Climate, Agriculture.—The climate of the Netherlands is humid, changeable, and disagreeable. The mean tempera ture is not lower than in like latitudes in the British Islands, and the quantity of rain (26 inches) is somewhat less; but the winter is much more severe. As regards rural industries gardening and agriculture have attained a high de gree of perfection. Yet the latter holds a subordinate place in rural industry. Wheat, of excellent quality, is grown only in favored portions of the south provinces. Rye, oats, and buckwheat, with horse-beans, beet, madder, and chicory, are more common crops; and tobacco is cultivated in the prov inces of Gelderland, South Holland, and Utrecht; flax in North Brabant, South and North Holland, Friesland, and Zee land; and hemp, sugar-beet, oil-seeds, and hops in various parts of the king dom. Culinary vegetables are cultivated on a large scale, not merely for the sake of supplying the internal demand, but also for the exportation of the seeds, which form an important article of Dutch commerce. But it is in stock (cattle, horses, sheep, swine, goats), and dairy produce in particular, that the rural industry of the Netherlands shows its strength.
A new system of compiling trade statistics was introduced in 1917, and the latest complete figures available are for that year. The total imports in the calendar year 1917 amounted to 7,472, 339 metric tons, valued at $435,000,208. The exports for the same year amounted to 3,321,590 metric tons, valued at $336, 673,258. Nearly 25 per cent. of the im port trade was with Germany. The largest trade, however, was with the United Kingdom, amounting in value to over $115,000,000. The largest volume of exports went to Germany, $127,325, 000. Exports to the United States amounted to $14,735,600, while the im ports from the United States amounted to $79,816,300. The chief imports were of gold coin, wheat, cotton yarn, to bacco. The principal exports were margarine and artificial butter, cheese, butter, condensed milk, dried vegetables. There are about 2,400 miles of railway in the country and about 2,000 miles of canals. Vessels entering ports in 1918 numbered 1,779 with a tonnage of 1,663,093. The total national debt in 1919 was 1,650,646,000 guilders. The revenue for the same year was 285,667, 443 guilders, while the expenditures amounted to 588,706,724 guilders.
People, Institutions, etc.—The stock to which the people belong is the Teutonic, the great majority of the inhabitants being descendants of the old Batavians. They comprise over 70 per cent. of the population, and are chiefly settled in the nrovinces of North and South Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, and Gelderland. The Flemings of North Brabant and Lim burg, and the Frisians, inhabiting Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and Overijssel, form the other groups. The majority of the people belong to the Dutch Reformed Church (a Presby terian body) ; the remainder being Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, Jews, etc. All religious bodies are on a per fect equality. The government is a con stitutional monarchy, the executive be ing vested in the sovereign, and the legislative authority in the states-gen eral, sitting in two chambers. The up per chamber, 50 in number, is elected by the provincial councils or assemblies of the 11 provinces; the lower chamber, 100 in number, is elected directly, the electors being all males of 25 years of age taxed at a certain figure. The mem
bers of the lower house are paid.
Elementary schools are everywhere established, and are partly supported by the State, but education is not compul sory. Higher class schools are in all the chief towns; while there are State universities, namely, at Leyden, Utrecht, and Groningen, and the municipal uni versity at Amsterdam. The commercial capital of the country is Amsterdam, but the seat of government and resi dence of the sovereign is The Hague.
History.—The S. portion of the Low Countries belonged at the beginning of the Christian era to Belgic Gaul (see GAUL). The N. portion, inhabited by the Batavians and Frisians, formed part of Germany. The S. portion as far as the Rhine was held by Rome up to A. D. 400, after which it came under the rule of the Franks, as did also subse quently the rest of the country. In the 11th century the territory comprised in the present kingdoms of Belgium and the Netherlands formed a number of counties, marquisates, and duchies corresponding more or less with the modern provinces. By the latter part of the 15th century all these had been acquired by the Duke of Burgundy, and passed to the house of Hapsburg on the marriage of the daughter of Charles the Bold of Burgundy to the son of the Emperor Frederick III. On the ab dication of Charles V. in 1556 they passed to his son Philip II. of Spain. In consequence of religious persecution in 1576 Holland and Zeeland openly re belled, and in 1579 the five N. prov inces—Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guel ders, and Friesland—concluded the cel ebrated Union of Utrecht by which they declared themselves independent of Spain. They were joined in 1580 by Overijssel, and in 1594 by Groningen. After the assassination of William of Orange, July 10, 1584, Maurice became stadtholder (governor). His victories at Nieuport and in Brabant, the bold and victorious exploits of the Dutch ad mirals against the navy of Philip II., the wars of France and England against Spain, and the apathy of Philip II., caused in 1609 the peace of Antwerp. But Holland had yet to go through the Thirty Years' War before its independ ence, now recognized by all the powers except Spain, was fully secured by the peace of Westphalia. In the middle of the 17th century the United Nether lands were the first commercial state and the first maritime power in the world, and for a long time maintained the dominion of the sea. The S. prov inces alternated between the rule of Spain and Austria till 1797, when they came under the power of the French republic. In 1806 Louis Napoleon be came king of Holland, but in 1810 it was incorporated with the French em pire. In 1814 all the provinces both of Holland and Belgium were united by the treaty of Paris to form the kingdom of the Netherlands. This arrangement lasted till 1830, when the S. provinces broke away and formed the kingdom of Belgium. King Willem I. attempted to reduce the revolted provinces by force; but the great powers intervened, and finally matters were adjusted between the two countries in 1839. The king ab dicated in 1840, and was succeeded by his son Willem II. (1840-1849), he be ing again succeeded by his son Willem III., who was succeeded in 1890 by his daughter Wilhelmina, Queen Emma reigning as queen-regent till the queen came of age, Aug. 31, 1898. Queen Wil helmina was married to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Feb. 7, 1901.