The Netherlands Vs. Holland and A Whole Lot More, Explained
How the Netherlands and Holland are so often confused is something anyone Dutch will be completely irritated about. And some have even said that it is easier to say they "Are from that country with Amsterdam", as it is easier recognizable.
So let's first clear up that the correct name for this windmill loving, chocolate-eating, beautiful European nation is The Netherlands. . And this region has undergone numerous changes of names as control changed in this largely contested land over the last 700 years, all of which include, The Republic of the Dutch, The United State of Belgium, and the United Kingdom of Holland. And as one historian stated, "When one name finally gained traction and recognition it would just change again.
So you can see the names truly were numerous, but the next thing you will always need to look at are the twelve provinces of the Netherlands, which are Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Overijssel, Noord Brabant, Utrecht, and Zeeland, and the final and largest two are where things start to make sense. These last two are Zuid-Holland, South Holland, and Noord Holland, or North Holland, which is home to the capital of Amsterdam. Most importantly of all these are the financial and cultural powerhouses with the largest populations. However, this makes it even more complicated as you are referring to an entire nation as a single province, for example calling the U.S. New York, or calling India, Punjab. The most likely thing is that if you are a tourist and you have heard about a Place located in this multi-name nation, it is located in one of the Hollands. Even the official sites of the Nation can vary between Holland and Netherlands.
This brings up the Dyenoum argument. The people of Holland are called Hollanders, and the people of the Netherlands are called Dutch, and when speaking the speak Dutch, however, if you asked someone from the Nederlands they would say, 'Nederlands Sprekende NetherlandersIn Nederlands', which further complicates things as it could be perceived as the dutch wanting to be called Netherlanders. So to simplify, The Country's name is the Kingdom of The Netherlands, it's people are Dutch, They Speak Dutch, there are two provinces with the Name Holland, they are the largest in the nation, and their people are Hollanders. However, this doesn't end the discussion because of Empire.
The Netherlands was once, sort of, a great empire. And the Netherlands is only a part of a country with the same name, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, with its head of state being the reigning Dutch Monarch, however, there are still other countries in this Kingdom which are Aruba, Curacao, and Sainte Martin, all of which are Countries withing A country which's the largest country is the Netherlands. And one of the most hilarious things is that should you go to Curacao, Aruba, and Saint Martin, these Islands in the middle of the Caribbean has an uncanny resemblance to the Netherlands. However, the countries we listed are self-governing nations in the Netherlands, and there are still 3 other territories, not countries, owned by the Netherlands in the Caribbean which are Saba, Bonaire, and Saint Eustatius. These do not even qualify as territories but rather cities within the Country of the Netherlands. Together this is called the Dutch Caribbean, and all the while expand the European Union's border all the way across the world.
So in the end to explain the difference simply, the Netherlands is a country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands which has 3 other Independent member Nations, which are headed by the Dutch Royal Family, with the largest provincial areas being the Hollands, and with three other direct territories of the Netherlands in the Caribbean, all of which are Dutch people speaking Dutch in the Kindom Of The Netherlands
