尼德兰(Netherlands, The)
正式名称尼德兰王国（Kingdom of the Netherlands）
别名荷兰（Holland）
欧洲西北部国家。面积41,863平方公里。人口约15,896,000（2001）。首都︰阿姆斯特丹；政府所在地︰海牙。绝大多数人民为荷兰人。语言︰荷兰语（官方语）、英语。宗教︰天主教、新教。货币︰欧元。尼德兰南部和中部地区多为平原，及少数山岭；该国西部和北部地区地势较低，有须德海及一般所知的莱茵河、默兹和须耳德河三角洲。沿海地区几乎完全低於海平面，有沙丘及人工堤保护。该国已开发的市场经济大部分是以服务业、轻重工业和贸易为主。政府形式是君主立宪政体，有议会及两院制。君主是国家元首，总理是政府首脑。
在罗马人征服时期，该地区居住着塞尔特人和日耳曼人的部落。在罗马人的统治下，贸易和工业繁荣发展，但到了3世纪中叶，受到觉醒了的日耳曼部落的侵蚀以及来自海上的侵犯，罗马势力已经衰落了。406～407年间日耳曼人的入侵结束了罗马的控制。罗马人之後是梅罗文加王朝，但在7世纪时被加洛林王朝取代，加洛林王朝将该地区转变成基督教地区。814年查理曼死後，该地区成为维京人日益频繁袭击的目标。它成为中世纪洛林王国（参阅Lorraine）的一部分，洛林王国授予主教以及具有神圣权力的修道院院长之职，建立起一个帝国教会，从而避免了并入神圣罗马帝国。在12～14世纪里，荷兰-乌得勒支泥炭沼泽平原的大片土地都可以从事农业生产，并大规模地修筑堤坝；法兰德斯发展成一个纺织业中心。14世纪晚期，勃艮地的公爵取得了控制权。到了16世纪初，西班牙的哈布斯堡王朝统治了这些低地国家。该公国在捕鱼、造船和啤酒酿造方面取得了领先地位，为17世纪尼德兰的繁荣昌盛打下了基础。从文化上看，这个时期是艾克、坎普滕的托马斯以及伊拉斯谟斯的时期。喀尔文派和再洗礼派的学说和教义吸引了许多追随者。1581年在喀尔文派的领导下，第七个北部省宣布脱离西班牙而独立。1648年三十年战争後，西班牙承认尼德兰独立。17世纪是尼德兰文明的黄金时期。斯宾诺莎和笛卡儿享受到了该国的知识自由，林布兰和弗美尔画出了他们的经典之作。荷属东印度公司保障了亚洲的殖民地，国家的生活水准直线上升。18世纪时，尼德兰的海军力量下降；在法国革命战争期间法国占领了这个地区，1806年成为拿破仑手下的荷兰王国。第一次世界大战中，尼德兰保持中立，第二次世界大战中虽宣布中立，却被德国占领。战後，它失去了荷属东印度群岛，那里成为印尼（1949）和尼德兰新几内亚（1962）。1949年它参加北大西洋公约组织，是欧洲经济共同体（後更名为欧洲共同体）的创建成员。它是欧洲联盟的成员。
English version：
Netherlands, The
DutchNederlandCountry, northwestern Europe. Area: 16,033 sq mi (41,525 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 15,896,000. Capital: Amsterdam; Seat of Government: The Hague. Most of the people are Dutch. Languages: Dutch (official), English. Religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism. Monetary unit: euro. The Netherlands' southern and eastern region consists mostly of plains and a few high ridges; its western and northern region is lower and includes the Zuider Zee and the common delta of the Rhine, Meuse, and Schelde rivers. Coastal areas are almost completely below sea level and are protected by dunes and artificial dikes. The country has a developed market economy based largely on financial services, light and heavy industries, and trade. It is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament comprising two legislative houses; its chief of state is the monarch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Celtic and Germanic tribes inhabited the region at the time of the Roman conquest. Under the Romans trade and industry flourished, but by the mid-3rd century AD Roman power had waned, eroded by resurgent German tribes and the encroachment of the sea. A Germanic invasion (406-7) ended Roman control. The Merovingian dynasty followed the Romans but was supplanted in the 7th century by the Carolingian dynasty, which converted the area to Christianity. After Charlemagne's death in 814, the area was increasingly the target of Viking attacks. It became part of the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia (see Lorraine), which avoided incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire by investing its bishops and abbots with secular powers, leading to the establishment of an Imperial Church. In the 12th-14th centuries large areas of land in the Holland-Utrecht peat-bog plain were made available for agriculture, and dike building occurred on a large scale; Flanders developed as a textiles center. The dukes of Burgundy gained control in the late 14th century. By the early 16th century the Low Countries were ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs. The Dutch had taken the lead in fishing, shipbuilding, and beer brewing, laying the basis for Holland's remarkable 17th-century prosperity. Culturally, this was the period of Jan van Eyck, Thomas à Kempis, and Desiderius Erasmus. Calvinism and the Anabaptists' doctrines attracted many followers. In 1581 the seven northern provinces, led by Calvinists, declared their independence from Spain, and in 1648, following the Thirty Years' War, Spain recognized Dutch independence. The 17th century was the golden age of Dutch civilization. Benedict de Spinoza and René Descartes enjoyed the country's intellectual freedom, and Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer painted their masterpieces. The Dutch East India Company secured Asian colonies, and the country's standard of living soared. In the 18th century, Dutch maritime power declined; the region was conquered by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars and became the kingdom of Holland under Napoleon (1806). The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I and declared neutrality in World War II but was occupied by Germany. After the war it lost the Netherlands Indies, which became Indonesia (1949), and Netherlands New Guinea (1962). It joined NATO in 1949 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community (later renamed the European Community). It is a member of the European Union.