Today we arrive in the low lying lands known for Windmills, Bicycles, Wooden Clogs, Tulips, Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Jan Steen, Vincent van Gogh or Piet Mondriaan, Heineken and so much more...and that country is the Netherlands!!
...but first a brief History as brought to you by: amsterdam.info
"Ancient times
Geographically a difficult area to live, the ancient Netherlands had for its inhabitants Celtic and German tribes, one very important feature - safety. Its rivers, lakes, wetlands, and woods were impossible to cross for the invaders.
It is only in the 1st century BC, that the ancient Roman Empire conquered the southern part of these lands establishing an important military post in Nijmegen. North of the today’s Netherlands remained not conquered nor even invaded. Under the Roman administration, prosperity grew for almost three hundred years.
Early Middle Ages
As the Roman state got weaker, barbaric Germanic tribes started to invade the land. Most powerful of them, the Franks invaded the territory in the 5th century and brought the Christianity with them. By 800 today’s Netherlands was a part of the powerful Franks Empire of Charlemagne. It is in Nijmegen that Charlemagne built one of his palaces. Tradition says that Nijmegen was his favorite residence, while Aachen (today in Germany) was the empire’s capital.
Economical growth in the Middle Ages
After the fall of the Charlemagne Empire (he died in 814) the Low Countries territory has been divided into several smaller states – ruled by dukes and counts. At the same time, already in the Middle Ages, a strong economical development made the Netherlands one of the richest areas in Europe. Agriculture along with crafts and commerce, rich towns and important trading links reaching as far as Asia and North Africa, transformed the Netherlands into the area where the feudal power has been limited, safety of movement and economical activity established, sustained growth possible.
Renaissance and fight for independence
The neighborhood powers – first Dukes of Burgundy and later the Habsburgs (after 1477, the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Archduke Maximilian Habsburg) tried to dominate the Netherlands and introduce its taxation there.
In 1555, Charles of the Habsburg dynasty granted the Netherlands to his son, Philip II, king of Spain. As Philip II was, a Catholic and part of the Netherlands protestant the Dutch resisted not only the new taxation, but also the intolerance and oppressive methods of administration of the Spanish king and his governor Prince Alba. A long eighty years lasting war began. Feeling of the national identity developed in the Netherlands during this war.
In 1581, the Union of Utrecht proclaimed independence from Spain. The new nation suffered a series of reverses in the war, but finally in 1648 the Spanish recognized the sovereignty of the Republic. The Dutch Republic remained until 1794 at least nominally, under the power of the Austrian throne of Habsburg.
The discoveries era
Despite all the war destructions and hardship, the Dutch continued expansion on the seas and discoveries of the new routes and lands. By the mid-17th century, the Republic was the biggest maritime power of Europe, and Amsterdam was the most important financial center of the continent. Naturally, wars about the domination on the seas with England and wars to resist growing power of France on the mainland followed.
18th and 19th Century
Beginning of the 18th century, with the domination of the big absolutist empires of France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia on the continent, and United Kingdom on the sea, the demise of the tiny Dutch Republic begins. An important economical factor has also been the fall of Poland, which lost Ukraine to Russia and was not able anymore to supply grain to the Netherlands.
Growth of the liberal and republican ideas all over the world and resistance to these ideas by the people who ruled the Dutch Republic, lead at the end of the 18th century to the creation of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which after the fall of Napoleon included also the territories of the today’s Belgium and Luxemburg.
Belgium provinces revolted in 1830 and separated into the Kingdom of Belgium. Luxemburg although independent, has been united with the Netherlands by a person of a monarch. Luxemburg finally separated from The Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1890, when Dutch King William III died not leaving a male heir, which was a condition to rule the Duchy of Luxemburg.
Time of peace and prosperity
In the second half of the 19 century, through slow but constant economical growth and important constitutional reforms, the Netherlands became a liberal and modern state. During the WWI, the Netherlands remained neutral.
World War II
During World War II (1939-1945), the Netherlands was invaded and occupied by the Germans (1940). After two years of relative prosperity, when only the Jewish population has been prosecuted, the whole country began to suffer the burden of war and increasing German terror.
The Dutch resisted against attempts of the Nazi Germany to incorporate Netherlands into the Third Reich during the WWII, and the leadership of the Royal Family in the struggle with the occupants, are still alive in the Dutch people memory.
Last decades
After the difficult years of reconstruction directly after the WWII, the Netherlands sustained in the second half of the 20th century a continuous and fast economical growth. Today the Netherlands is one of the most developed and wealthiest countries in the world."
Image Source: wikimedia.org
Top 50 Non-Netherlands countries or places of birth
Netherlands 2018
1 Turkey (Türkiye) 191,513
2 Suriname 176,412
3 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 169,018
4 Poland (Polska) 134,999
5 Germany (Deutschland) 105,355
6 Indonesia 100,922
7 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 81,811
8 Netherlands Antilles, former 79,133
9 China, People's Republic of 51,532
10 Yugoslavia, former 49,754
11 United Kingdom 49,358
12 Belgium, Kingdom of 45,492
13 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), former 44,038
14 Iraq 43,864
15 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 34,993
16 Iran, Islamic Republic of 32,349
17 India (Bhārat) 32,285
18 Italy (Italia) 31,375
19 Spain (España) 27,283
20 United States of America 27,048
21 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 26,308
22 Somalia 25,645
23 France 25,108
24 Romania (România) 23,439
25 Portugal 17,893
26 Brasil 17,155
27 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 16,924
28 Ethiopia 15,529
29 Hungary (Magyarország) 15,054
30 Egypt, Arab Republic of 14,440
31 Thailand 14,001
32 Ghana 13,993
33 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 13,740
34 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 13,670
35 Eritrea (Ertra) 13,357
36 Pakistan 12,944
37 Cabo Verde 11,716
38 South Africa, Republic of 10,943
39 Colombia 9,814
40 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 9,627
41 Czechoslovakia, former 9,619
42 Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) 8,951
43 Sri Lanka 6,969
44 Nigeria 6,449
45 Japan 6,439
46 Australia 6,335
47 Canada 6,189
48 Lithuania (Lietuva) 6,189
49 Austria (Österreich) 5,873
50 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 5,721
Total Foreign-born (1st generation): 2,079,329
Total Population: 17,181,084
Source: StatLine, CBS (Netherlands)
*The Netherlands has the largest population of people born in the former Netherlands Antilles (e.g., Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, etc.) in the World outside of the Caribbean, largest population from Suriname outside of Suriname & largest population from Indonesia in Europe & one of the largest outside of Asia & the Middle East.
Top 50 Net Immigrants by country birth (excl. Netherlands)
Netherlands 2017
1 Syria 16,083 17.63%
2 Poland 9,348 10.25%
3 India 4,768 5.23%
4 (former) Soviet Union 4,552 4.99%
5 Romania 3,517 3.86%
6 Eritrea 2,965 3.25%
7 Bulgaria 2,762 3.03%
8 Italy 2,690 2.95%
9 China, People's Republic of 2,407 2.64%
10 Turkey 2,224 2.44%
11 Germany 2,212 2.43%
12 United States of America 2,125 2.33%
13 United Kingdom 2,030 2.23%
14 (former) Netherlands Antilles and Aruba 2,026 2.22%
15 Belgium 1,933 2.12%
16 Brazil 1,808 1.98%
17 Soviet Union (old) 1,750 1.92%
18 Greece 1,660 1.82%
19 Spain 1,602 1.76%
20 France 1,515 1.66%
21 Ethiopia 1,467 1.61%
22 Netherlands Antilles (old) 1,295 1.42%
23 Morocco 1,267 1.39%
24 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1,124 1.23%
25 Surinam 1,057 1.16%
26 (former) Czechoslovakia 992 1.09%
27 Iraq 913 1.00%
28 Egypt 907 0.99%
29 South Africa 869 0.95%
30 Hungary 796 0.87%
31 Lithuania 782 0.86%
32 Philippines 766 0.84%
33 Portugal 620 0.68%
34 (former) Yugoslavia 606 0.66%
35 Vietnam 566 0.62%
36 Russian Federation 542 0.59%
37 Pakistan 522 0.57%
38 Latvia 518 0.57%
39 South Korea 433 0.47%
40 Mexico 424 0.46%
41 Thailand 406 0.45%
42 Afghanistan 390 0.43%
43 Indonesia 385 0.42%
44 Colombia 381 0.42%
45 Aruba 378 0.41%
46 Ukraine 357 0.39%
47 Australia 354 0.39%
48 Ireland 345 0.38%
49 Switzerland 322 0.35%
50 Lebanon 319 0.35%
Total Net Immigrants by country birth (excl. Netherlands): 91,212
Total Immigrants by country birth (excl. Netherlands): 202,126
Source: STATLINE/CBS.NL
..and now we take a stroll along the waterways of one of the most well known cities in the World...
Image Source: wikimedia.org
Top 35 Non-Netherlands countries or places of birth
Greater Amsterdam, Netherlands 2018
1 Suriname 42,264
2 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 37,438
3 Turkey (Türkiye) 24,803
4 United Kingdom 11,710
5 Germany (Deutschland) 11,493
6 India (Bhārat) 11,358
7 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), former 10,801
8 Indonesia 10,552
9 United States of America 8,954
10 Netherlands Antilles, former and Aruba 8,593
11 Italy (Italia) 8,514
12 Ghana 8,203
13 Poland (Polska) 7,785
14 China, People's Republic of 7,163
15 France 6,685
16 Yugoslavia, former 5,960
17 Spain (España) 5,784
18 Egypt, Arab Republic of 4,777
19 Brasil 4,445
20 Iran, Islamic Republic of 4,311
21 Pakistan 4,206
22 Portugal 3,799
23 Belgium, Kingdom of 3,419
24 Iraq 3,325
25 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 3,319
26 Japan 3,122
27 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 2,861
28 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 2,641
29 Ethiopia 2,250
30 South Africa, Republic of 2,183
31 Hungary (Magyarország) 2,060
32 Colombia 1,984
33 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 1,923
34 Australia 1,801
35 Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) 1,740
Total Foreign-born (1st generation): 338,995
Total Population: 1,357,675
*Most likely missing Syria, Thailand, Eritrea, Egypt, Romania &/or Bulgaria
*Limited data
...and now we travel to a major port city whose history dates back to at least 1270AD and that city is...
Image Source: wikimedia.org
Top 35 Non-Netherlands countries or places of birth
Rotterdam Urban Region, Netherlands 2018
1 Suriname 37,900
2 Turkey (Türkiye) 31,342
3 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 23,466
4 Netherlands Antilles, former and Aruba 21,580
5 Poland (Polska) 13,983
6 Cabo Verde 10,150
7 Yugoslavia, former 8,778
8 Indonesia 7,777
9 China, People's Republic of 6,926
10 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), former 6,740
11 Germany (Deutschland) 6,289
12 Portugal 4,181
13 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 3,754
14 Iraq 3,580
15 United Kingdom 3,473
16 Iran, Islamic Republic of 3,283
17 Spain (España) 3,069
18 Somalia 2,883
19 Pakistan 2,730
20 Italy (Italia) 2,565
21 Belgium, Kingdom of 2,433
22 Ethiopia 2,259
23 India (Bhārat) 2,135
24 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 2,036
25 Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) 2,006
26 France 1,863
27 Brasil 1,828
28 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 1,676
29 Hungary (Magyarország) 1,598
30 United States of America 1,568
31 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 1,437
32 Colombia 1,261
33 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 1,154
34 Ghana 793
35 South Africa, Republic of 787
Total Foreign-born (1st generation): 264,128
Urban Region Population: 1,431,245
*Most likely missing Syria, Thailand, Eritrea, Egypt, Romania &/or Bulgaria
*Limited data
Last but not least we travel to a city on the North Sea coast of the western Netherlands. Its Gothic-style Binnenhof (or Inner Court) complex is the seat of the Dutch parliament, and 16th-century Noordeinde Palace is the king’s workplace. The city is also home to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, headquartered in the Peace Palace, and the International Criminal Court. That city is...
Image Source: businessagency.thehague.com
Top 35 Non-Netherlands countries or places of birth
The Hague ('s-Gravenhage), Netherlands 2018
1 Suriname 33,402
2 Turkey (Türkiye) 22,181
3 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 15,952
4 Poland (Polska) 13,449
5 Netherlands Antilles, former and Aruba 11,361
6 Indonesia 10,251
7 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), former 6,696
8 Germany (Deutschland) 5,910
9 China, People's Republic of 5,457
10 United Kingdom 5,265
11 Iraq 4,351
12 India (Bhārat) 4,238
13 France 3,967
14 Iran, Islamic Republic of 3,606
15 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 3,169
16 United States of America 3,080
17 Italy (Italia) 2,873
18 Yugoslavia, former 2,775
19 Spain (España) 2,590
20 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 2,287
21 Belgium, Kingdom of 2,284
22 Pakistan 2,272
23 Egypt, Arab Republic of 2,216
24 Portugal 1,892
25 Somalia 1,762
26 Colombia 1,686
27 Hungary (Magyarország) 1,645
28 Ghana 1,589
29 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 1,444
30 Brasil 1,386
31 Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) 1,337
32 Ethiopia 1,141
33 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 1,094
34 South Africa, Republic of 1,021
35 Canada and other North America 766
Total Foreign-born (1st generation): 222,320
Agglomeration Population: 864,129
*Most likely missing Syria, Thailand, Eritrea, Egypt, Romania &/or Bulgaria
*Limited data
...next up we take a short trip to Southeast Asia, a place known for it's beautiful beaches, amazing street food and friendly people...