Netherlands or Holland?

Netherlands, Holland, Países Bajos, Dutchland? All of these are sometimes used to refer to the country that is the Netherlands. On Jetpunk, both Netherlands and Holland are accepted as type-ins on most featured quizzes. But which one is the right one? (The) Netherlands is the only correct way to refer to the country, but why is there such confusion? The people from the Netherlands are called Dutch and so is their language. In Dutch, the country is called "Nederland", the language is called "Nederlands" and nationality is "Nederlands" aswell. Quite simple, right? Yet in English, and many more languages, there is a lot of confusion on which is the correct form. This blog will explain, really briefly, why it is "Netherlands."

Difference between Netherlands and Holland

A brief history of the Netherlands and Holland: Between 1588 and 1795, the area currently representing the Netherlands was the Republic of Seven United Netherlands. The republic was conquered by French troops in 1795 and became the Batavian Republic. Napoleon appointed his brother Louis as king in 1806, turning the country into a kingdom. The Netherlands remained a kingdom after Napoleon’s defeat. At that time, the area called “Holland” made the biggest contribution to the entire nation’s economy and wealth. As such it became the commonly used name to indicate the entire country.

Nowadays, the Netherlands consists of 12 provinces. One of which is called Noord-Holland (North-Holland) and one is called Zuid-Holland (South-Holland). So calling the whole country "Holland" is similar to referring to the United States as "Dakota" or "Carolina". So, Netherlands is the entire country, Holland is a region within the country.

The Dutch themselves

In the Dutch language it's all simple, "Nederland" (country) and "Nederlands" (language and nationality). So the Dutch probably use "Netherlands" when they start to talk English, right? Well, no. The Dutch aren't helping the case. When the national football/soccer team plays, the most famous chant is "Hup Holland Hup" or just simple yelling "Holland, Holland". But it's not just the people, the government itself uses Holland for its own offical websites. The official website for tourism in the Netherlands is called "www.holland.com" and the website for trading is called "hollandtradeandinvest.com". That sure doesn't help the case.

Rebranding time

The Dutch government has decided to stop describing itself as Holland and will instead use only its real name, the Netherlands, as part of an attempted update of its global image. The national rebranding, which has been signed up to by business leaders, the tourist board and central government, will be rolled out later this year (2019). Ministers want to shift the international focus from certain aspects of national life with which the country is commonly associated, such as its recreational drug culture and the red-light district of Amsterdam.

As part of the new strategy, the Netherlands will be the official brand at the Eurovision song contest, which takes place in Rotterdam next May, and during the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. The nation’s football/soccer team, which is often referred to abroad as Holland, will solely be called the Netherlands in any official setting. Earlier this year, the Dutch tourist board, whose website address is Holland.com, said it would be moving its focus from promoting the Netherlands as a whole to drawing attention instead to less well-known parts of the country.

Conclusion

The correct way to refer to the country is "Netherlands". The reason why Holland is often used has historical reasons and the Dutch certainly didn't help by using the name themselves. With the rebranding going on, maybe, just maybe, Netherlands will used by most people, it will at least prevent some more comments below user-created JetPunk quizzes that "Holland" should be accepted and we might get rid of the allowed type-in of "Holland" in featured JetPunk quizzes.

Personal note

I am Dutch myself and I always tend to call it "Netherlands", but I don't see it as a problem when people use "Holland". I'm not from the region Holland myself, but from the province called Noord-Brabant (North-Brabant), which ironically, is in the south bordering Belgium. But that's a story for another day.