindPower vardı büyük güven temel nedeni, komşu ülkelere kıyasla sanayileşmeye yavaştı.
hollanda dünya savaşı i sırasında tarafsız kaldı rağmen, ağır savaşa dahil oldu. emperyal Alman genel kurmay başkanı oldu [21] Alman genel sayımı Schlieffen, aslında orijinal Schlieffen içinde fransa içine yaparken ilerleyen hollanda işgal planlıyordu planı. Bu sırada Hollandalı tarafsızlığını korumak için genç Moltke von Helmuth Schlieffen halefi tarafından güncellenmiştir. savaş Hollanda tarafsızlık hollanda üzerinden malların ithalat artık mümkündü 1916, büyük britanya tarafından abluka kadar almanca yaşaması için gerekli kanıtladı sonra esnasında. Ancak, Hollanda kendi diplomasi ve ticaret yeteneklerini kullanarak savaş sırasında tarafsız kalmaya devam başardık. [21]
ikinci dünya savaşı 1940-1945 [değiştir]

the official language is dutch, which is spoken by the vast majority of the inhabitants.
another official language is frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of friesland, called fryslân in that language. a dialect of frisian and dutch is spoken in most villages in the west of the province of groningen.[68] frisian is co-official only in the province of friesland, although with a few restrictions. several dialects of low saxon (nedersaksisch in dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east, like the tweants in the twente region, and are recognised by the netherlands as regional languages according to the european charter for regional or minority languages, as well as the meuse-rhenish franconian varieties in the southeastern province of limburg, here called limburgish language.[31] english is an official language in the special municipalities of bonaire, saba and sint eustatius (bes islands). it is widely spoken on saba and sint eustatius. papiamento is an official language in the special municipality of bonaire.
there is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of conversational english, 55– 59% of german, and 19% of french. english is a mandatory course in all secondary schools.[69] in most lower level secondary school educations (vmbo), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years. in higher level secondary schools, two additional modern foreign languages are mandatory during the first three (havo) or four (vwo) years. the standard modern languages are french and german, although schools can change one of these modern languages with spanish, turkish, arabic, or russian.[70] additionally, schools in the frisia region teach and have exams in frisian, and schools across the country teach and have exams in ancient greek and latin for vwo.
[edit]religion
main article: religion in the netherlands

dom tower of utrecht.
the netherlands is one of the most secular countries in western europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), and fewer than 20% visiting church regularly.[71]
currently, roman catholicism is the single largest religion of the netherlands, forming the religious home of some 26.3% of the dutch people, down from 40% in the 1970s. the protestant church of the netherlands follows with 11.4% of the population.[citation needed] it was formed in 2004 as a merger of the two major strands of calvinism: the dutch reformed church (which represented roughly 8.5% of the population), the reformed churches in the netherlands (3.7% of the population), and a smaller lutheran church. other protestant churches, mostly orthodox calvinist splits, represent 6% of the population.
in 2006, there were 850,000 muslims (5% of the total dutch population).[72] the netherlands has an estimated 250,000 buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely ethnic dutch people. there are approximately 200,000 hindus, most of them are of surinamese origin. gibhs are another religious minority numbering around 12,000, mainly located in or around amsterdam. there are five gurudwaras in the netherlands. the association of religion data archives (relying on world christian encyclopedia) estimated some 6,400 bahá'ís in 2005.[73]
although the holocaust deeply affected the jewish community (killing about 75% of its 140,000 members at the time[citation needed]), it has managed to rebuild a vibrant and lively jewish life for its approximately 45,000 current members. before world war ii, 10% of the amsterdam population was jewish.[74]
according to the most recent eurobarometer poll 2005,[75] 34% of the dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
in 1947, before major secularisations in europe and the large settlement of non-europeans in the netherlands, most dutch citizens identified themselves as christians. in the same year, 44.3% belonged to protestant denominations, 38.7% belonged to the roman catholic church, and 17.1% were unaffiliated.[76] since then, the general collapse in religiosity has struck protestants somewhat harder than catholics, which partly explains why the catholic church has a larger percentage than the protestants nowadays. in 2003, those percentages were approximately: protestant 20, catholic 30 and unaffiliated 41.[citation needed]
freedom of education has been guaranteed by the dutch constitution since 1917, and schools run by religious groups (especially christian and islam) are funded by the government. nevertheless, all schools must meet strict quality criteria.
three political parties in the dutch parliament (cda, christianunion, and sgp) base their policy on christian belief in varying degrees. although the netherlands is a secular state, in some municipalities where the christian parties have the majority, the council meetings are opened by prayer.
municipalities in general also give civil servants a day off on christian religious holidays, such as easter and the ascension of jesus.[77]
[edit]education
main article: education in the netherlands
the netherlands has compulsory education from age 4 to 18 (or 16 as a study is completed which has given the student adequate professional skills to start as a professional in the labour market).
pupils attend primary or elementary school from (on average) age 4 to age 12. the very first grade is not mandatory, the other 7 grades are. after that they continue their education at secondary school minimally until age 16; which indicates one of three tracks in the dutch educational system.
the vocational track starts with vmbo, which is seen as the lowest level of secondary education and lasts four years. successfully completing vmbo results in a low level vocational degree and/or gives access to higher (secondary) levels vocational education. completion of second level vocational education results in professional skills and gives access to further study a university of applied science.
the medium level havo lasts five years. after completion a student can attend a university of applied science, which award professional bachelor degrees. a degree at a university of applied science gives access to the university system.
the highest level of high school education is vwo, which lasts six years, completion of which allows students to attend a university. university consists of a three year bachelor's degrees, followed by one or two year master's degrees. a master's degree is required to start a four year doctoral degree. doctoral candidates in the netherlands are temporary employees of a university.
[edit]culture

main article: culture of the netherlands

the netherlands in a single image: flat, dense traffic, a big polder ('grote polder'), a canal, old and new windmills, and flowers
the netherlands has had many well-known painters. the 17th century, when the dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "dutch masters", such as rembrandt van rijn, johannes vermeer, jan steen, jacob van ruysdael and many others. famous dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were vincent van gogh and piet mondriaan. m. c. escher is a well-known graphics artist. willem de kooning was born and trained in rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an american artist. the netherlands is the country of philosophers erasmus of rotterdam and spinoza. all of descartes' major work was done in the netherlands. the dutch scientist christiaan huygens (1629–1695) discovered saturn's moon titan and invented the pendulum clock. antonie van leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.
in the dutch golden age, literature flourished as well, with joost van den vondel and p.c. hooft as the two most famous writers. in the 19th century, multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in dutch colonies. important 20th century authors include harry mulisch, jan wolkers, simon vestdijk, cees nooteboom, gerard (van het) reve and willem frederik hermans. anne frank's diary of a young girl was published after she died in the holocaust and translated from dutch to all major languages.
replicas of dutch buildings can be found in huis ten bosch, nagasaki, japan. a similar holland village is being built in shenyang, china. windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese, delftware pottery, and cannabis are among the items associated with the netherlands by tourists.
[edit]sport
main article: sport in the netherlands
in the netherlands, football, speed skating, handball, cycling, field hockey, volleyball, equestrian sports, sailing, and tennis, are popular sports. a lot of amateurs enjoy themselves in these sports and the netherlands is a strong competitor in international tournaments for these sports. of the sports played in the netherlands, voetbal is most popular.
further information: netherlands national football team, netherlands women's national football team, netherlands national rugby union team, netherlands men's national volleyball team, netherlands women's national volleyball team, netherlands national baseball team, netherlands national field hockey team, netherlands women's national field hockey team, and netherlands national cricket team

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