什麼是尼德蘭

正式名稱尼德蘭王國（Kingdom of the Netherlands）

別名荷蘭（Holland）

歐洲西北部國家。面積41,863平方公里。人口約15,896,000（2001）。首都︰阿姆斯特丹；政府所在地︰海牙。絕大多數人民爲荷蘭人。語言︰荷蘭語（官方語）、英語。宗教︰天主教、新教。貨幣︰歐元。尼德蘭南部和中部地區多爲平原，及少數山嶺；該國西部和北部地區地勢較低，有須德海及一般所知的萊茵河、默茲和須耳德河三角洲。沿海地區幾乎完全低於海平面，有沙丘及人工堤保護。該國已開發的市場經濟大部分是以服務業、輕重工業和貿易爲主。政府形式是君主立憲政體，有議會及兩院制。君主是國家元首，總理是政府首腦。

在羅馬人征服時期，該地區居住着塞爾特人和日耳曼人的部落。在羅馬人的統治下，貿易和工業繁榮發展，但到了3世紀中葉，受到覺醒了的日耳曼部落的侵蝕以及來自海上的侵犯，羅馬勢力已經衰落了。406～407年間日耳曼人的入侵結束了羅馬的控制。羅馬人之後是梅羅文加王朝，但在7世紀時被加洛林王朝取代，加洛林王朝將該地區轉變成基督教地區。814年查理曼死後，該地區成爲維京人日益頻繁襲擊的目標。它成爲中世紀洛林王國（參閱Lorraine）的一部分，洛林王國授予主教以及具有神聖權力的修道院院長之職，建立起一個帝國教會，從而避免了併入神聖羅馬帝國。在12～14世紀裏，荷蘭-烏得勒支泥炭沼澤平原的大片土地都可以從事農業生產，並大規模地修築堤壩；法蘭德斯發展成一個紡織業中心。14世紀晚期，勃艮地的公爵取得了控制權。到了16世紀初，西班牙的哈布斯堡王朝統治了這些低地國家。該公國在捕魚、造船和啤酒釀造方面取得了領先地位，爲17世紀尼德蘭的繁榮昌盛打下了基礎。從文化上看，這個時期是艾克、坎普滕的托馬斯以及伊拉斯謨斯的時期。喀爾文派和再洗禮派的學說和教義吸引了許多追隨者。1581年在喀爾文派的領導下，第七個北部省宣佈脫離西班牙而獨立。1648年三十年戰爭後，西班牙承認尼德蘭獨立。17世紀是尼德蘭文明的黃金時期。斯賓諾莎和笛卡兒享受到了該國的知識自由，林布蘭和弗美爾畫出了他們的經典之作。荷屬東印度公司保障了亞洲的殖民地，國家的生活水準直線上升。18世紀時，尼德蘭的海軍力量下降；在法國革命戰爭期間法國佔領了這個地區，1806年成爲拿破崙手下的荷蘭王國。第一次世界大戰中，尼德蘭保持中立，第二次世界大戰中雖宣佈中立，卻被德國佔領。戰後，它失去了荷屬東印度羣島，那裏成爲印尼（1949）和尼德蘭新幾內亞（1962）。1949年它參加北大西洋公約組織，是歐洲經濟共同體（後更名爲歐洲共同體）的創建成員。它是歐洲聯盟的成員。

Netherlands, The

DutchNederlandCountry, northwestern Europe. Area: 16,033 sq mi (41,525 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 15,896,000. Capital: Amsterdam; Seat of Government: The Hague. Most of the people are Dutch. Languages: Dutch (official), English. Religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism. Monetary unit: euro. The Netherlands' southern and eastern region consists mostly of plains and a few high ridges; its western and northern region is lower and includes the Zuider Zee and the common delta of the Rhine, Meuse, and Schelde rivers. Coastal areas are almost completely below sea level and are protected by dunes and artificial dikes. The country has a developed market economy based largely on financial services, light and heavy industries, and trade. It is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament comprising two legislative houses; its chief of state is the monarch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Celtic and Germanic tribes inhabited the region at the time of the Roman conquest. Under the Romans trade and industry flourished, but by the mid-3rd century AD Roman power had waned, eroded by resurgent German tribes and the encroachment of the sea. A Germanic invasion (406-7) ended Roman control. The Merovingian dynasty followed the Romans but was supplanted in the 7th century by the Carolingian dynasty, which converted the area to Christianity. After Charlemagne's death in 814, the area was increasingly the target of Viking attacks. It became part of the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia (see Lorraine), which avoided incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire by investing its bishops and abbots with secular powers, leading to the establishment of an Imperial Church. In the 12th-14th centuries large areas of land in the Holland-Utrecht peat-bog plain were made available for agriculture, and dike building occurred on a large scale; Flanders developed as a textiles center. The dukes of Burgundy gained control in the late 14th century. By the early 16th century the Low Countries were ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs. The Dutch had taken the lead in fishing, shipbuilding, and beer brewing, laying the basis for Holland's remarkable 17th-century prosperity. Culturally, this was the period of Jan van Eyck, Thomas à Kempis, and Desiderius Erasmus. Calvinism and the Anabaptists' doctrines attracted many followers. In 1581 the seven northern provinces, led by Calvinists, declared their independence from Spain, and in 1648, following the Thirty Years' War, Spain recognized Dutch independence. The 17th century was the golden age of Dutch civilization. Benedict de Spinoza and René Descartes enjoyed the country's intellectual freedom, and Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer painted their masterpieces. The Dutch East India Company secured Asian colonies, and the country's standard of living soared. In the 18th century, Dutch maritime power declined; the region was conquered by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars and became the kingdom of Holland under Napoleon (1806). The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I and declared neutrality in World War II but was occupied by Germany. After the war it lost the Netherlands Indies, which became Indonesia (1949), and Netherlands New Guinea (1962). It joined NATO in 1949 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community (later renamed the European Community). It is a member of the European Union.