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Main articles: History of the Netherlands, Dutch monarchy
Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily and it would be until 1648 before Spain would recognise Dutch independence.
After gaining formal independence from Philip IV, the Dutch, as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century. In the period, referred to as the Golden Age in the Netherlands, colonies and trade posts were established all over the globe.
After (briefly) being incorporated in the French empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Belgium however rebelled and gained independence in 1830. Luxembourg fell under the Dutch monarchy as well but had different rules of ascendancy. When King William III was succeeded by his daughter Queen Wilhelmina in 1890, Luxembourg seceded. In Luxembourg, the laws prevented women from becoming Head of State. Luxembourg turned to the German branch of the Nassau family, which is still in charge in Luxembourg today.
The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname. The colonies were first administered the Dutch East India Company, the so-called VOC, and in the 19th century was directly administered by the government of the Netherlands.
During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on windpower. After remaining neutral in World War I, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany in May 1940, to be fully liberated only in 1945. After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands also became a member of NATO. The Netherlands was among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.
The name Holland is widely used as being equivalent to the Netherlands; its use is similar to the use of England for the United Kingdom, or Russia for the defunct Soviet Union. Mainly people from the Southern, Northern and Eastern parts sometimes object to this when you meet them abroad or in English speaking companies. They will then claim to be from the Netherlands, instead of the smaller part of the country that is called Holland. People from the southern provinces Limburg and Noord Brabant (Northern Brabant) who are mainly Roman Catholic retain some bad sentiments against Holland. During the time of the United Provinces these areas did not have any political liberties and in fact were exploited as colonies. A culture of this exploitation and the feeling of being exploited remained until the second world war; only after this war, with the true modernisation of the Dutch society did they become more free and did their relative power increase. The anti-Holland sentiment remained however, and is still relatively alive in these parts of the country. Also the expats (people from the South and East living in either of the Holland provinces consider themselves to be living abroad), are easily picked out when you say Holland to the Netherlands.
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