FCS 428
INTERNATIONAL HOUSING
| POET-Netherlands | LIFE IN THE NETHERLANDS: Past
to Present HISTORY The history of the Netherlands is closely related to that of Belgium and dates back to the first century Before Christ. Until the 1830ís, both countries were referred jointly as the Netherlands. Julius Caesar discovered this piece of land in 57BC, and the Roman Era began. The land was already home to several tribes called the Belgae, Batavi, and the Frisii. Yet the Roman Empire took over this area for the next three hundred years for the main purpose of controlling the mouth of the Rhine River. They wanted the advantages of having an easy access location for trade. In 300 AD, the Roman government began to weaken, and the Franks took over the land. This era is referred to as the Middle Ages. The Franks were from Germany, and the most powerful of invaders in history at this time. They converted the country to Christianity, constricting the people to many of their own customs. The last ruler of the middle ages in Holland was Charlemagne, until his death in 814. It was at that time that the country fell apart and the southern region was delegated to the rule of France, while the German Empire kept the region in the north. This situation remained until the Spanish Hapsburgs inherited the both areas in the 1400ís. They united the split parts of the north and south regions, although the parts were still separated by ideology and religion. With the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, came the Renaissance period. Spanish rule had taken over, and oppressive rule alienated the people further from accepting the political system. Yet, the Netherlands was the hub of trading for many countries in Europe, by reason of the convenience of three major rivers running through the country. This is the reason so many countries fought for control. It was a couple hundred years later that the Netherlands battled for control of the southern region, largely because the Protestant religion was not respected. Netherlands fought and lost a number of wars on their ways to independence. There last revolt against Spain and the Roman Catholic Church, the most powerful country and religion in the world in the 1500ís, was a success. This fighting battle lasted for eighty years, ending in 1648, and was a momental time in the history of the Dutch. It was then that the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Munster, which recognized them as a Republic. This contract severed all ties with both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, which consisted of the roman church. The 1600 ís are considered the Golden Age of the country. Prosperity in trade allowed the Netherlands, and specifically Amsterdam, to become the leading financial city in all of Europe. Commercial facilities, new industries, and ports allowed the country into a new status. The art industry also prospered which famous artists such as Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer being introduced. The Dutch also began sailing around the world, establishing ports in the Americaís, Asia, and Africa. This quarantined even more international trade. This fame and financial fortune changed when England became so jealous that wars began. They began attacking the country first verbally, then finally with force and taking over some provinces. It was in the 1700ís, when their king died with no heirs that the Netherlands was picked up by England and France. They lost a lot of freedom and trade under other rule. Yet they were still an incredibly wealthy nation, so wealthy they basically funded the Revolutionary War in the United States. The best thing that happened to the Netherlands was in the Naplieonic Era. Napoleon kicked out the English ruler, William V, and appointed his brother, Louis Bonaparte, now the new King of Holland. They did their best to unite the different regions, but the union was not a happy one. After Napoleon died, the regions wanted to separate themselves from each other. They had conflicting views on politics, religion, language, economy, and overall culture. European powers formulated the independence of both states, recognizing the southern region as Belgium in the 1830ís and an independent country. The second part of the 1800ís was a time of development and expansion for the Netherlands. A new constitution was wrote in 1848, which became the foundation of democracy into the present time. The country was changed to a more liberal reform. All provinces had religious restrictions against citizen abolished. Social and labor unions were started that assisted in jobs and opportunities. Colonies were also reformed and the housing market became assisted by the government. They also abolished all forms or taxation, which allowed the people more ability in contributing to the economy with their extra money. For the next hundred years, the Netherlands was a country of wealth and prosperity. When World War I began, the Netherlands was sure to remain quiet and out of the loop of war. They were able to stay out of the war, saying they could not become involved because they had sympathies with both sides fighting. Yet they still were affected by the wars due to the stand still of trade from other nations. The economy began to fall, and citizens felt the effect of the war. This careful neutrality did not save them in the Second World War, and from the German surprise attack on May 10, 1940. They were forced to surrender only four days later, because the Germans air bombardment was too much for them to take. Many of the large cities were in ruins, and the Dutch left defenseless. As a war strategy, the country let out their dams, and flooded most of the northern country to put space between them and Germany. This did not work because the Germans continued to overtake the land from the south and by air. The people of the Netherlands were forced to hide from the Germans, in underground tunnels that were equipped with the necessities. Some of these canals could hold up to 10,000 people, and Germans were scared to enter them, in fear they would get lost. They also hid most of their valuables with them- paintings, relics, antiques, etc.
At the end of World War II, much of the Netherlands lay in wreckage. Agriculture and trade was non-existent, and most of the land flooded to below sea level. A lot of this was because of war efforts to flood the country to protect from invaders. It took the next decades to rebuild the country and economy. Industrial output increased 70% over its pre war level, fighting to get back their successful country. They also signed treaties with the United Nations and the Council of Europe, to announce peace and tranquility. They have since been a quiet nation, at least without the disruption and displeasure of war. The political system in the Netherlands consists of a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. It is governed by their constitution, written in 1814. This means two things, first is that monarchy refers to one person having the hereditary right to rule the state during their lifetime, which is the executive branch of the government. Power varies from absolute to very limited, with kings, queens, or emperors ruling. In the Netherlands, the monarch has little power in running the government. Instead, an executive official, the Prime Minister, appointed by the monarch, is responsible for heading the legislative branch. This sort of government has ceased to exist in nearly all countries of the world with the exception of the Netherlands, Norway, Great Britain, Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark. The second part of the political system is the legislative branch that is their parliament, which are the designated rules that regulate the procedures that the country is run by. The basic principles of parliamentary law are that rights of citizens are protected by majority rule, equal rights of all members, and the minority rights are heard. The Dutch call their parliament the States-General, and have two groups that make all the decisions. The first group, called the First Chamber, consists of seventy-five members elected to terms of up to six years by the Prime Minister. A Second Chamber consists of one hundred fifty people, and is elected for four-year terms. Comparing the two groups, the Second Chamber is the more important, and makes the major decisions. The judiciary branch of the Netherlands has four levels of courts, all judges in the position are appointed for life. The highest court is called the High Court of the Netherlands. The three others are the district courts, courts of appeal, and canton courts. The economy in the Netherlands has long been centralized in trade. The largest industries for the last three hundred years for the Dutch have been shipping, fishing, trade, and banking. Yet, they specialize in many areas, from agriculture to fishing to flower growing. Specifically, the economy produces several products in agriculture like barley, flowers, flower buds, butter, cheese, eggs, fruit, milk, oats, wheat, cattle, and pigs. Manufacturing industries consist of just as many products: bricks, cement, chemicals, porcelain, diamonds, glass, iron, paper, books, chocolate, liquor, and textiles. Individuals privately own many of the companies in industry. It has been estimated that atleast fifty percent of income in the Netherlands comes from private businesses. This also means that the financial gains or losses depend greatly on the people running these high profile companies. Netherlands has made its name as the most important trading hub in Europe, yet the country is obviously self-sufficient in many areas. Besides the agriculture and goods listed above, the Dutch live on land with plenty of natural resources. The Dutch used to depend on windmills for energy, but in the last hundred years, they have switched to coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Even though they are worse for the environment, the country uses them for their efficiency comparable to natural energy. There are plenty of deposits all over the land, allowing the Dutch to be dependent from the rest of the world in that area. Labor is spread into a few areas in the Dutch economy. Most people, about sixty percent, are workers employed in the area of trade and services. This is a reasonable amount of people considering that Netherlands depends greatly on the import and export business. There are also another twenty five percent of people employed in the manufacturing industry. These are the ones who are working to produce the products. With an estimated two-thirds of people living in the city, this works out to the rest living in the country, and those are the ones in the manufacturing business. Another ten percent of the working population works in business and finance, with the remaining four percent in agriculture, fishing and forestry. The Netherlands has worked hard to re-establish their housing market and regulate society. A large reason there was a need for a housing market was that the war had created disaster in the pre war housing sectors. There was a definite need for housing, to replace what was lost in the war. The urban society is in great condition, with no extreme forms of polarization and poverty. The Dutch claim that there society is in such good shape because the of regulation. They have rest control and subsidies for the production of housing and for consumers, which allows people to be able to buy. They also have houses that are non-profit, in the social rented sector of the housing stock. This allows people who are in below level income brackets to still have housing. Largely resulting from the extensive housing system is the absence of a social class system. People in the country think of labor and capital as partners, and they must help each other. This works in the prices of housing as well. Housing is directly linked to wage and income to assure lower increases in rent while increases in wages. This allows the low-income society to pay less to live, and catch up with others, even though they are at a higher income. This also keeps inflation low and prevents income differences that is a dominant factor in the social class system. The housing system is used yet again to stabilize the economy. When the economy is falling due to decreasing employment rates, the government can employ people in construction. These people can be hired and paid to build houses. This ultimately allows more than sixty percent of society to afford to live anywhere they wish. The other forty percent is exactly who the new housing is being built for. Yet this does not mean that society can buy. Social rented housing is government owned, and private ownership is not available. They are also promoting high-density neighborhoods, some blocks with over 5,000 people per square kilometer. Overall, the economy is definitely being spurred on, and the nation is able to live moderately. The housing market is a blessing to many, while a financial burden to the country. The Netherlands have attempted and succeeded at developing a prosperous nation. The country itself is financially lucrative, yet the people have been kept at regulated incomes. People were never given opportunities to make large amounts of money, because incomes are kept matched with others. This has made society feel equal, but it has also limited the gains wealthy people can put into the economy. The country is putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into building houses for society to live in. Most of the new population is prone to move into city regions, because there are more jobs to be found there. Sixty-one percent of people live in urban places, versus rural, for just that reason. With added opportunities for employment, as well as pleasure, the countryside is reserved more for those with small farms. It is those families that are more or less of traditional family structure. Not only the added job opportunities, but also cities have wonderful transport systems. There is limited concern of transport needs because the plentiful array of bikes, canals, or trains. Public transportation has long ago been perfected due to the ongoing traffic that comes with international trade. Automobiles are rare due to the dikes that stream throughout the country, and because of limited access highways that cause determent. It has been estimated that there is roughly one car to every four persons. It is much more reliable to depend on public transportation than to drive the one way narrow streets yourself. The Netherlands has a complete and unfailing transportation system that can bring you to any part of the country, as well as over the rest of Europe. The Netherlands is also an educated area, with 100% of the population with literate. Education is an important part of life, and the high majority of people have atleast the basic education. There used to be schools mainly focused with a certain religion, but the government has added public schools into their cities. There have also been a rising number of people who are enrolled in higher levels of education. It is much more common now, versus a decade ago, to attend college. The Netherlands has several universities, both state and country, as well as technical and fine art schools. There are also a large number of students who leave the country to study abroad. The Dutch dress much like those in the United States. Although it is common to see people in fishing villages wearing klompen, high wooden shoes that keep the feet dry. They are loud to walk in, but much more comfortable than other fabrics that would keep feet wet and uncomfortable. Traditional costumes of Holland are really not seen too much anymore. In the past men used to wear full trousers, and plain shirts with full sleeves. The women would wear full long skirts, with billowy blouses and lace caps. The women also had an array of vests and sashes they could wear as well. The costumes for the Dutch were rather plain and modest looking. The Netherlands people are made up a variety of views. It is a country that does not look down upon others, liberal and proud of it. Probably one of the only countries that people of all race, gender, sexual choice, age, etc. is tolerated. The country consists of people that are devoted and motivated to sacrileges relationships. This can mean anything from the traditional family to gay men or women. The set of values is strong and helps achieve the sort of close knit society that other countries long for. The country is so liberal that it also boasts taxation of prostitution and marijuana smoking. There are many smoke shops and cafes around the city to accommodate for this leisure activity. The Netherlands decided that it was unavoidable to keep marijuana out of the country, so they profited by its presence. The shops that sell the drug are taxed, and in return, the money helps the economy. This is the same with prostitution. There are areas in the city that promotes the act, such as the Red Light District. The Netherlands has found that despite the presence of issues that other countries have outlawed, the negative impact is not noticeable. Activities that are available throughout the country limit the drug and prostitution traffic that exists in other countries. People respond to drugs and prostitution with less regard than people of other nations do, because it is always available- it is simply just not a big deal. There is limited concern of driving under the influence because the majority of the Dutch are transported by way of bike, canal, subway, or train. Public transportation has long ago been perfected due to the ongoing traffic that comes with international trade. Automobiles are rare due to the dikes that stream throughout the country, and because of limited access highways that cause determent. It has been estimated that there is roughly one car to every four persons. It is much more reliable to depend on public transportation than to drive the one way narrow streets yourself. The Netherlands has a complete and unfailing transportation system that can bring you to any part of the country, as well as over the rest of Europe.
The Netherlands is a country that has fought for freedom and prosperity. They are a model for the rest of the world. To learn more about the Netherlands, there are several Embassiesí to contact. Royal Netherlands Embassy in the USA
American Embassy in the Netherlands
This page was created by Lisa Danduran as part of the requirements for FCS428 International Housing in the Spring of 1998 at California State University, Long Beach.
last updated: 06/03/98 |
©1998
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