Nederland [Done?]

[Nederland]

Lars van Kempen



"Een Prince van Oraengien,
Ben ick vrij onverveert."

A cell is but six feet long Een cel is maar twee meter lang

And hardly six feet wide, E nauw twee meter breed,
Yet smaller is the patch of ground, Wel kleiner nog is het stuck grond,
That I now do not yet know, Dat ik nu nog niet weet,

Country: Roughly seven largely-self-governing provinces within the northern portions of The Duchy of Burgundy. The main provinces being the counties of Holland and Zeeland, and the Bishopric of Utrecht. (For my sanity, we shall just call him Holland, mmkay?)
Human name: Lars van Kempen
Apparent age: He has reverted to his seventeen-year-old state; however, thanks to his freakish height and scowling face, he looks older than he really is.
Gender: Male
Appearance: As mentioned above, Lars is taller than most (and more-than-likely the tallest) and usually has the expression of a man with a two-by-four up his ass. His narrowed eyes are green, always cold, and his skin is pale. His hair is usually styled to make himself look even taller, but when it's down it's usually in his face. Somehow, this makes the Dutchman look younger and a lot less intimidating, which is probably why he keeps it up. He does not yet have the scar on his forehead.

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But where I nameless come to lie, Maar waar ik naamloos rusten zal,

My comrades all and one, mijn makkers bovendien,
We eighteen were in number then, Wij waren achttien in getal,
One shall the evening see come. Geen zal den avond zien.

Strengths: What are they good at? Also give a little explanation, if you will.

• Gardening: Not only is his thumb unnaturally green, but he is probably the best garden critic around. However, nothing pisses him off more than a chaotic garden.
  
• Painting: More or less a secret hobby of his. Yet, the famous Dutch painters are legendary for their realism. Also. Vincent van Gogh. Got you Italians beat there, doesn't he?
  
• Cleaning: Especially kitchens. He's pretty OCD about cleanliness. Kind of like the Germans.
  
• Business: He's ruthless when it comes to the business world. Maybe a little too ruthless. You can think of this as his seafaring and commerce which he has always had a knack for, but even in modern times he's someone to watch out for.
  
• Languages: The Dutch are unparalleled when it comes to languages. This may have to do with their status as "cultural sponge".
  
  

Weaknesses: Everybody must have weaknesses, what are your character's?

• Temper: The Netherlands usually comes off as quite a reserved man; yet, there comes a time where he just wants to punch something, or rather someone. You see, Lars has certain buttons, that when pressed, causes him to boil over with sudden unexplained rage. And he usually always takes this rage out by abusing someone else. The only thing besides beating on someone or something that cools him down is taking drugs. So yes, he's a bit of a slave to these impulses.
  
• Pride: Lars is under the impression that he is the best nation there is and he usually compares himself to other nations (not out loud) in terms of what makes them not as good as he is. In this way he is blind to the good aspects of other Nations.
  
• Unpleasant: This should be obvious by now. Lars is extremely not fun. Not only this, but he tends to make the people around him uncertain about themselves. He's cold, and doesn't let people in, which makes having friends virtually impossible.
  
• Grudges: Ah yes, if someone has wronged him in the past he never seems to get over it. Even in the present day he shows a certain hatred to Spain for ruling over him and to the Germans for both the occupation and for taking over when it comes to efficiently and all that. In fact, if you ever compared him to the Germans, he most likely will hold it against you.
  
• The Sweet-side: Yes he has one, buried deep, deep, deep, deep down and only seems to come up when bunnies are around. In any case he dislikes this part of his personality and goes out of his way to hide it. In fact, you might even say he's a little afraid of this side of himself; after all, it hinders his ability to carry out some of the ruthlessly cold actions he is so proud of doing.
  
  

Fears: What do they fear?

• Losing his freedom: Freedom is an obsession for the Dutch. The ability to do anything he wants, and not to have to look for permission from someone else. He hates rules, he hates restrictions, and he hates anyone who tries to tell him what to do. All this hate from fear. The fear of submission.
  
• Emotions: Lars prides himself on being able to carry out his tasks with stoic precision. To be able to win a war without any guilt for the lives he has took, or the people he has punished. Yet, he does feel, he feels far too much, and he fears that this makes him weak. Again, he will react with violence to anything that threatens him with the irrationality of feelings. However, what he doesn't seem to get, is that anger is also an emotion.
  
• Personal connections: The Dutch tend to be more concerned with how other's see them, rather than expressing their true selves. The perfect gardens, the immaculate kitchens, the welcoming of any race or religion... most of it is all just for show, and exposing what he is really like deep-down, to really connect with someone... well, that's a very intimidating idea.
  
  

Personality:

The Netherlands is known as the most tolerant and liberal-minded country in the world. And really, why shouldn't he be? He was the country who would harbor any "undesirables" who fled towards him. At first, it was just a way for Lars to be "not like them", but later in life, tolerance has been seen as a national duty. However, don't get acceptance and tolerance mixed up. He may allow you to come to him, and engage in all manner of activities most countries would frown upon, but he won't welcome you with open arms. When dealing with his more liberal traditions, Netherlands is more aloof than passionate about the freedoms he implements. Again, he sees it all as something he has to do, rather than wants to. Although he does have a certain distaste for rules, so he probably does take a bit of joy in always being first to legalize something. Another reason for the lack of passion could be that, although liberal political wise, within the household the Dutch are a very conservative bunch.

Lars has a rational character; he takes joy in thinking before doing, and frowns upon any sudden emotional impulses. In fact, whenever feelings make decisions for him, you will find him sulking after. This aside, Netherlands has a tendency to be straight forward with people. He speaks his mind without bothering to 'beat around the bush' and is rather blunt and tactless when doing so. To many, this can come off as rude and many may label him as insensitive or morally righteous. Though really, Lars just isn't afraid of speaking his mind, and doesn't really understand when people take offense to this. Ironically, there exists one topic in which Netherlands will be rather duplicitous in his interactions. And that is the topic of deep, meaningful, personal feelings. On this, it is rare to get a straight and truthful opinion out of him. Most of the time he won't say anything at all, and if you do force anything out of him, it will probably the opposite to what he, himself feels. When interacting with others, Lars isn't above "friendly banter" though, everything is surface level. He has a certain knack for keeping people "at arms-length" which leads into his fear of personal relationships. Netherlands also has a habit of quizzing people he first meets. For some reason he has the desire to know everything about someone else; but, if someone ever did the same to him, he would probably recoil and be as vague as he can... or just simply walk away. So, don't expect for Lars to share any personal information, even if you tell him everything about yourself.

Another fun irony is how open he appears to be. The famous over-sized windows and the curtains that are never used. Yes, Lars will allow anyone to see what he's up to within the privacy of his own home. And really, he won't close the curtains for anything, and having houses so close together only emphasizes how many people can see into his home. It's almost like Netherlands is rubbing people's noses into all the little freedoms he can express, and it really tests the tolerance of neighbors. With this open curtain tendency and close proximity of houses, one would think the Dutch are close with their neighbors, but this is oddly, very untrue, neighbors don't even come over to ask for a cup of sugar. But really, by now everyone should expect this. Lars doesn't have close relationships. He doesn't attend dinners with "friends" or neighbors, and "friends" coming over without an invitation is considered to be extremely impolite (however, tolerance denotes that he will not turn them away, no matter how much he would like to). Yet, although appearing like an open-book (despite never verbalizing anything about himself), Netherlands still has the tendency just to make everything appear "good" in the eyes of the populace. And so, he makes sure everything is always clean and seemingly perfect. So again, no matter how much Lars will let you see into himself, it is still only surface level, and no matter how long you creep outside his window, you still won't see the real Netherlands.

Basically he's a man of many, many contradictions.

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O loveliness of light and land, O lieflijkheid van licht en land,

Of Holland's so free coast, Van Holland's vrije kust,
Once by the enemy overrun Eens door den vijand overmand
Could I no moment more rest. Had ik geen uur meer rust.

Family:
Belgium: As much as he would never admit to it, he loves his sister. In fact he loves her so much he pushes her around and tells her what to do for her own safety and well being. Needless to say Belgium did not take too kindly to this. And so, they bicker, a lot. Netherlands even coming up with quite a few jokes about his sister nonexistent stupidity. So, it's basically your classic-slightly immature brother-sister relationship.
Luxembourg:
Colonies: Although he did more-or-less raise some countries as what could be considered "children" that is never really the relationship he had with them. His colonies were business partners, they were a business. A business he exploited and took advantage of. Yet still, there is a part of Netherlands that looks over these ex-colonies with a fatherly eye.
Friends:
Denmark: Although Netherlands isn't one for calling people his "friend", Denmark might be the closest thing he has to a companion. He considers the relationship they share as an understanding of various behavioral cohesion in which he finds himself more-than tolerant to. In other words, Denmark just doesn't piss him off.
Canada: If Netherlands ever came close to a loving relationship, it would be with Canada. The man who saved him from Germany. He even gives the guy tulips every year (not that flower giving is as meaningful in the Netherlands as it can be in other places). He dotes upon him. He's actually legitimately kind to him. However, there still seems to be something missing in this relationship...
Japan: Netherlands used to be quite close to Japan, in fact, there was a time in which Netherlands was the only country Japan would allow near him. But, that was long ago, they drifted apart to the point that they became complete strangers to each other.
Enemies:
Spain: Okay, sure, Spain did a lot of crap to him in the past; but really, Netherlands has blown this hate WAY out of proportion. In fact, he goes out of his way just to hate everything about him, everything he makes him feel. And oh yes! Netherlands does have a habit of falling to blind passion around him, but whatever emotion that is gets vented out as rage. In any case, he tends to stay away from Spain, or tries to... he still has that tendency to flock towards that stupid ball of sunshine.
Germany/Prussia: He was pretty fine with the German duo up until WWII. But thanks to the whole Nazi thing he kinda has yet to forgive them. What makes it worse is that he is always compared to them in terms of being almost like them. Please, they are completely different... really.
France: The Low Countries have alway fought against the French. Always. In fact, the Philip-Johanna marriage was just to strengthen their ties against the French. However, Netherlands more-or-less couldn't give a crap about France (well, he could... but) it was only after Napoleon walked all over the Netherlands that hate began to blossom. It's not as bad as what he feels for the Germans though.
Portugal: Okay, so, Netherlands doesn't really hate Portugal, couldn't really care for him/her. Although, he is under the impression that Portugal hates him. Which wouldn't be too surprising since he ruined the mighty Empire for no reason what so ever. Played dirty. Even using Dutch Pirates against him/her. It's a bit hard too to think that this sudden punishment of Portugal came out of nowhere. Perhaps the Empire looked a little too much like someone else? Perhaps because the Iberian Union was created too soon after the Dutch Revolt? Why did he pick Portugal to bully so ruthlessly?
Frenemies:
England: In the past, Netherlands and England got along quite well. Lots of trading between the two, a lot of fighting Spain and France together. Heck, Just look at the Glorious Revolution! But, all things come to an end. And that end was all the Anglo-Dutch wars. What's worse was Netherlands lost the last one to him, the Dutch Republic was never the same after that. Just deteriorated as the English Empire grew stronger. Yet, he still gets along with England... sorta, he still shows him a bit of spite.

History:

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Netherlands became more-or-less a battle ground for the Franks and Frisians. The Franks mostly took over and converted the region to Catholicism thanks to the sudden adoption of the religion by Clovis I. In 843, the Frankish empire was divided into three sections: France in the West, Germany is the East, and the Middle Empire between the two which is where the Netherlands sat. Later this empire split, and the Dutch-speaking side joined Germany, while Flanders became part of France (thus splitting Belgium and Netherlands). And of course, the French and Germans began fighting each other. Meanwhile, the Low Countries were subjected to countless Viking raids which there was little resistance to. The Vikings ended up acquiring supremacy over the area until 920, when King Henry of Germany kicked their butts out of Utrecht.

In the following centuries, Netherlands belonged to the Germans and finally to the Holy Roman Empire after the coronation of King Otto the Great. At this time Utrecht started to become a major center for trade; yet, it was only in 1100 that the Dutch began to buy up land in the west. This land was swampy and largely uninhabitable, but to the surprise of Europe, the Dutch managed to work together to cultivate the area: diking rivers and draining the swamps. By 1300, the Dutch had successfully held back the ocean, and so began the emergence of cities in what will become known as Holland. All of this done without aid or assistance of any sort of the ruling class, clearly a testament of the independence and collaboration of the Dutch village communities. Already, Holland was beginning to attract migrants from the country side and became an important center for herring fishing, the trade of German wine, beer production, and the importing of the valued English wool for the highly profitable cloth industry. in 1350, Holland's population and industry grew rapidly, and the Holy Roman Empire soon found that the Netherlands felt no obligation towards it. In fact, it was in name only that they were subjects to the Empire. However, despite all this, the various townships and counties were at continuous war with each other, so it was far from the rule-free paradise it could have been.

BURGUNDIAN NETHERLANDS 1433-1506

Finally, in 1433, the Netherlands and Belgium were unified by the Duke of Burgundy. Before this, the Dutch identified themselves by the town they lived in, their local duchy or county, or as subjects of the Holy Roman Empire. It was this period when the Dutch started the road to nationhood. The conquest of the area was rather uneventful as Philip the Good (the Duke) was actually invited to take over Holland, despite not having any historical claims to the land. From this, Holland's trade developed rapidly, especially in shipping and transport. It was also at this time that Holland became the primary trading port in Europe for Baltic Grain, which became super important because now, the Netherlands couldn't grow enough grain to feed its quickly multiplying populace. Yet this was also the time that Holland became (as it had never quite been before) a province ruled from beyond its borders.

Under the leadership of Duke Philip the Good, many institutions were put in place, such as a Parlement and States General, to which each of the provincial sates or parliaments sent its deputies, which finally binded all the provinces together for the first time, but thanks to the ridiculous amount of local privileges the Dutch had, each county remained overly independent of each other. Not only this, but instead of trying to take away privileges (which would just lead to peasant revolts) Philip implemented more of them. (In all honesty it just got really confusing, and if any other European saw what was going on in the Low Countries they would have just shook their heads -so says the library book-, I myself still don't really understand it). In any case, Philip created the Raad van Holland (Council of Holland) in 1428 as well as gave former provincial institutions in Holland a more definite shape and brought them into closer conformity with what was going on in Flanders and Brabant. Yet still, because of the Privileges, the Counts of Holland had to to seek consent of their subjects (both rural and urban) for taxes and other such things most rulers could take without asking. The only real control the Duke had over the Low Countries were through the Stadtholders who mostly supervised over the Duke's military that was stationed there (These troops were not Dutch). In fact, one of the first times the Hollanders fought any sort of war that wasn't just peasant revolts or civil war was a Naval War against "the so-called Wendish cities of the Hanseatic League" or Lübeck and five of it's neighbors (1438-1441). Anway, this was the first time Holland found an alley in the King of Denmark, and together they kicked ass. Yes they did.

Then, under the rule of Duke Charles the Bold (1467-1477), who was more-or-less Authoritarian, provinces were no longer allowed to communicate with each other at the States General and where only to give their answers to the Duke's request. And suddenly, taxes, taxes everywhere! All put to pay for his wars with France (which, again, the Dutch didn't fight in, they just paid for it). Then he died in battle and no one really missed him.

Next came Mary of Burgundy. In retaliation of Charles' reign she promulgated a "Great Privilege" in which most of what Charles had created was abolished and now she was not allowed to make war without the consent of the States. But thanks to the returned freedoms, the Holland that was quiet under the rule of Charles broke out into civil war. Moving on, in 1478, Mary married Maximilian of Hapsburg (the future Holy Roman Emperor) and then suddenly died seven years later, leaving Maximilian to become regent for their young son Philip the Handsome. Now, Maximilian, like any other Hapsburg monarch, hated France, and what he wanted to do most of all was take back the lands Burgundy had lost to France after Charles the Bold died. Of course this started up a big "fuck no" within the Low Countries and Holland revolted, and Duke Karel van Egmont (whom Charles ousted) now returned with French aid to cause even more problems for Maximilian.

But, thankfully to him, Philip the Handsome was now Fifteen and so fully inherited the problems his father had started. Once in charge, Philip visited each province and swore to uphold its privileges. At this time a growing rift between the French-speaking Netherlands (we shall call this "Belgium", I guess) and the Netherlandish-speaking (Netherlands) was seen in regards to France. Obviously the French-speaking provinces wanted to avoid war, whilst the Netherlandish-speaking still saw France as an enemy. In the end, with the marriage of Philip the Handsome to Johanna the Mad (daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile) in 1496, the Netherlandish-speaking side seemed to have won, as the marriage was solely designed to strengthen themselves against the French threat. However, what no one counted on, was that this union would lead to the Spanish Kingdoms to fall under Hapsburg dominion. After all, Johanna was third in line to the throne. But, after the sudden deaths of Isabella's other heirs (the last one -Isabella of Portugal- dying in 1498) inheritance of Spain looked to be leaning towards Johanna (but thanks to her mental instability, the real ruler of Spain would be Philip).

In 1500 Charles (future Holy Roman Emperor) was born in Flanders to Philip and Johanna, Whilst in Spain, Miguel, the infant son of Queen Isabella and King Manuel I of Portugal (and thus legitimate heir to Portugal, Castile, and Aragon), died. This assured Philip and Johanna as the future rulers of Castile and (unless Ferdinand secured another heir) Aragon. Philip became obsessed with attaining the Spanish crown, and despite Isabella and Ferdinand still being alive, made frequent trips to Castile, taking with him some of the Burgundian court, clearly already getting comfortable with the coming unification. Then, in 1504, Isabella died, and Philip I now took over Castile for two years until he also suddenly died, breaking Burgundian rule over both Spain, and Burgundy itself.

In the case of Holland, the marriage to the Spanish throne proved to be just what the province needed, since (thanks to Charles the Bold's wars) Holland had come to debts that could not be paid off, especially now as bad harvests plagued the grain trade and England cut off its supply of wool. In other words, Holland needed this unification, and pressed forwards with Philip to attain Castile. However, this marriage only lasted two years, and once Philip died, Holland became just another Hapsburg state, or "henchman" to Spain.

HAPSBURG NETHERLANDS 1506-1566

With Philip dead, control of the Netherlands returned to his father: Maximilian. However, he immediately gave control to Margret to rule as regent. She was 27 at the time, and attended to the education of the future Holy Roman Empire. She ruled quite well, although faced difficulties when it came to finances thanks to the aforementioned Dutch privileges. In 1515, Charles became of-age to rule and in 1516 King Ferdinand died, leaving Charles to become king of Spain. And so, Charles left his home and birthplace in the Netherlands for Spain. And again, both were unified under the same crown. However, Charles had little time for the Netherlands thanks to the massive amount of Spanish affairs he had to deal with. Then, in 1519, Maximilian died, and Charles became Holy Roman Empire, finally uniting Spain and Austria. Soon after he returned to the Netherlands, calling the States-General to meet in Brussels, where he then asked to become their Imperial Dignity. In 1920, he was crowned not as the Duke of the Netherlands, but as its King.

As king, Charles began to steadily change the way the land was governed. Mainly provincial tribunals were now to be subjected to superior authority and jurisdiction and he could enforce his will in spite of protests. Thus those privileges were severely infringed on. Yet, despite this and during this decade where almost everywhere else in Europe was marked by Religious and internal strife, Netherlands remained peaceful and prosperous (richest state in Europe as well as the financial mainstay of Hapsburg power) despite slowly growing Protestantism from the north and the Emperor's unease with this.

in 1550, the so-called "blood-placard" was enacted; thus anyone convicted of heresy was sentenced to death– the men to be executed with the sword and the women buried alive. Five years after this, Charles announced his abdication, and his son Philip was put in charge. Unlike his Netherland-ish father, Philip knew nothing of the traditions, privileges, and even the language of the Netherlanders. He only spent a few years in the Netherlands, and this only out of necessity thanks to war with France. As soon as peace was reached, he left, never to come back. Also unlike his father, Philip (despite living in Spain) maintained a strong hold on the politics in the Netherlands. He was unwilling to share his sovereign power over the area and made obvious that he meant to treat the provinces as no more than dependencies of the Spanish crown. All policy and legislation was now to be sent to Philip for supervision and sanction. Margret (the new governess-general) was also subjected to be under strict supervision by three councils (The Council of State, Finance, and the Privy Council) however, more influential was the "inner council" nicknamed <i>Consulta</i>, these were all devoted to the interests of Philip, leaving Egmont and Orange (two other members of the Council of State, who probably only remained so thanks to their popularity) to be shut out from confidential access to Margret; as well, their council was rarely sought.

As such, William of Orange became a political adversary to Philip and speedily found himself at "the head patriotic opposition to any attempts of the Spanish king to govern the Netherlands by Spanish methods". In a letter to Philip (July 1561), Egmont and Orange asked to resign from their posts. This added to the restlessness caused by the continuous presence of Spanish troops and Philip's decision to create more Bishoprics which would pave way for the Spanish Inquisition. In 1562 the discontent of the nobles led to the formation of a league against the cardinal, with Orange as its head, had the chief aim to remove Granvelle (the cardinal) from office. This league gained widespread support and Philip turned a blind eye to it all. Granvelle eventually stepped down and Orange, Egmont, and Hoorn returned to their council positions, only for Philip to press on with ridiculous decrees. In response the council decided to send Egmont to Madrid to explain to the king in person the condition of affairs in the Netherlands. Egmont returned home with a reply from the king containing some vague promises of reform in financial and other matters, but an absolute refusal to modify the decrees against heresy. Rather would he sacrifice a hundred thousand lives, if he had them, than concede liberty of worship in any form. Philip's decrees were not carried out and in November 1565, a dispatch of strict orders arrived in Brussels and the Inquisition earnestly set about it's work.

Dutch Revolt 1566-1664

On August 1566, iconoclastic Calvinists rampaged through churches, smashing objects and treasures. After hearing this, Philip II resolves upon taking series actions, vowing not only to punish the rioters, but the nobles he blamed. He sends the Duke of Alba (veteran of many campaigns) with an army from Italy to the Netherlands. He is to restore order at whatever the cost. Upon arriving a year later (Because Philip is a slow poke at deciding things) Alba introduces a new reign of terror, beginning with stealth. With the use of false documents, Philip and Alba lull Egmont and Hoorn to meet with what they expected to be the King but are instead arrested and executed in Alba's tribunal that will later be nick-named the "Council of Blood" by the Netherlanders. Alba's agents continue to act swiftly, taking hundreds of suspects from their homes to be executed. Orange, during this time, wisely keeps his distance and eventually slips into exile.

1572 met the first real success of the Netherlanders, and this was by sea pirates (Or Sea Beggars-- as they will be later called). A storm had forced the fleet to take refuge near Brill, and finding that the Spanish garrison is absent, they capture the town and raise the flag of William of Orange. This act is soon followed by more important ports all along the coast of Holland and Zeeland. All expel the Spanish and declared for William. Merchants began to offer funds for a war chest. All this is just what Orange needed. Since his exile he has been planning for an invasion from France, but now takes a ship to Holland on October 1572. A series of bitter battles are to be fought in the following years, massacres by the Spanish, and the releasing of dykes by the Dutch to push the Spanish forces back or drown them. Alba eventually asks to be relieved of command in 1573.

In 1567, in Ghent, a peace conference is held between the States general of the Southern provinces on one side and Holland and Zeeland on the other. The result is the Pacification of Ghent which unites all of the Netherlands against the Spanish despite their conflicting religions. However, this was not to last as violence (church sacking and all that) led by extreme Calvinists happen in Gent, causing the formation of the Union of Arras by three southern provinces in early in 1579, for the purpose of defending the Catholic faith. They quickly reconciled with the king of Spain. A few weeks later the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht responded with forming the league of Utrecht, committed to the principles of religious toleration and independence from Spain.

In 1581, in the Oath of Abjuration, the northern provinces formally depose Philip II. At this stage it is assumed that they will require a replacement king - a role for which their existing leader, William of Orange, is not considered to have the necessary royal stature. And the issue remains to be unresolved by the time of William's assassination in 1584. In dire need for assistance and in 1585, the northern provinces offer the crown to Henry III of France and Elizabeth I, both turn it down but send military assistance. The uprising now reaches the status of international conflict.

By 1588, the northern provinces begin to see themselves as a republic, the united provinces are Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland and Groningen. Their loose structure is based on the informal one from the Union of Utrecht. William's son, Maurice of Nassau takes his father's place of Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland and also acquires the leadership of three others, enabling him to take the leading role in the formation of the young republic. From this point on, Holland and Zeeland make a habit of voting the Prince of Orange as Stadtholder, other provinces following suit. Thus the House of Orange becomes effectively the royal family of a republic.

On the military side, Maurice proves himself to be an able military leader, as he and his cousin William Louis of Nassau (Stadtholder of Friesland) create a Dutch army that for the first time, is equal in strength to the Spanish. Maurice than goes on to achieve a series of victories, pushing the Spanish further and further back up to 1598. This period becomes known to the Dutch as the Ten Years.

In 1596 both France and England give de facto recognition to the new republic. But only in 1648 after the Thirty Years War is the United Provinces finally established. The treaty signed finalizes the split between the Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. The half-century prior to 1648 saw continuous warfare between Spanish and Dutch, save the 12-year peace established in 1609, when the truce ended in 1621 Spain and the Republic were by now involved in the Thirty Years' War which involved most of Europe. In which the Dutch Republic was also involved in an extension of the war against the Portuguese, which was mostly just the Dutch sacking and stealing Portugal's ports all over the world for no real reason other than it being easier to take Portugal's colonies rather than construct their own. Portugal ended up winning South America, but the Dutch took the far east. This was the start of the Dutch Empire.

Dutch Golden Age 17th Century

It was at this point in history that the Dutch trade, military, art, and science were among the most acclaimed in the world. The Dutch East India Company was started in 1602 and The Republic had a monopoly on trade with Japan as well as now led world trade, which once belonged to Spain and Portugal, and finally, the Dutch also dominated trade in Europe. There was also a mass immigration of skilled workers who flocked to the Republic thanks to Religious persecution. This included Jews from Spain and Portugal, French Huguenots, and Protestants from the Spanish Netherlands and Germany. It was from this that the practice of Dutch Tolerance had started. Also adding to the Republics great success was the new forms of cheap energy derived from windmills and peat as well as the development of the sawmill.

In the middle of the 17th century, the Republic found an enemy and rival in England. Starting in 1651 with England's Navel Act caused the First Angelo-Dutch war ending in 1654 with an English victory. There would be two following wars between the nations. The Dutch Republic finding an ally in Denmark-Norway, and France changing from side to side. The Dutch win the second and third wars.

Their fighting appeared to come to an end in 1688, when William III took a gamble and invaded England after being invited to do so by Protestant British nobles to dispose of the Catholic James II. This led to the Glorious Revolution and the crown of England going to William III. And suddenly England was a critical ally of the Dutch in their wars against the French.

However, at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, the Dutch economy stagnated and declined, slowly loosing it's position as the trading center of Northern Europe. The end of the War of Spanish Succession marked the end of the Dutch Republic as a country of major influence in the world.

18th and 19th Centuries

1780-84 saw the fourth last of the Anglo-Dutch wars. After being one of the first countries to recognize American independence, England invaded. The war ended up being disastrous for the Dutch, particularly in the economic field.

In 1785, a rebellion against the Organists was started and severely crushed with the help of Prussians. This left the country in disarray and so easily fell to the French invasion which followed the French Revolution. In 1808, the country was restyled by Napoleon, becoming the Kingdom of Holland until just merging into the French Empire.

On 30 November 1813, William VI of Orange was pronounced prince of the United Netherlands and two years later, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created with the combination of the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium). stadtholder William V became King William I.

However, this unification was not to last. Catholics (which made up most of the Belgians) were not given equal treatment and felt like second-class citizens, and in 1830, with the outbreak of revolution in France, the Belgians took their opportunity to rebel as well. William's attempts to reclaim the rebelling provinces ended up being half-hearted and easily thwarted. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ended up separating into the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1839, with Luxembourg being split between both.

In the years leading up to the 20th century, the Netherlands became a Constitutional Democracy and ended the personal union with Luxembourg thanks to a lack of a male heir following the death of William III.

20th and 21st Centuries

The Dutch had remained neutral from the Seven Years War on, and so, whilst the country flourished with wealth, the military did just the opposite. And so, without any real way to protect itself, the Dutch choose a policy of neutrality for the wars to come.

In the First World War, the Netherlands was a spot of particular interest of the warring nations, thus making it a unwise choice to invade as another nation would surely come to fight over it. Thus their neutrality was protected. However, the war still heavily affected the Netherlands. The blockades and demands of the warring countries caused a food shortage to the point the Dutch were rioting. As well, after Germany took over Belgium, the Dutch took to smuggling to their southern neighbors. This became enough of a problem that the Allies erected an electric fence across the border of the Netherlands and Belgium.

The Netherlands again declared neutrality for the Second World War, however on 10 May 1940, Germany invaded and eventually occupied the Netherlands. Persecution of the Dutch Jews ensued shortly after occupation, Anne Frank being one of the many Jews living in Amsterdam at the time. Resentment of the Germans grew with in the Dutch and many joined resistance movements, but collaboration with the Germans was not uncommon either.

The day after Peril Harbor, the Netherlands declared war on Japan from London. Japan then invaded the Dutch East Indies on 11 January 1948. The Dutch then surrendered March 8. Anyone with Dutch ancestry was then captured and forced to work in labor camps.

After the battle of Normandy, the Allies made their way into the Netherlands, working on the liberation from September 1944 until May 5 1945 when the Germans signed their surrender to the Canadians forces at Wageningen.

Two days after Japan surrendered, Indonesia declared its independence and 27 December 1949, it was formally recognized. New Guinea remained Dutch until 1949, then its sovereignty was handed over to Indonesia. Suriname was decolonized on 25 November 1975

In 1952, the Netherlands were among the founders of the European Coal and Steel Community, which evolved into the European Union, and also a founder in NATO.

The 1960s and 70s saw much change in matters of women's rights, sexuality, disarmament and environmental issues. On 1 April 2001, Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

After 2010, the drug policy in the Netherlands continued to slacken, more things being "looked over" by the police and more red light districts began to emerge. Sex and drug tourism were on the rise and the Netherlands became far more than just a place for drunk collage students to go party in. It became a place to just lose themselves, many never going back. Just festering in the streets of Amsterdam. Eventually the situation began to repulse the native Dutch, but any attempt to change the drug policy was met with revolts. You can't take away a Dutchman's freedom. And so, as tourists moved in, the natives moved out, and slowly the country itself took on the needs and wants of his new inhabitants. His needs and wants? Drugs and sex. Not much more. He didn't go out to see people, tried involving himself in politics but found himself unable to do so. How could he think of anything but his next high?

However, he did notice the rest of the world deteriorating. And this just pushed him to seek the comfort of the next hard drug. The world always seemed much nicer through a colorful, ethereal, drug haze... but when he came down from the drugs. He came down hard. No one could stand being around him no matter how much they wanted to comfort him through those many painful withdrawal instances.

Oddly enough, thanks to the government putting a heavy tax on drugs, the economy wasn't doing too badly; but what the "Dutch" really suffered from was the diseases. That's what did them in. All the sharing, the prostitution, the filth, the not caring about ones own body... it was just too easy for it to spread. And the plague stretched out, wiping all life from the streets. Netherlands only survived on the few cases of immunities, but like everyone else, he was thrust into the past.

Now under the rule of Philip the Fair and with the unification with Spain already unavoidable, the Netherlands is at a loss for what to do. What can he do? He needs Spain to become a full-fledged country after all. And if he changed anything, who is to say that the entire Netherlands won't just split into unrecognizable pieces thanks to the warring provinces? And so, he has vowed to keep history just the way it is, at least until he becomes a Republic again.

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What can a man of honor and trust Wat kan een man oprecht en trouw,

Do in a time like this? Nog doen in zulk een tijd?
He kisses his child, he kisses his wife Hij kust zijn kind, hij kust zijn vrouw
And fights the noble fight. En strijdt den ijdlen strijd.

[ OOC ]

Name: Nicole; but, Neds, Neddy, or "Sexy" is cool too. "Old man" is not. (Kidding)
Age: Twenty
Experience: When it comes to forum roleplay, I have only done Spain, Denmark, and Prussia. But apparently I make a good Netherlands, so... yeah. Also, I'm rusty, so bare with me.
Contact: Some of you have my Skype...



Anything else?: Jens Bjorneboe?

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I knew the task that I began, Ik wist de taak die ik begon,

A task with hardships laden, Een taak van moeiten zwaar,
The heart that couldn't let it be Maar't hart dat het niet laten kon
But shied not away from danger; schuwt nimmer het gevaar;

It knows how once in this land Het weet hoe eenmaal in dit land

Freedom was everywhere cherished, De vrijheid werd geeerd,
Before the cursed transgressor's hand Voordat een vloekbre schennershand
Had willed it otherwise. Het anders heeft begeerd.

This template was originally created by oli and tampered by Ophelia for Hetalia: True Destiny. Quotes are from the Dutch poem: "Het Lied der Achttien Dooden" by Jan Campert

[Kongeriget Danmark]

ACCEPTED

Great job, Nederland! ..... I wanted to insert this insanely funny STD joke here, but it's err, a bad thing to joke about, isn't it?

[Konungariket Sverige]

Just hedging in to mention that HOLY SHAT YOUR HISTORY IS BRILLIANT. The lengthiest we've had yet?

Either way, GJ, sushi.