{{New Zealand}}
'''Christchurch''' or '''Ōtautahi''' (in [[Ngāi Tahu]]), aka ''The Garden City''. Population: 350,000.

Located on the east coast, '''Christchurch''' is the south island's largest city. For many travelers Christchurch International Airport is the point of entry to [[New Zealand]].

*On the eastern edge of the city is Pegasus Bay and the Pacific Ocean with safe swimming beaches and good surfing
*[[Kaikoura]] is 2 hours to the north on SH1.
*[[Dunedin]] is 4-5 hours drive to the south on SH1
*The [[West Coast]] is 2 hours drive to the west over [[Arthurs Pass]]

=Hospitality Exchange Community=
==Couch Surfing Community==
* There is a healthy number of active CS hosts in Christchurch and a growing '''CS Community'''. Regular meetings are held each Thursday evening at various venues. Other get togethers, outings, movie nights, indoor climbing, etc, occur on a regular basis. Check the [http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=1262 Christchurch] group for info about the next get-together or organise one yourself.

*'''CS Groups:'''

[http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=1262 Christchurch]

[http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=368 New Zealand]

*'''Upcoming CS Social Meetings'''

Check the [http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=1262 Christchurch] group for info about regular CS social meetings. The Christchurch CS community is very active.
==Be Welcome Community==
There is no active BeWelcome community and BeWelcome lists only 3 members in Christchurch. ''(as at 11/11/09)''
=Christchurch for the Visitor=

==History==

*Maori oral history suggests that people first inhabited the Canterbury area about a thousand years ago.

*These first inhabitants were moa-hunting tribes and these were followed by the Waitaha who are thought to have migrated from the east coast of the North Island in the 16th century. This migration was joined by the Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu and continued until about 1830.

*The first European landed in Canterbury in 1815, 45 years after Captain James Cook sighted what he named "Banks Island", later found to be a peninsula.

*In 1840 the first Europeans settled on the plains and whaling ships were operating out of Lyttelton by 1850.

*During 1850-1851 the first organised groups of English settlers, the founders of Christchurch, arrived on the 'first four ships' into Lyttelton Harbour.

*Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on July 31, 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand.

*In 1893 New Zealand women achieved a first in the world when they won the right to vote. This significant event was honoured in 1993 when the Kate Sheppard memorial, a commemoration to Women's Suffrage was unveiled on 19th September 1993.

*Canterbury's economy was built on primary products and Canterbury has long been recognised as living "off the sheep's back". Although its economic beginnings were in refrigerated sheep and dairy meats and in other dairy products, Canterbury now has a diversified regional economy with growth across a range of sectors.

==Attractions==

[[100 Things To Do In Christchurch]]

*'''[http://www.worldbuskersfestival.com World Buskers' Festival]''' - January each year
* for a comprehensive list of festivals, shows and events (many free) see '''[http://www.bethere.co.nz be there]'''

===Eat===

* '''Fu Hua Hot Pot''', 178 St Asaph Street. Good and cheap Korean hot pot restaurant. Excellent value for money and lots of fun.

*'''Krishna Cafe''', 602 Colombo Street. HareKrishna restaurant open Mon - Sat 11.30am - 2.30pm for $7 vegetarian lunch. Also open Friday evenings 5.30pm - 8pm. Good value and delicious!!

* '''Mum's 24.''' Corner Gloucester and Colombo Streets. Japanese and Korean.... large menu, nice and cheap. Value for money

* '''[http://www.c1espresso.co.nz C1 Espresso]''', 150 High St. Not quite as funky atmosphere as it used to be (the surrounding area has gone Upmarket) but still the best coffee in ChCh. Good range of affordable food and great music & friendly staff.

*'''Switch Espresso''', Carnaby Street, New Brighton Mall, New Brighton. Award winning roasters of excellent organic Fairtrade coffee. Open 7 days 9am - 5 pm. Good food and NZ's best coffee.

*'''[http://www.vics.co.nz/ Vic's Cafe]''' 132 Victoria Street. It's a bakery and cafe. Prices are reasonable, they have awesome breakfast options, salads, etc and you can make up your own sandwiches. The best bread in town - also has an organic market outside it on the weekends.

===Live Music Venues===

*'''The Dux de Lux''', located at the Arts Centre. Cnr Hereford and Montreal Streets. Live local music most nights, see '''[http://www.thedux.co.nz Dux Gig Guide]'''

*'''Al's Bar''' 31 Dundas Street. Awesome bar with live acts most nights... Run by local music legend Al Park, who is frequently found behind the bar himself and is always armed with musical conversation. Great atmosphere and Al always hand-picks prime NZ musicians to play

*'''[http://www.wunderbar.co.nz the Wunderbar]''' located just out of the city in the harbourside town of Lyttelton. Another great live venue for kiwi musicians, also hold regular poetry nights. Definitely the bar with the best (and most interesting) decor in the Canty area.

*'''[http://theloons.co.nz/ The Loons]''', 16 Canterbury Street, Lyttelton, Christchurch.

*'''FOR A LIST OF MUSICAL ACTS, PLAYS AND OTHER ENTERTAINMENT IN VENUES THROUGHOUT CHRISTCHURCH SEE: [http://www.nzlive.com nzlive]'''

===Keeping Active===
*''' Centennial Leisure Centre''' Armagh Street. Large modern swimming pool and gym facilities in central city, with reasonable casual rates.
*'''[http://www.theroxx.co.nz the roxx climbing centre]''' Cnr Waltham road and Byron Street (about 30 mins walk from Square or 10 mins by bus. Over 100 top rope & lead climb routes; dedicated bouldering area with marked problems.
*'''[http://www.ymcachch.org.nz/fitness/climbingwall/ YMCA climbing wall]''', 12 Hereford Street, in the central city.
*'''[http://www.surfsouth.co.nz/ South Island Surfing Company]''' Beach end of New Brighton Mall, New Brighton. Learn to surf with Dave or Trish. Lessons for beginner and intermediate surfers. Summer and winter.

===Browse===

* One hour of internet access at an internet cafe usually sets you back NZ$2

* Wifi hotspots are limited but are becoming much more widely available.
You can find [http://library.christchurch.org.nz/services/wireless/ free wifi] at Christchurch Central city library ([http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Services/ opening times]). Just bring your wifi-enabled computer and accept the license terms upon launching your browser.
Similar free wifi services available in the foyer of the Hoyts movie theatre at Riccarton Mall, however, there are no power sockets available so you must run your laptop off battery.
Many of the Esquire Coffee Houses offer free wifi for their customers.
[http://www.esquires.co.nz/store/locator/index Store locator guide]

A lot of pubs and bars offer free wireless internet to patrons. You usually need to obtain the password from the barperson upon buying a drink.

==Getting Around==

===Bus===

* [http://www.metroinfo.org.nz MetroInfo] - Bus timetables and routes.
Fares:

Cash Fare - Single Trip $2.80 - Includes one free transfer within 2 hours

Metrocard - Single Trip $2.10 - Includes unlimited free transfers for the first 2 hours

All Day Travel Pass - $4.20 is the maximum you pay per day for as many trips as you like

Airport bus takes off from Cathedral Square right at the heart of the city every half an hour (days) or hour (evenings) for NZ$7.00 (or only $2.10 with MetroCard)

===Bicycle===

* Bicycling is a great way to get around within the central city (it being flat as a pancake with biking lanes on most of the main arterial roads). There are numerous mountain biking tracks on the nearby Port Hills and in Bottle Lake Forest at Waimairi Beach/North Shore.

==Weather==

===Climate===

Christchurch has a temperate climate. In summer temperatures range from 15 - 35 degrees Celcius but most commony between 20 - 25 degrees during the daytime and around 9 - 15 at night. Winter temperatures are above freezing except when there are early morning frosts when it can be down to -5. It snows in Christchurch only once or twice each winter and the snow quickly melts.

===Weather Forcasts===

Updated weather forecasts are available from the following sites:

[http://www.metservice.co.nz/public/localWeather/christchurch.html Christchurch city]

[http://www.castlehill.net.nz/webcam.htm Castle Hill]

[http://www.metservice.co.nz/public/skiFields/home.html Ski Field Weather and Snow Reports]

[http://www.metservice.co.nz/public/mountain/brief-national.html Mountain]

==Bank's Peninsula==
'''Banks Peninsula''' or '''Horomaka''' is a large peninsula immediately south-east of [[Christchurch]]. It is now officially a part of Christchurch city. When you look at a map of [[New Zealand]] '''Bank's Peninsula''' is the big bump half way down the right hand side of the island. features sheltered bays, sandy beaches, bush clad valleys, rocky coastline and high, wild places. Boating, tramping, a visit to the wineries and the harbourside village of Akaroa are key peninsula attractions. [[Akaroa]] is a beautiful town 1.5 hours drive from Christchurch. A popular holiday town it has a good sized permanent population. Settled for a short time by the French the town plays up to that by having French street names and a faux-Frenchness about just about everything.

There are a few CouchSurfers living on '''Horomaka''' but no easy way of locating them. You can only find them by looking through all the Christchurch CS profiles.

* The Peninsula is of volcanic origin - Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour are old craters. The peninsula has a rugged coastline with many deep bays and the two large harbours. Many beaches ranging from boulder to shingle to sandy.
* Located by the beach in '''Birdlings Flat''' is [http://artnz.blogspot.com/ Wharehapuku art studio and gallery] owned and operated by local CS host [http://www.couchsurfing.com/people/artnz/ Ian Robertson]. Birdlings Flat is a small oceanside community just off the highway to Akaroa from Christchurch - just before you get to Little River.

.

[[Category:New Zealand]]

User talk:Luna1

2009-11-12T18:20:20Z

Luna1:

Thanks for keeping this wiki clean! Still, I'm thinking, maybe we can put some of this garbage on a page, including the location of people who are adding it. I think there might be an interesting pattern :D [[User:Guaka|guaka]] 13:36, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

It would be a good idea to collect it on a page. I am a bit interested to learn the locations of where its coming from and who would be so juvenile/bitter & twisted to keep doing this.[[User:Luna1|Luna1]] 18:20, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

Netherlands

2009-11-12T06:39:18Z

Luna1: Reverted edits by 74.117.59.11 (Talk) to last revision by Kilgoretrout

{{Netherlands}}

Welcome to the '''[[Netherlands]]'''! The Netherlands is a tiny country located between [[Germany]] and [[Belgium]]. Despite its size, it still houses a population of over 16 million people. Most of the people live in the "Randstad" metropolitan area, located in the West of the country around the region called [[Holland]]. In contrast to the mainly protestant north, the south people of the south has a largely catholic heritage which give them trong ties to for instance Belgium. In the North life is less hectic since there are less big cities. The province of [[Friesland]] has their own history and language. Most people of the Netherlands speak Dutch although most people are also proficient in English and one or more other European language(s).

Most Dutch people don't feel very connected to the traditional touristic stereotypes of wooden shoes, tulips and windmills. Still they are a unmistakable part of the Dutch history and heritage. No single country has been so active in creating their own land from thw water. The culture of the Netherlands is for a big part shaped by a open and tolerant society. The Dutch became famous for being tolerant on Drugs (especially socalled 'softdrugs' and XTC), were the first to allow gay people to marry and are quite progressive in medical issues as abortion. From the 17th century Amsterdam was a multi-cultural society, nowaydays most cities in the west have a mixed population with people from our former colonies ([[Indonesia]], [[Suriname]], the Dutch caribic islands), immigrant workers from [[Morocco]] and [[Turkey]], refugees and lately more and more western expats.

A lot more info about the Netherlands can be found on [http://www.writingtravellers.com/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php?page=Netherlands Writing Travellers], [http://wikitravel.org/en/Netherlands Wikitravel] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands Wikipedia].

==Couchsurfing Meetings==
There are a lot of meetings all around the Netherlands. Due to the small size of both the Netherlands and the CS community, people from all over the country usually attend these meetings. Cities near to the border (like [[Maastricht]], [[Groningen]] and [[Enschede]]) even tend to coorporate with nearby cities acros the border. Netherlands meetings often take up a full evening, day or even weekend, can be attached to cultural events (the celebration of [[Sinterklaas]], [[Midsummernight]], [[Queen's day]], New Year's Eve or personal events (birthdays, going away parties), and often involve a few hosts offering up their homes to large groups of people. Larger events also attract CSers from [[France]], [[England]] and [[Germany]].

for more info about the meetings check the [http://www.couchsurfing.com/meetings.html CS-meeting page], the [http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=Y291Y2hzdXJmaW5nbmxAZ21haWwuY29t Dutch CS-calender] or ask the [[Dutch Ambassadors]]

===Regular meetings===

====Weekly====

[[Rotterdam]]: every tuesday

[[Amsterdam]]: every friday

[[Den Haag]]:

====Monthly====

[[Utrecht]]: every last friday of the month

[[Groningen]]: every first friday of the month

[[Amersfoort]]: every first friday of the month

[[Leiden]]: every first friday of the month

[[Delft]]: every first wednesday of the month

[[Leeuwarden]]: every second wednesday of the month

[[Maastricht]]: on a thursday, friday or saturday in the second half of the month

[[Enschede]]: every 7th of the month

====Annual====

[[Rotterdam]]: [[Sinterklaas]]: end of november, beginning of december

[[Utrecht]]: [[Midsummernight]]; june 21st

[[Groningen]]: [[Groningen Summer CS Picnic]]; beginning of September

[[Maastricht]]: Maastricht Summer Meeting in the end of July (weekend), Carnaval Meeting in February or March (five days), 11th of 11 at 11 november (one day)

[[Haarlem]]: Midsummer aftercamp

all over the country:
* Queensday: april 30th
* liberation day: may 5th

===other cities with meetings===

[['s Hertogenbosch]], [[Arnhem]], [[Zwolle]], [[Breda]], [[Eindhoven]], [[Hengelo]]

==Main attractions==

Most tourists stay in Holland (the provinces North and South Holland). This area is very densely populated and has most famous tourist spots.

* the the tourist enclave and cultural capital '''[[Amsterdam]]'''.

* the gouvernmental city of '''[[The Hague]]''' with the beach of '''[[Scheveningen]]'''

* modern multicultural city life and architecture in '''[[Rotterdam]]'''.

* Polders and Windmills, [[Kinderdijk]] and the [[Beemster]]

* Tulips, near the coast north of [[Leiden]] and of course in the [[Keukenhof|Tulipgarden]] '[http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html keukenhof]

==Tips==
Advise from couchsurfers for everyone who wants to leave the ´beaten track´:

====Active Couchsurfing-comunities====

The cities below are cities that don't recive a lot of tourists but have an active Cs-community, so it's always easy to have a good time in there.
* [[Utrecht]]

* [[Groningen]]

* [[Leiden]]

* [[Maastricht]]

* [[Rotterdam]]

* [[Amersfoort]]

====Beautiful spots====

Al the big cities in the west together form a horseshoe, therefore the name 'Randstad'. In between this horseshoe there is a quiet rural part called the green hart, perfect to bike around in and to cool down from the busy citylife.

Plenty of pretty small historic cities can be found in these regions:

* Rivierenland: near the big rivers (Between [[Rotterdam]], [[Utrecht]], [[Nijmegen]] and [['s Hertogenbosch]]). The first cityrights were granted in this region to cities like [[Dordrecht]], [[Gorinchem]], [[Wijk bij Duurstede]], [[Tiel]], [[Zutphen]] & [[Deventer]].

* [[Zeeland]]: the Islands in the southwest. A lot of Germans go to the beaches in here in the summer, but the Island around Zeeland also have a lot of nice old cities that look like cities in Flandres ([[Middelburg]], [[Sluis]], [[Brielle]], [[Domburg]]).

* [[Friesland]]: the northern province with it's own culture, language, flag and national sport and nice historic cities like [[Heerenveen]], [[Franeker]], [[Drachten]], [[Sneek]], [[Harlingen]], [[Sloten]], etc)

* kop van Noord-Holland: Holland north of [[Amsterdam]], also known as west-Friesland. In the Dutch golden age this area was very rich, you can still see traces of this in cities like [[Enkhuizen]], [[Hoorn]], [[Alkmaar]] and [[Edam]]). There are also a lot of old and interesting polders in this area.

* the South of [[Limburg]]: because of the hilly landscapes and distinct, bourgondic culture this region feels like a foreign country to a lot of Dutch people.

* The Islands in the North (Waddeneilanden): Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog

====Exotic couches and people who would like to get more guests====
If you would like to get more guests or tell about a beautifull (exotic) couch you know, you can put your profile name in here.

* [http://couchsurfing.com/GERALD_ROTTERDAM Gerard Bosman] lives in a small town near Rotterdam, on a central spot in the Randstad. He loves to show the people, also young backpackers, around and explain them about how the Dutch manage to live so far below the sealevel.

* If you're into WWOOFing or would like to find out about squatted farms, check out [http://couchsurfing.com/spruit Spruit]'s profile. He lives in a beautiful place in the middle of the Randstad.

==The Dutch==
Advise on [[how to be a good guest]] in the Netherlands:

This one is from an integration course and doesn't apply to overnight visitors, but more to coffeetime guests. It probably only applies to the older generation of Dutchies. It definitely doesn't apply to CouchSurfers, for neither guests nor hosts,
# If the host says he will start preparing dinner, this isn't an invitation to join dinner (unless explicitly said), but a sign for you to leave.
# When visiting a Dutch family at tea time you will likely be offered a biscuit from a large tray or tin full of biscuits. Be considerate and only take one or very few.
#Smoking marijuana is depenaltized, but still, this does not mean you are free to practise this anywhere, with anybody, or talking apparently about such habits to anyone. Better that you don't exceed the limits upon a coffee-shop visit and restrict your use of marijuana there.

A good and funny book about the Dutch and dutch customs is the [http://www.undutchables.com/ UnDutchables]

==Get around==

===Bike===
* [[Traveling by bicycle]]is easy and very common both within cities and across the country. There are separate paths for bikes linking cities and villages, as well as directional signs (in red) indicating major bicycle routes. If you are bicycling at night, you must have a white light on the front of your bike (or yourself) and a red light on the back. You can find more info on biking in the netherlands (including routes) in [http://holland.cyclingaroundtheworld.nl/ here]. Renting bikes is possible at most big trainstations (where intercities stop).

===Train===
* There is a very well-developed internal train network, and the country's small size means that the major destinations are often within 20 - 80 minutes of each other. The train system is privatised. The biggest railroad company is the [http://www.ns.nl NS], of which the state is the only shareholder. Regional private companies include [http://www.syntus.nl/ Syntus] in the east of the country, [http://www.arriva.nl/ Arriva] which operates mainly in the North and near Dordrecht, [http://www.connexxion.nl/ Connexxion] in the centre and [http://www.veolia-transport.nl/ Veolia] in the South east. Tickets bought at NS vending machines/desks are valid for all trains in the Netherlands, exept high speed trains. At service desks you pay €0,50 extra as a 'service fee'.

* [http://www.nshispeed.nl/en International high-speed trains] stop at the major cities, and there are direct trains to and from such cities as Paris, Brussels and Cologne.

===Bus===
* If you travel by bus or metro more than once, it is advisable to buy a so called 'strippenkaart', see [http://www.amsterdam.info/transport/strippenkaart/ here] how it works. Sometimes you can/have to use OV-chipkaart, which is a magnetic card. See this [http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/?taal=en website] for more information. In the centre of Rotterdam and regional buses around Leiden, Gouda and Schoonhoven you can use OV-chipkaart. The Rotterdam metro system only allows the OV-chipkaart.

* [http://www.eurolines.com/index.php?id=113&L=0 Eurolines] bus service makes daily trips from Belgium, France, Germany and the UK as well as semi-regular service from Poland and other countries.

===Boat===
* Ferry lines are operated on Hoek van Holland, Rotterdam and IJmuiden.

* The islands in the north are best reachable by this [http://www.rederij-doeksen.nl/ ferryservice]

===Car===
* There are a lot of roads of good quality in the Netherlands and no tollways. The speed limit is 120 km/h on freeways, 50 in and 80 outside of cities. The old cities are mostly hard to reach by car, overcrowded and expensive to park in. Don't travel in de [[Randstad]] by car in rushhours, there are allways a lot of trafficjams.

* Due to the small size and relative dense population '''[[hitchhiking]]''' is really easy in the Netherlands. The country is quite friendly to hitchhikers with even special spots in some cities. [http://www.liftershalte.info Lifterhalte ] is a wiki about hitchhiking with a very usefull map with some good hitchhking spots. Some other good spots can be found in [http://www.franknature.nl/hitchhike/hitchhike.htm# here]. Because of the free public transport cars students get a lot of Dutch are not used to hitchhikers.

===Air===
* The Netherlands main airport is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, a busy international airport with a trainstation conveniently located underground. From Schiphol, travel to locations within the Randstad can be accomplished within 1 hour, and major destinations throughout the country can be reached within 3 hours.

* Some low cost carriers such as Easy Jet, Berlin Air, Sky Europe, Wizz Air and Ryan Air also fly into the airports at Maastricht/Aachen, [http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Eindhoven Eindhoven] and Rotterdam. Public bus systems connect these airports with the NS stations. Easyjet stopped flying to Maastricht/Aachen but there are several main-carriers flying to Schiphol.

==Safety==
*The general alarm number is 112.
*While biking in the Netherlands is a nice way to get around, be sure to bring good locks for your bike if you bring your own. Bike theft occurs, mostly in metropolitan areas.

==Work==
[http://www.undutchables.nl Undutchables] and [http://www.bluelynx.com Blue Lynx] are job agencies that offers jobs to internationals in many languages. If you already speak dutch (or english for some jobs) try [http://www.monsterboard.nl Monsterboard]. For English speaking jobs, try [http://www.jobinamsterdam.com JobinAmsterdam].

==Backgroud information==

===Geography===

'''Polders'''

The country is famous for being below the water level. About half of the country has a state-controlled water level. In the west a lot of parts are reclaimed land; socalled 'polders'. The deepest are a little north of Rotterdam, some parts are more than 6 meters below sea level. Two polders appear on the world heritage list, kinderdijk (east of Rotterdam) and de Beemster (north of Amsterdam).

'''Delta Works'''

'''Randstad'''

'''Multi-cultural society'''

'''Bible Belt'''

===History===

'''Romans'''

The Netherlands formed the northern border of the Roman empire for some ages. The north was conquered once, but got independent again short time later. Not much is left of the Romans. The places where they built fortesses are often marked, but most of that is artificial. Some cities evolved from the Romans. [[Nijmegen]] is the only city founded by the Romans, [[Maastricht]] and [[Utrecht]] evolved from Roman fortifications.

'''Medieval'''

In the early medival times the west of the Netherlands was mainly a swamp. People only lived on the high parts around the rivers and on hills (terpen) in the North. After the year 1000 people started to make the swamplands into polders with grassfields. Cities appeared around the rivers ([['s Hertogenbosch]], [[Utrecht]], etc) and in [[Friesland]]. Most wealth was in the western provinces of Belgium which also belonged to the low countries (= Netherlands)

'''Dutch Republic'''

In the 16th century the all the provinces of the Netherlands (the present Netherlands, [[Belgium]] and [[Luxemburg]]), by intermarrying, came under the rule of [[Spain]]. The cities of Flanders were wealthy tradings cities by that time. At the same time all over [[Europe]], people started to protest again the decadence of the Catholic Church. Protestantism was quite popular in the southwest of the Netherlands. After the icony clash in 1566 the Catholic Spanish intensified repression against protestants. Lower dutch nobility started to protest against this repression, but were not taken serious by the Spanish. The provinces in the North make a coalition in [[Utrecht]] in 1567. William of Orange became the unofficial leader of the protestant rebellion. After a failed attempt, the rebellion really started with the takeover of the small coastal city of Brielle. Slowly more and more cities joined the insurge.

After 80 years of war the north became the protestant republic of Dutch provinces, the south remained catholic under rule of the Spanish. The north conquered two catholic provinces, [[Brabant]] and [[Limburg]], but also in the north there were lots of catholics left. The catholics were allowed to remain catholic, as long as the leading protestants didn't have to see anything that reminded them to catholicism. The centre of the region moved from [[Antwerpen]] (previously a protestant city, but conquered by the Spanish) to [[Amsterdam]]. Amsterdam became more wealthy then [[Antwerpen]] ever was and became the centre of a strong naval, colonial power. The VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) started trading posts in [[Afrika]], [[India]], [[China]] and [[Japan]] en conquered big parts of [[Indonesia]] while the WIC (West Indische Compagnie) started selltements in present day [[New York]], [[Recife]] ([[Brasil]]) and the carribean islands and got rich by Piratery and slavery.

'''French Revolution'''

In the 18th century the Dutch republic was a big example for the formation of the United States but was allready for a long time in decline. After losing wars with [[England]] the Dutch lost their role as world power. The Dutch were completely overrun by the enthousiasm of the revolution in [[France]] and became a French province aroun 1800. The French totally reformed state organisation drasticly.

'''Dutch Kingdom'''

When the French left the other monarchies in Europe upgraded the family of Orange to a royal family. the Netherlands became a kingdom joined with [[Belgium]]. Belgium left this union in 1830, but the kingdom remained.

'''World Wars'''

The Dutch tried to be neutral in both world wars, but only succeeded in that in the first. In the second the country was invaded by [[Germany]]. The war only lasted a few days and stopped after the Germans totally destroyed [[Rotterdam]]. It took 5 years untill the country was liberated. The south was allready liberated in 1944, the whole winter lasted with a frontline on the rivers, causing famine in the urban regions in the North. By mistake the allied forces destroyed the city of [[Nijmegen]] (they ment to detroy a German city).

'''Modern History'''

After the sober fifties, the Dutch became very wealthy in the sixties after finding gas supplies in the North. The cultural revolution of the sixties had a big impact on the Netherlands, making the country known for it's liberal, progressive laws and making [[Amsterdam]] one of the hippie capitals of the world. Because of shortage of low education workers, a lot of workers from mediterranian countries were reqruited. Together with the independence of most colonies (and the migration of lots of their inhabitants), this made the Netherland a multicultural society. After being mostly known for the country with liberal laws on drugs, gay-rights and etnical medical matters after the millennium the country was more and more polarised. Right wing politicans criticise the lack of authority and two political murders gave the Netherlands a reputation of a country looking for it's identity and unsure of what the future will bring.

[[trash:Netherlands]]
[[hitch:Netherlands]]
{{IsIn|Europe}}