Quote Originally Posted by Adrian II View Post
The name 'the Netherlands' was older than the Republic, dear Louis. They were called the 'Burgundian Netherlands' under Charles the Bold, the 'Habsburg Netherlands' under Charles V, and the 'Spanish Netherlands' under Philip II. So there.

And from 1815 to 1830 the Kingdom encompassed a territory much larger than that of the Republic, since it included Belgium (previously known as the 'Spanish Netherlands').

If I were you, I would reclaim some of those tuition fees...
Oh. Dear. :feignedshock:

'The Netherlands' was a geographic name. 'Les Pays-Bas', that is, 'The Low lands'. It was also a political name, a collective name for seventeen Germanic/French provinces.

The [/i]country[/i] of the Netherlands, in any name, shape or form, only came about when several provinces sat themselves together and assumed sovereignity.


Likewise, the name 'the America's' is older than the United States of America. It was called 'Spanish America', or 'French America'. Yet, the country 'The United States of America' dates back not to Columbus, not to the first British settlementm but to, exactly, July 4th, 1776.
Similarly too, there has always been a 'Germany'. Yet, the country of East Germany does not date back to 1870 or before. It dates back to 1949.

As with East Germany in 1900, there was no notion of a country of the Northern Netherlands in 1500. The birth of the Netherlands was simultaneous to the birth of Republicanism.