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1[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nl-map.gif]]
2[[caption-width-right:330:''[[https://youtu.be/VC-5jkZGPrg?t=289 Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ben ik, van Duitsen bloed...]][[note]]Wilhelmus of Nassau am I, of the Dutch blood...[[/note]]'']]
3
4->'''Chandler:''' Hey Joey, where do Dutch people come from?\
5'''Joey:''' Uh... Well, the Pennsylvania Dutch come from Pennsylvania...\
6'''Chandler:''' And the ''other'' Dutch? They come from somewhere near the Netherlands, right?\
7'''Joey:''' Nice try. See, the Netherlands is this ''make-believe place'' where Literature/PeterPan and Tinker Bell come from.\
8'''Ross:''' Enough with ''the geography for the insane''!
9-->-- ''Series/{{Friends}}'', "[[Recap/FriendsS3E9TheOneWithTheFootball The One with the Football]]"
10
11The Netherlands ('''Dutch:''' ''Nederland'') is a country in Western UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}. It's famous for not only being flat, but in large part below sea level. It's also the country of cheese (Gouda, Edam), Delftware, [[LandOfTulipsAndWindmills windmills, tulips, clogs]], some of the greatest {{painters}} the world has ever known (e.g., Creator/HieronymusBosch, Creator/RembrandtVanRijn, Creator/VincentVanGogh, and Creator/JohannesVermeer), [[BreadEggsMilkSquick blow-up dolls, and cannabis.]]
12
13Although the country's name is plural in many languages, the Dutch name for it is simply "Nederland", which would translate to "Netherland". [[UsefulNotes/TheBeautifulProvincesOfNederland "The Kingdom of the Netherlands", plural, consists of Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten]]. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_(disambiguation) Holland]]'' actually is the name of only two of its provinces (North Holland and South Holland), but is often used casually to refer to the entire Netherlands country, even by many Dutch people (similar to how "UsefulNotes/{{England}}" is often used to refer to the entirety of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. The Netherlands is even called "Holland" in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}[[note]]her sole trade partner during the two centuries of isolationism[[/note]] and UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}[[note]]her former colony[[/note]].
14
15The country has engaged in a considerable amount of sea reclamation during the last few centuries (spawning the joke that "God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands"), to the point that when ''Series/{{QI}}'' asked "what is the largest man-made structure on Earth" serious consideration was given to accepting "the Netherlands" as the correct answer.
16
17Let's just get it out of the way: most people's idea of the country is that it's a big giant FreestateAmsterdam, where everything is legal. This is far from true (the Netherlands in fact has its own "Bible Belt"), but the Netherlands is very liberal compared to most other countries. To sum up:
18
19'''Things that are legal in the Netherlands:'''
20* Buying up to 5 grams of marijuana from licensed stores confusingly called "coffeeshops"[[note]]Actual coffeeshops are called cafe or lunchroom[[/note]]. Many of these are a combination of a dispensary and a cafe, although sale and serving of alcohol is prohibited, intended for users to consume their purchase there directly. Consuming marijuana is legal in private too, just like are all other drugs, as only trade is targeted by the justice system.
21* Abortion. Not a very controversial topic either, though more controversial than gay marriage (see below).
22* Euthanasia, kind of. It's only legal in cases of terminal illness and when the patient is conscious and sound of mind to give consent.
23* Gay marriage. In fact, it's the first country that legalized it, and there are no legal differences between gay and straight marriages. It should also be noted that this is ''not'' a politically controversial issue. Although some religious political parties are formally opposed to it, it's rarely if ever brought up in debate.
24* Sunbathing topless. Most beaches additionally have a nudist section.
25* Media is rated for sex, violence, swearing etc. and 16+ can't be shown on television before 10 PM [[note]]And movie theaters check ID's for admittance to 16+ movies, where sub-16s aren't admitted to ''even if their legal guardian is present and consenting''[[/note]], but [[http://www.kijkwijzer.nl/about-kijkwijzer Kijkwijzer]] tends to rate milder in general against sex and nudity, compared to the MPAA in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates.
26* Alcohol is legal to buy or consume for persons of 18 years and over. Supermarkets can sell beer (which, before you ask, isn't only Heineken), wine and port, but not strong liquor like vodka or whiskey.[[note]]Technically they can, but the price of the license is proportional to the surface area of the shop. That is why liquor stores are tiny, and often found right next to the supermarket[[/note]] The official policy is that any person "looking to be under 30 years of age" has to show ID at supermarket check-out lanes when buying alcohol, and this is being more strongly enforced lately since government uses undercover underage(-looking) people as "bait" to check if supermarkets and bars adhere to this rule, and heavily fines them if they don't.
27* The age of consent is 16. Sex education usually starts in elementary school (it depends on the school), and is formally taught around age 13 in high school biology class. It usually is what would in the U.S. be called "comprehensive" sex education as opposed to "abstinence-based"--except in those schools that have an explicit conservative-Protestant identity (yes, the Netherlands ''does'' have a Bible Belt).
28
29'''Things that are prohibited in the Netherlands:'''
30* Growing or selling large quantities (> 5 plants) of marijuana[[note]]Legally you can't possess ''any'' marijuana plant, but because of the "gedogen" (see below for explanation / translation), police and D.A. ignores possession of up to 5 marijuana plants and only arrest and prosecute for more than 5 marijuana plants.[[/note]]. Please don't ask how the coffeeshops get their supply.
31* Also carrying the marijuana you bought legally is technically illegal, which means when you get searched by law enforcement they will seize it from you (with no penalty if the amount is below the mentioned 5 grams). When police stop you while driving, smelling marijuana is enough legal ground for them to fully search you and your vehicle.
32* Needless to say, driving under the influence of any drug is illegal, which is tested via cheek swab (and alcohol using a breathalyzer).
33* Producing and/or selling most other drugs. As of 2009, magic mushrooms are illegal, however [[ExactWords truffles are not]]. Possession is often not prosecuted for small amounts (deemed for personal use). However, there's no legal basis that guarantees this, in contrast to the "gedogen" of the marijuana sales and possession, see below.
34* On most city streets: consuming alcohol or drugs, or even visibly holding an open can of beer. This is regulated by local law called "APV", which roughly translates to "local police regulations", which is formed separately by each municipality and often applies to specific areas within.
35* Carrying any kind of weapon (not just guns, but also knives, clubs and fake guns) in public.
36
37There's also a gray zone: things which are illegal but are officially stated as not being prosecuted. The Dutch word is "gedogen". In a way it's the same as decriminalization but also without the risk of getting penalized. The up-to-5-grams marijuana sales and possession fall under this. Medicinal marijuana doesn't fall under this system, as it's produced by licensed producers and distributed via pharmacies like other medicine, and requires a doctor's prescription.
38
39The claim that "[[BilingualBonus Everybody in the Netherlands speaks English]]" is very accurate. This is mainly because the Dutch and English languages [[https://elms.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/lexical-distance-among-languages-of-europe/ have similar grammatical and word structure]] (as both English and Dutch are from the Germanic language family[[note]]A minority in the northern province of ''Friesland'' speaks Frysian, which is actually the language most linguistically closely-related to English. Unless you count Scots, which not everyone does.[[/note]]), and because English is a mandatory subject from early education until high school graduation[[note]]which is at 17, 18 or 16, depending on the track / level you follow[[/note]]. Children are also required to take two other foreign languages - usually German and French, though in some schools Spanish, Chinese or Arabic are options too - for at least 2 years in high school and optionally for up to 6 years - which makes the Netherlands one of the most [[{{Omniglot}} polyglot]] countries in Europe[[note]]Of course, this is based on pure theory because with similar rules, the British would also be one of the most polyglot (French is an official language of the UK and from about 2007 is a requirement to be taught from the start of education age 4, two other languages - usually including German - must be learnt through high school age 11-15) but people wouldn’t really say that is accurate. Not every Dutch person knows four languages[[/note]]. Latin and classical Greek are included for students that are at the top tier of the Dutch school system. At Universities / Colleges, Dutch is the standard for "Bachelor" level but English is ''required by law'' at "Master" level University for the lectures to be given in and assignments to be written in (probably Justified because University Master programmes typically have a lot of foreign students). English serves as a ''de facto'' secondary language in the Netherlands, with Dutch people regularly using English words in otherwise Dutch sentences.[[note]]Funnily enough, the Dutch have completely incorporated the English-language swear words "fuck" and "shit", to the point that they use them more casually than native-English-speakers themselves.[[/note]] Fluency is probably helped by TV and movies generally preferring subtitling over dubbing, regardless of a work's original language. Dubbing a work into Dutch is usually reserved for small kids (preschoolers)' media, though as of late more VideoGames are using dubbing as well.
40
41
42!!History
43
44The Low Countries, an area that's roughly the modern Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, were originally a bunch of counties, duchies and other statelets within the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire. They were (more or less) united into a single polity by the dukes of Burgundy and emperor Charles V (who was born in Flanders and was a native Dutch speaker, no less). A few decades later, Charles abdicated and the Low Countries fell into the hands of his son Philip II, who succeeded his father as the king of Spain, making the Low Countries part of the Spanish kingdom.
45
46Spanish rule wasn't overly popular in the Low Countries. The problems and political issues in the Low Countries were generally quite different from those in Spain (something which the Spanish king didn't always realize...) and the fiercely Catholic Spanish had little tolerance for Protestantism, which was quite popular in the Low Countries. The popularity of iconoclasm among said Protestants didn't really improve Philip's opinion of them either. And, in an attempt to finance the many wars they were fighting at the time against enemies like England, France and the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish decided that it would be a good idea to impose a few more taxes in the rich Low Countries.
47
48...which didn't exactly work out. The old stereotype of the inhumanly greedy Dutchman came from somewhere, and the particularly notorious ten percent income tax known as the "tiende penning" was every bit as much of a reason to rebel against the king as the persecution of Protestants. This all led to "UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar" (1568-1648; unlike most wars with names along this line it actually lasted the specified number of years), a complex series of conflicts, complete with a twelve year armistice, that's also known as the Dutch Revolt and Dutch War of Independence. The Dutch nobles and burghers ended up proclaiming their independence in 1581, resulting in the Republic of the United Provinces, a.k.a. the Dutch Republic. And in spite of the fact that over half of the provinces either remained loyal to the Spanish Crown (the members of the Union of Atrecht) or were reconquered by the Spanish (like the county of Flanders, and particularly the city of Antwerp), the Republic still managed to remain an economic powerhouse and develop into a naval power capable of threatening Spanish and [[UsefulNotes/TheDutchPortugueseWar Portuguese]] fleets and colonies as far away as South America and Indonesia. They were also heavily involved in the Slave Trade, and indeed at one point was the global leader until being surpassed by the English in the 1700s. Much like England and France, slavery was banned within the Netherlands but enforced in the colonies and it existed there until 1863, long after its cessation by England and France, and around the time of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
49
50The war ended in 1648, when Spain officially recognized the Republic's independence and renounced its claims on the northern provinces. At the same time, they also officially left the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire. But by that time, the British had already become accustomed to call their inhabitants "Dutch". This word, from "diet" ("people"), originally applied to the Germanic speaking inhabitants of the entire UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire (so yes, it does have the same etymology of "Deutsch" for those asking). In modern Dutch, however, it's never used by the Dutch to describe themselves; the word "Duits" can only mean "German" (compare the German word for "German": "Deutsch".). In English language, this is also the reason why UsefulNotes/{{Pennsylvania}} Dutch are called that even though they're actually Germans.
51
52The Dutch Republic was an interesting beast. Nominally a loose confederation of quasi-independent states, it was in practice dominated by Holland. To further complicate matters, although each province was in theory free to appoint anyone "stadtholder" (commander of its armed forces), in practice every province gave the position to the head of the House of Orange-Nassau. (Well, ''nearly'' every province; Groningen and Friesland usually didn't, and occasionally some other province might join them.) As a result, the Princes of Orange (from French lineage) were generally accorded quasi-royal status by the monarchies of Europe, which is why William III of Orange was judged to be an acceptable husband (and co-ruler) for [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart Mary II of England]] (and, not incidentally, that his ''father'' was considered an acceptable husband for an English princess; yeah, William and Mary were [[KissingCousins first cousins]]).
53
54The structure of the United Provinces also had an impact on later federalist political theory: the founders of UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates looked to the Dutch Republic as a model for the federalism aspect of its political system, basing the Articles of Confederation on it: the Confederation Congress (one state, one vote) was modeled on the Dutch States-General, as was the practice of having some lands administered directly by the federal legislature (in the Netherlands these were called Generality Lands; in the US, Territories). As it happened, the first part only really worked in the Netherlands because of Holland's domination over the other provinces and the open conspiracy to keep the Prince of Orange as stadtholder of all the provinces, and was quickly dropped (albeit modified in the form of the Senate and having an executive President), but the territorial system worked out rather well and was retained. Both of these innovations, with modifications, later spread to other federal regimes (e.g. Canada, Australia, Mexico, and India).
55
56As for the southern provinces, also known as the Southern Netherlands, they remained under Spanish control for a few decades more, after which they were inherited by the Austrian branch of the house of Habsburg. (To further complicate matters, in the 18th century it was very common to refer to the Spanish, later Austrian Netherlands as simply "the Netherlands", while the Republic of the United Provinces was often shortened to "Holland".) After about 80 years of Austrian rule, they were conquered by Revolutionary France in 1794, which also conquered the Dutch Republic a few months later. The Austrian Netherlands and the Bishopric of Liège were incorporated into the French Republic, while in the north the House of Orange was deposed and driven into exile and in 1795 the former Republic of the United Provinces became the Batavian Republic, so named after a Germanic tribe that had inhabited the area in the days of the Roman Empire.
57
58Then UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte tried to set up a puppet state called the "Kingdom of Holland" (which was technically the first Dutch kingdom), but that didn't really work out the way he wanted (for one thing, his appointed stooge, brother Louis, took Dutch interests to heart over Napoleon's, also helped with his own money ''and hands'' at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiden#19th_and_20th_centuries the gunpowder disaster in Leiden]]), so he eventually just put an end to the kingdom and made the Netherlands part of the French Empire.
59
60After the final defeat of Napoleon and the end of the first French Empire, Great Britain and UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} decided that there should be a strong, independent country on the northern border of France. Prussia wanted to incorporate the new Dutch state into the German Confederation, but the Dutch and the British didn't really like that idea, so they eventually agreed to unify the northern and southern Netherlands into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, with only Luxembourg (which then consisted of the later grand duchy as well as the Belgian province of the same name) becoming part of the German Confederation.
61
62This arrangement worked for about a decade, but it became painfully obvious that the northern and southern Netherlands had grown apart since the Eighty Years' War. A lot.
63
64Mainly thanks to religious differences between the Protestant north and the Catholic south, king William I's authoritarian reign and stubborn unwillingness to accept criticism, and the fact that the primarily French-speaking citizenry of the south was underrepresented in the kingdom's government, a revolution broke out in the south - the Belgian Revolution, which resulted in the formation of the kingdom of UsefulNotes/{{Belgium}} and the grand duchy of UsefulNotes/{{Luxembourg}}.
65
66Since the fall of Napoleon's empire, the Dutch royal house has been the house of Orange-Nassau, and the colour orange is strongly connected with the Netherlands. Dutch sports teams play in orange, and the Dutch flag was originally orange, white and blue. The orange was changed to red because that's what the orange turned to after a few years--or at sea, a few months. After seeing a stadium full of Dutch football fans wearing orange kit while they wave red, white and blue flags, your eyes may never be quite the same again.
67
68It stayed out of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (but had to deal with about one million Belgian refugees fleeing the German invasion) and UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany's Kaiser UsefulNotes/WilhelmII spent the rest of his life there after being deposed in 1918. It was invaded by UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (and its Indonesian colonies were invaded by the Japanese). Over 100,000 Jews were sent to the [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Death Camps]], [[Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl Anne Frank]] among them. While there was a strong resistance movement in the Netherlands, there were also many avid volunteers serving in Dutch Nazi security units, as well as volunteering with the German forces in their war against the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]]. The majority of the country welcomed liberation by the western Allies in 1944 and 1945, by which time the civilian population was slowly starving due to food shortages (notably, Creator/AudreyHepburn suffered from it).
69
70The Netherlands today is a democratic constitutional monarchy. It used to be famous for a political system called "consociationalism", where the [[UsefulNotes/{{Pillarisation}} different religious and social groups]] of the country each had a veto over national policy, but this worked so well, the nation no longer needs it; this didn't keep the Dutch political scientist Arend Lijphart from advocating the implementation of similar systems in other conflict-torn countries (with varying degrees of success). Its former prime minister [[https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1040&bih=646&q=jan+peter+balkenende&gws_rd=cr&ei=7KFMWcvWCdHHwAKhqYoI Jan Peter Balkenende]] resembled Franchise/HarryPotter, except for completely lacking the ability to get out of scrapes (besides his bout with necrotizing fasciits, which he thankfully survived).
71
72The Netherlands used to have a large colonial empire, with the largest and most notable colony being the Dutch East Indies, i.e. UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}}. Another very important one, even though it was lost to the British in the [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars Wars of the French Revolution]], was the Cape Colony in South Africa. To this day more people speak Dutch-derived Afrikaans as their first or second language in the [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Republic of South Africa]] than any other of the eleven official languages of that country.
73
74There is a strange and tangential association where Holland shaped the culture and politics of UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland. When Great Britain wanted to remove the fervent Catholic King James II in favour of a Protestant monarch in the late 1600's, the Dutch prince William was invited to become King of England. The new King William of the House of Orange had to fight a war in Ireland to assert his claim to kingship there. In what was at least part a religious war with the Catholic pretenders, the Stuarts, Prince William of Orange fought a decisive battle at Boyne Water. His men wore orange sashes in the Dutch national colour to distinguish themselves, whilst the orange-sashed William himself rode an iconic white horse. to this day Prince William on his white horse is acclaimed as saviour of Protestant Ireland and the orange sash is still proudly worn on parades as a mark of Ulster Protestant identity. Even the national flag of the Republic of Ireland acknowledges the country also has a Protestant identity - one third of the tricolour is Dutch Orange.
75
76Large ethnic groups in the Netherlands from the former colonies are Indonesians (for a large part Ambonese), Chinese and Surinams (which consists of descendants of the people who were employed in the colony there).
77
78The Ambonese sided with the Dutch government during the "Politionele Acties" (the euphemism for the Indonesian war of independence) in return for an independent state. The resulting treatment by the government resulted in protests by the Ambonese youth in the 60s and 70s, culminating in several hostage situations. This is still a lingering sore spot among the older generations, the younger people are quite happy to live here and only support the retaking of Ambon in spirit.
79
80The Chinese are a mixed bag of descendants of people who got stuck here during the depression in the 1930s, former workers from the colonies, people who sought political asylum and people who came here seeking their fortune. They are the "great unknowns" despite being here for over 70 years now and having set up a lot of successful businesses. Their number is actually unknown due to their insular nature.
81
82The Surinam people are mostly stereotyped as people from African descent, which is true for the most part, but there's also other ethnic groups. Hindus, Chinese workers and Javanese People were also a common sight in the colony and some of them came over when the colony gained its independence. There is additionally a large group of Indonesian people that has lived in the Netherlands for generations, most prominently in The Hague.
83
84A strong Jewish subculture first appeared in Amsterdam in the 1600's, as Holland was one of the first European nations to openly welcome people of different religions, particularly Portuguese Jews and French Huguenots. The modern Dutch Jewish culture can mostly be found in Amsterdam, with Rotterdam as a close second.
85
86The present-day Netherlands has a large Muslim population, though the majority of them are the descendants of Turkish and Moroccan guest workers rather than immigrants from the former colonies. Religious and social tensions are almost exclusively focused on Turkish and Moroccan labour immigrants, who were supposed to just stay a few years and help the ailing textile industry. It was originally felt that they didn't need to learn the language, since that would only encourage them to stay. Nowadays, the heavy industries are gone but the low-education labour immigrants are still there.
87
88The Netherlands also has a "homegrown" linguistic minority in the Province of Frisia (also called West Frisia by foreigners[[note]]To make things more complicated, there is actually an area called West Frisia, that's not in Frisia. Try to explain that to the international community.[[/note]] because East and North Frisia are in Germany). Frisian, which is spoken there and on the North Sea coast and islands of Schleswig-Holstein, is [[https://elms.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/lexical-distance-among-languages-of-europe/ the language most closely related to (Old) English]].
89
90A founding member of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion and UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, it is also home to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the latter also being the origin of the famous Hague Conventions.
91
92Amsterdam is the largest city and capital. However, the King lives in The Hague, Parliament meets in The Hague, the courts and Embassies are also all in The Hague. This is because, centuries ago, when the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht started cooperating, they couldn't agree on which of the three should host the government; so they created the new city of The Hague more-or-less in the middle. Rotterdam houses the largest port of Europe and is therefore an important center of commerce in the Netherlands. These cities, together with Utrecht and smaller towns in between, form a large urban area called the Randstad. It has more than 7 million inhabitants.
93
94As of April 30, 2013, The Netherlands' monarch is King Willem-Alexander (who is moderately famous for being a qualified pilot with a Boeing 737 type rating[[note]]This was originally so that he could fly the royal jet--at that point a Fokker 70--rather than having to get a Royal Netherlands Air Force pilot at government expense. He flew KLM Cityhopper Fokker 70s as part of his training to get additional hours in. After KLM and the Air Force phased out the Fokker 70, he started 737 training so he could keep flying the royal flight. All this said, by his account, the King loved the idea of flying an airliner from a young age, and apparently still harbors dreams of getting type-rated on a big jet like a 747.[[/note]] and so moonlights for KLM on short-to-medium-haul routes served by 737s).[[note]]If you ever find yourself on a KLM 737 out of Schiphol, know there's a non-zero chance your captain or first officer is none other than His Majesty the King.[[/note]]
95
96!! Culinary Traditions and Influence
97
98Foods / dishes typically or originally from the Netherlands, some of which have also become known outside of the Netherlands:
99
100* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroopwafel Stroopwafels]]'', literally ''syrup waffles'', [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin two layers of waffle with syrup in between]]. Not to be confused with ''Belgian'' waffles (or what in the U.S. is simply called "waffle"), that have entirely different structure and ingredients, and lack inside syrup. ''Stroopwafels'' have become kind of a well-known export product, being sold in other countries. In the Netherlands, they're also sold warm and freshly-baked on the street.
101* Pancakes, entirely different than the American ones (much thinner, much larger (to the point they ususally are larger than a pizza is), and less sweet-tasting). They're served in joints called ''Pannekoekenhuis'' (litt. "Pancake House"), which often offer at least 100 different varieties of them - the plain way for them to be served is only with either powdered sugar or with syrup, but they can be ordered with virtually anything, from apple slices to ham and / or cheese or any meat and / or vegetable you'd like.
102* A ''snackbar'' is a fast-food take-out joint serving, mostly, fries [[note]]As famously noted by Creator/JohnTravolta's character in Film/PulpFiction, the Dutch (and Belgians) normally eat these with mayonnaise; though ketchup (imported from American culture) or satay sauce (imported from Indonesian culture) are options too. The Dutch mayonnaise or "frietsaus" is a bit different from the French version, being somewhat leaner and sweeter.[[/note]] with either [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquette croquettes]] or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frikandel frikandel]]. Almost ironically, ''croquettes'' are actually French in origin, contrary to what many Dutch people themselves are aware of.
103* Kale, before becoming a global food rage in the 21st century, has been a staple of Dutch winter dishes for centuries. Traditionally, cooked with potatoes which are then thoroughly mashed and mixed with it, and then served with a sausage (''rookworst'').
104* The aforementioned ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookworst rookworst]]'' is traditionally served either with the kale-potato-mash (if it's a dinner), or within a bun similarly like a hot-dog is (if it's lunch or a snack).
105* ''Erwtensoep'' or, colloquially, ''snert'' is (green-)split-pea soup. It's very thick, made from green split peas, celeriac, potatoes and small pieces of the aforementioned ''rookworst'' again. It's a staple of winter cuisine and especially goes together with cold weather and skating.
106* ''Beschuit'' is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusk#Netherlands_and_Belgium_.28Flanders.29 rusk]] - a dry biscuit, round of ca. 3 inch diameter, that can be eaten as an alternative to bread. It stems from the origin of the Netherlands as a sea-faring country, as they used to be taken on ships centuries ago, since they can be conserved virtually eternally.
107* ''Muisjes'' (litt.: "little mice", because their shape resembles those) are aniseeds covered in a sugar coating. Eaten as a sweet topping on buttered bread or on the aforementioned ''beschuit'' / rusk. ''Beschuit met muisjes'', rusk with muisjes, is traditionally eaten when a baby is born by the new parents with visitors for the baby (pink-and-white ''muisjes'' for a baby girl, blue-and-white ''muisjes'' for a baby boy).
108* Regarding alcoholic drinks: beer is popular; the most popular brands are Heineken and Grolsch - both successful export products, of course. Though in the 2010's, the Dutch tend to consume more and more Belgian beers. The ''de facto'' Dutch strong liquor is ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenever jenever]]'' - the ancestral form of gin, and dominated by juniper flavor. ''Jenever'' is somewhat unusual among gins--and botanical-infused liquor generally--in that it is often batch-distilled in pot stills (rather than continuously distilled in column stills) and may be aged in oak barrels, creating a drink more like a Scotch with botanicals than a traditional gin.[[note]]A few American distilleries have adopted this technique, but the products are hard to find unless you have one such in your area (e.g. you live close enough to UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} to get the barrel-aged version of Philadelphia Distilling Co.'s Bluecoat Gin).[[/note]] By now old-fashioned, but still loved by old people, is ''advocaat'' - a drink of eggs and brandy that's yellow and thick and has a custard-like taste (an alcoholic version of eggnog).
109* Dairy in any form is consumed a ''lot'': cheese, milk, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(dairy_product) quark]], yoghurt [[note]]contrary to in other countries, mostly in its most plain, non-flavoured, non-added-sugar form[[/note]] and ''vla''[[note]]which ''does'' have added sugar, but is also thickened with eggs or cornstarch[[/note]]. Reclaimed seabed is particularly welcoming to grass growth, which of course means a lot of cows.
110* The most divisive and notorious taste of all: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salty_liquorice Dutch liquorice]]''. In Dutch called "''drop''", it's a much more salty, much more "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami umami]]", much more flavoury, and not-sweet-at-all form of what's outside of the Netherlands known as "liquorice". It is ''notorious'' for evoking ''either'' a major ''{{Squick}}! / "that's disguisting!"'' response if one hasn't been exposed to it from about early childhood on, ''or'' a {{Squee}} response if one ''has'' been. Though only a minority of Dutch people might be really addicted to it, ''many'' revere to it as a means to alleviate a flu or a cold.
111
112
113'''DutchMedia''':
114* DutchComics
115* DutchFilms
116* DutchSeries
117
118!!Fiction set in the Netherlands (also see DutchMedia and DutchSeries):
119
120[[AC: Comic Books]]
121* ''ComicBook/{{Agent 327}}''
122* ''ComicBook/DouweDabbert''
123* ''ComicBook/DeKiekeboes'': The Flemish albums ''"Kiekeboe in Carré"'' and ''"De Zes Sterren"'' take place in Amsterdal.
124* ''ComicBook/TomPoes''
125* ''ComicBook/{{Urbanus}}'': The Flemish album ''De Laatste Hollander''
126
127[[AC:Fan Works]]
128* ''Fanfic/TheBlackSheep''
129* ''Fanfic/PokemonXNimjaPlayTheGame'': Possibly the most Dutch fanfic in the world, it not only contains a lot of spoken Dutch but also some [[{{Pun}} Dutch]] ''spoken.'' Which makes sense- the guy who inspired that series, Nimja, is a real-life Dutch hypnotist.
130
131[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]
132* ''Film/AllesIsFamilie''
133* ''Film/AllesIsLiefde''
134* ''Film/{{Amsterdamned}}''
135* ''Film/TheAssault''
136* ''Film/BlackBook''
137* ''Film/ABridgeTooFar''
138* ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''
139* ''Film/{{Flodder}}''
140* ''Film/TheForgottenBattle'': The film is set in World War II Netherlands, and at the time of production was the most expensive film ever made by a Dutch production company.
141* ''Film/HaroldAndKumarEscapeFromGuantanamoBay''
142* ''Film/{{Hostel}}''
143* ''Film/TheHumanCentipede''
144* ''Film/{{Kenau}}''
145* ''Film/DeLift''
146* ''Film/MichielDeRuyter''
147* ''Film/OceansTwelve'': The film includes the caper crew visiting Amsterdam. The city-setting was [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] though by the fact that prominent scenes of the movie that take place in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Centraal_station Amsterdam Central Train Station]], in reality were shot in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haarlem_railway_station Haarlem Train Station]] instead - because while Amsterdam Central Train Station looks [[https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=674&q=amsterdam+centraal pretty on the outside]], the inside looks completely generic (at least at the time the movie was shot - it's been thoroughly renovated since) while [[https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=674&q=haarlem+trein+station Haarlem Train Station]]'s interior and tracks look/(ed) majestic.
148* ''Film/SoldierOfOrange''
149* ''Film/{{Spetters}}''
150* ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'': There's a brief segment in rural Netherlands, which serves as a launchpad for the climax.
151* ''Film/TurkishDelight''
152* ''Film/TheVanishing''
153* ''Film/VetHard''
154* ''Film/WhoAmI1998''
155
156[[AC:Literature]]
157* ''Literature/TheDiscoveryOfHeaven''
158* ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Van Helsing, the title character's enemy, is a Dutchman
159* ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'': The parts that aren't set in [[FlyoverCountry Indianapolis]]
160* ''Literature/GirlWithAPearlEarring''
161* ''Literature/TheGoldfinch'': The last third takes place in Amsterdam.
162* ''Literature/TheGrishaverse'': There's the country of Kerch as a FantasyCounterpartCulture. It’s most prominent in the ''Six Of Crows'' duology, especially the second book, ''Crooked Kingdom'', which is mostly set in Ketterdam, the country’s capital and a clear analogue to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. FreestateAmsterdam is in full effect in The Barrel, the city district analogous to the Red Light District. Kerch as a country also controls the world’s economy and trade and has the most powerful navy despite its small land area. There are two Kerch POV characters over the course of the entire ‘Verse: gang leader Kaz Brekker and merchant’s son Wylan Van Eck.
163* ''Literature/HansBrinkerOrTheSilverSkates''
164* "Literature/TheHound1924"
165* ''Literature/LittleSophieAndLankyFlop''
166* ''Literature/ThePhantomShip1837''
167
168[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
169* ''Series/{{Baantjer}}''
170* ''Series/BassieEnAdriaan''
171* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The "Arc of Infinity" sees the return of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors Omega]]. He needs to be in Amsterdam because of [[{{Technobabble}} the pressure below sea level]] or something.
172* ''Series/GoodTimesBadTimes''
173* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "People v. [=SecNav=]", they go to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
174* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': One episode focuses on [[DaChief Director Vance's]] first mission as an agent, which took place in Amsterdam. It's where he and [[BadassIsraeli Eli David]] first met and became friends.
175* ''Series/TheSaint'': Season 5 Episode 7 is set in the Netherlands.
176* ''Series/VanDerValk''
177* ''Series/WilliamOfOrange''
178
179[[AC:Theatre]]
180* ''Theatre/TheFlyingDutchman''
181
182[[AC:Video Games]]
183* ''VideoGame/AmsterDoom''
184* ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'' has a map set in Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
185* ''VideoGame/HitmanCodename47'' and ''VideoGame/HitmanContracts'' have a series of missions in Rotterdam.
186* ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'': The third episode, "Flight of Fancy", is set in Kinderdijk.
187
188[[AC:Webcomics]]
189* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': [[MoeAnthropomorphism The Netherlands]] appears as a character.
190
191[[AC:Web Animation]]
192* ''WebAnimation/{{Ongezellig}}''
193
194[[AC:Western Animation]]
195* ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'' does not take place in the Netherlands itself, but in a FantasyCounterpartCulture version of the country, called Great Waterland.
196* ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}'': "In Dutch" takes place in the Netherlands, though the characters erroneously call the country Holland. In this episode, the villains threaten to blow up the dikes if the Dutch government does not hand over power.
197* ''WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup'': The short "In Dutch" (1948)
198
199'''Others''':
200[[index]]
201* UsefulNotes/TheBeautifulProvincesOfNederland
202* UsefulNotes/DutchmenWithDestroyers
203* Ride/{{Efteling}}
204* UsefulNotes/{{Pillarisation}}
205[[/index]]
206----
207[[AC:The Dutch flag]]
208[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_the_netherlands.png]]
209->The flag's red, white and blue colors have been used since the 16th century and was formalized in 1937. Originally the red stripe was to be orange, in honor of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Silent Prince William I "the Silent" of Orange]], leader of the anti-Spanish LaResistance that triggered UsefulNotes/TheEightyYearsWar. At the time, however, the orange dye often turned red, thus subsequent versions of the flag adopted red, though a recent tradition adds a small orange pennant above the flag, symbolizing the Dutch people's allegiance to the House of Orange, still the ruling family of the Netherlands.[[note]]The orange, white and blue version of the Dutch flag appeared on the South African flag, which featured both the British and Dutch flags to symbolise the origins of the white South African people. [[/note]]
210----
211[[AC:Coat of arms of the Netherlands]]
212[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coat_of_arms_of_the_netherlands.png]]
213->The coat of arms of was adopted in 1815 and went through modifications (final one was on 23 April 1980).
214----
215[[AC:The Dutch national anthem]]
216->Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
217->ben ik, van Duitsen bloed,
218->den vaderland getrouwe
219->blijf ik tot in den dood.
220->Een Prinse van Oranje
221->ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
222->den Koning van Hispanje
223->heb ik altijd geëerd.
224
225->Mijn schild ende betrouwen
226->zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
227->op U zo wil ik bouwen,
228->verlaat mij nimmermeer.
229->Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven,
230->uw dienaar t'aller stond,
231->de tirannie verdrijven
232->die mij mijn hart doorwondt.
233--
234->William of Nassau, scion
235->Of a Dutch and ancient line,
236->I dedicate undying
237->Faith to this land of mine.
238->A prince I am, undaunted,
239->Of Orange, ever free,
240->To the king of Spain I've granted
241->A lifelong loyalty.
242
243
244->A shield and my reliance,
245->O God, Thou ever wert.
246->I'll trust unto Thy guidance.
247->O leave me not ungirt.
248->That I may stay a pious
249->Servant of Thine for aye
250->And drive the plagues that try us
251->And tyranny away.
252
253N.B. The anthem has a total of fifteen verses and takes more than ten minutes to sing. These are actually the first and sixth verses, which are the ones that are used most often.
254----
255[[AC:Government]]
256* Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
257** Monarch: Willem-Alexander
258** Prime Minister: Mark Rutte
259** Deputy Prime Ministers: Rob Jetten, Karien van Gennip, and Carola Schouten
260** Vice President of the Council of State: Thom de Graaf
261----
262[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
263* '''Capital and largest city:''' Amsterdam
264* '''Government Seat:''' The Hague (''Den Haag'' or in its more official, but far-less-used-form-name, '''s Gravenhage'')
265* '''Population:''' 17,469,635
266* '''Area:''' 41,865 km
267 (16,164 sq mi) (131st)
268* '''Currency''': Euro (€) (EUR)
269* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' NL
270* '''Country calling code:''' 31
271* '''Highest point:''' Mount Scenery in Saba (887 m/2,910 ft) (166th)
272** '''Highest point in European Netherlands:''' Vaalserberg (322.4 m/1,058 ft)
273* '''Lowest point:''' Vergeten Plek (−7 m/−22 ft) (25th)
274----
275-->'''[[Series/TheMuppetShow Statler]]''': Nederland. Wat vind je er nu van? [[note]]So, what do you make of the Netherlands?[[/note]]\
276'''[[JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf Waldorf]]''': Het is koud, nat en druk. De mensen mopperen, zijn onbeschoft en stinken naar kaas. [[note]] It's cold, wet and crowded. The people there are grumpy, rude, and they stink of cheese.[[/note]]\
277'''[[JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf Statler]]''': Ja! Ik voel me er helemaal thuis! [[note]]Yeah! I feel right at home there![[/note]]\
278'''[[MemeticMutation Beiden]]''': Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!

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