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Poster for Holland-Amerika Lijn, 1898

The Holland America Line is a British-American owned cruise line. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (Dutch: Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij), a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line. HAL is now headquartered in Seattle, Washington, U.S.^[1]

The first ships sailed between Rotterdam and New York in 1872, with New York remaining the American terminal. Other services were started to South America and Baltimore. Cargo service to New York was added in 1899. During the first 25 years the company carried 400,000 people from the old world to the new world. Other North American ports were added during the early 20th century.

Though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue, in 1895 HAL offered its first vacation cruise. Its second vacation cruise, from New York to the Holy Land was first offered in 1910. In 1971, HAL suspended transatlantic passenger trade and in 1973 sold its cargo shipping division.

In 1989, HAL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corp. The company operates 15 ships to 7 continents and is expected to carry over 750,000 cruise passengers in 2012.^[2] In addition to its cruise line, Holland America operates the Westmark Hotel chain in Alaska and the Yukon.

History[link]

Holland America Line produced some noted ships, from the 36,000 gross ton SS Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937 (besides the RMS Queen Mary, the only 1930s-built liner to make a profit) and the SS Rotterdam of 1959, one of the first North Atlantic ships equipped for two-class transatlantic crossing and one-class luxury cruising. By the late 1960s, the golden era of transatlantic passenger ships was ended by air travel. HAL ended transatlantic service during the early 1970s, leaving the North Atlantic passenger trade for Cunard's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2.

In 1971, Holland America transitioned from passenger sea transportation to pleasure cruising and is known now for its wide variety of destinations. Receiving approval to visit Antarctica in the 1980s, HAL ships cruise to all seven continents. MS Prinsendam and MS Amsterdam make annual "Grand Voyages" lasting more than 60 days, exploring more exotic destinations in South America and Africa.

In summer 2011, the MS Rotterdam did two transatlantic crossings, the first traditional transatlantic runs made by the line in more than 40 years.

Signature of Excellence Program[link]

The MS Eurodam.

In 2003, Holland America announced its "Signature of Excellence" program. The ongoing program focuses on upgrading existing ships. The first phase included adding the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant, the Neptune Lounge (for suite guests), the Culinary Arts Center with demonstration kitchen, expanded children’s and teens’ facilities, enhanced stateroom amenities, and improved dining and enrichment offerings. The second phase of improvements (announced in 2008) adds a new bar lounge area called Mix, the Showroom at Sea show lounge/nightclub, the Retreat resort pool area with pizzeria and LED screen and the complimentary Canaletto Italian restaurant among other enhancements. See details below.

Current[link]

As of July 2008^[update], the line operates 15 ships, from the smaller and older S Class vessels; the mid range R Class; the Vista class; the newest and largest Signature class and the small 793-passenger Prinsendam (originally the Royal Viking Sun, then Seabourn Sun until HAL's purchase in 2002). All HAL ships have a dark blue hull with white superstructure, with the company's logo featured prominently on the functional smoke stacks.

Holland America also owns:

• the Westmark hotel chain operating in Alaska and the Yukon
• Worldwide Shore Services, providing warehouse and logistical support
• Half Moon Cay, a private Caribbean island, known officially as Little San Salvador Island) with most Caribbean cruises spending a day there.

On April 3, 2008 Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation, stated that due to the low value of the US dollar, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, they would not be ordering new ships for their US based divisions (Holland America, Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises) until the economic situation improves. Nevertheless, Carnival Breeze was ordered in 2010, and two Princess liners in 2011, one of which will be the new Royal Princess.^[3]

Current Fleet[link]

Statendam Class (S Class)[link]

Vessel Name	In HAL Service	Gross Tonnage	Maximum Speed	Passenger Complement	Enclosed Passenger Decks	Notes	Image
MS Statendam	1993	55,819	22 knots	1,260	9	April 2010 refit added spa staterooms, Mix lounge and Showroom at Sea
MS Maasdam	1993	55,575	22 knots	1,258	9	April 2011 refit added Lanai and spa staterooms, Mix lounge and Showroom at Sea
MS Ryndam	1994	55,819	22 knots	1,260	9	February 2010 refit added spa staterooms, Mix lounge and Showroom at Sea
MS Veendam	1996	57,092	22 knots	1,350	9	April 2009 refit added Lanai, spa and verandah staterooms, Mix lounge, Showroom at Sea, the Retreat aft pool area with shallow pool and movie screen (moved up to Lido deck level), and duck tail for stability. April 2011 refit updated Retreat area, removing wading pool in favor of several smaller hot/cool tubs.

The four S Class ships above began life as virtually identical vessels except for décor. They were the first new HAL cruise ships to incorporate features like the atrium, the two-deck main dining room and show lounge, and the Lido pool with retractable roof. These vessels are currently undergoing a series of major refits. See above for details.

All S Class ships received the first phase of Signature of Excellence upgrades (detailed above) between 2004 and 2006.

Rotterdam Class (R Class)[link]

Vessel Name	In HAL Service	Gross Tonnage	Maximum Speed	Passenger Complement	Enclosed Passenger Decks	Notes	Image
MS Rotterdam	1997	61,849	25 knots	1,404	9	December 2009 refit added Lanai, spa and verandah staterooms, Mix lounge, Showroom at Sea, the Retreat aft pool area (moved up to Lido deck level) with shallow pool and movie screen
MS Volendam	1999	61,214	23 knots	1,432	9
MS Zaandam	2000	61,396	23 knots	1,432	9
MS Amsterdam	2000	62,735	25 knots	1,380	9

Unlike the vessels of the S Class, Holland America Line's R Class ships did not all start out identical. Rotterdam, the first of the four, was similar to the S Class, but slightly longer and wider, with a third set of passenger stairs/elevators and some new facilities. The twins Volendam and Zaandam followed, similar to Rotterdam, but with a different (single) funnel and larger because the aft pool was moved up one deck to the Lido level, creating more space for passenger accommodations below. The final R Class ship, Amsterdam, like a hybrid of Rotterdam and Volendam/Zaandam, incorporates Rotterdam's twin funnels as well as the Lido deck aft pool. Together, Rotterdam and Amsterdam are considered HAL's flagships.

All R Class ships received the first phase of Signature of Excellence upgrades (detailed above) between 2005 and 2009.

Vista Class[link]

Vessel Name	In HAL Service	Gross Tonnage	Maximum Speed	Passenger Complement	Enclosed Passenger Decks	Notes	Image
MS Zuiderdam	2002	82,305	24 knots	1,916	10
MS Oosterdam	2003	82,305	24 knots	1,916	10
MS Westerdam	2004	82,305	24 knots	1,916	10
MS Noordam	2006	82,318	24 knots	1,924	10

HAL's four Vista Class ships are named for the points of the compass in Dutch. Noord for north, Zuid for south, Oost for east and West for West. These ships were designed mainly for shorter (less than two weeks) cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe. These ships are notable because of the exceptionally great number of oceanview and verandah staterooms - more than 85% and 67% respectively. The first three Vista Class vessels were built as identical triplets. Noordam incorporated a few design changes, including a more vertical aft profile, which makes her larger, with a slightly greater passenger capacity. The success of Noordam's revised design caused HAL to modify the other three Vista Class ships with aft expansions to mimic Noordam.

In 2006, the Vista class cruise ships were awarded the 2006 Green Planet Award for outstanding environmental standards by Kuoni Switzerland.^[4]

Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam received the first phase of Signature of Excellence upgrades (detailed above) between 2005 and 2006, while Noordam was built to SOE1 standards.

Signature Class[link]

Vessel Name	In HAL Service	Gross Tonnage	Maximum Speed	Passenger Complement	Enclosed Passenger Decks	Notes	Image
MS Eurodam	2008	86,273	23.9 knots	2,104	11
MS Nieuw Amsterdam	2010	86,700	23.9 knots	2,106	11		90px

The Signature Class ships are essentially an enhanced Vista Class design. The main difference is the addition of a deck between the Lido and Observation decks. This allows for more cabins (mostly spa accommodations) and some additional facilities including the specialty restaurant Tamarind and the Silk Den lounge.

Both Signature Class ships were built to Signature of Excellence (first phase) standards (detailed above).

The "Elegant Explorer"[link]

Vessel Name	In HAL Service	Gross Tonnage	Maximum Speed	Passenger Complement	Enclosed Passenger Decks	Notes	Image
MS Prinsendam	2002 (built 1988)	37,983	22 knots	835	8

The smallest and oldest HAL ship, Prinsendam is in a class by herself. The only Holland America Line ship not built for the line, Prinsendam enjoyed a career with Royal Viking Line, Cunard and Seabourn Cruise Line before joining the HAL fleet after an extensive refit in 2002. Prinsendam does not have a two-deck main dining room or main lounge, an indoor/outdoor pool, or dedicated children's facilities like other HAL vessels.

Prinsendam received the first phase of Signature of Excellence upgrades (detailed above) in 2005.

Chartered Ships[link]

• Noordam, 1984—On long term charter to Thomson Cruises in 2005.

• Nieuw Amsterdam, 1984—Sold to American Classic Voyages in 2000. HAL repurchased the vessel and charted her to Louis Cruises who then subchartered the ship to Thomson Cruises after a lengthy refitting.

Former Fleet[link]

• SS Rotterdam, 1958—Sold to Premier Cruise Lines in 1997, retired in 2000 and now a hotel and museum.
• MS Westerdam, 1986—Transferred to Costa Cruises in 2002 and renamed Costa Europa, April 2010 charted to Thomson Cruises for 10 years and known as Thomson Dream.
• MS Prinsendam, 1973–80 - Sank off of the coast of Alaska.
• SS Veendam (3), 1972–74, 1975–76, 1978–84—Last in service for Commodore Cruise Line as Enchanted Isle^[5]
• SS Volendam(1), 1922–1952, 1940-45 escaped to Britain in WW2, served as troop transport, returned to Rotterdam 1945
• SS Volendam (2), 1972–76, 1978–84—Sister to SS Veendam (3); Last known as Universe Explorer of World Explorer Lines^[6]
• SS Statendam (3), WW2 1940 scrapped after set on fire to avoid capture at Rotterdam
• SS Statendam (4) 1956–1982—Last in service for Regent Star as Regency. Inactive after Regent Star went bankrupt.^[7]
• SS Maasdam (4) (1952–1968), 1968-1990 in service for Polish Ocean Lines as Stefan Batory, the last regularly scheduled transatlantic liner, scrapped Turkey 2000^[8]
• SS Ryndam (2) (1951–1973)—Sank 2003 on way to breakers^[9]
• SS Waterman (1951–1963) - Launched January 16, 1945 Decommissioned 1970.^[10]
• SS Zuiderkruis (1951–1963) - Launched May 5, 1944 Decommissioned 1969.^[11]
• SS Groote Beer (1951–1963) - Launched June 17, 1944 Decommissioned 1971.^[12]
• SS Westerdam (1945–1965)—Combination first class passenger/cargo vessel; scrapped Spain 1965
• SS Nieuw Amsterdam, 1937, in WW2 escaped to US neutral port, served as a British War Transport carrying over 350,000, returned to Holland in 1946. Breakers yard in 1974.
• SS Rotterdam, 1908—Scrapped 1940.
• SS Potsdam, 1900—Scrapped 1947- It was the largest ship HAL owned at the time it was in service.
• SS Rotterdam, 1886—Fate Unknown.
• SS Rotterdam, 1872—Wrecked September 26, 1883.
• SS Veendam (2), (sister ship SS Volendam (1)) WW2 1940, bombed in Rotterdam, repaired and requestioned by Hamburg-America Line. Used for German submarine crews stationed in Hamburg. Returned to service from Rotterdam 1947, scrapped Baltimore 1953.

See also[link]

• Carnival Corporation & plc

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holland America Line

• Official website
• The Last Ocean Liners - Holland America Line - trade routes and ships of the Holland America Line during the 1950s and 60s.

v t e Ships of the Holland America Line Fleet Current fleet Amsterdam Eurodam Maasdam Noordam Oosterdam Prinsendam Rotterdam Ryndam Statendam Veendam Volendam Westerdam Zaandam Zuiderdam Nieuw Amsterdam (2010) Former ships Nieuw Amsterdam (1937) SS Rotterdam Nieuw Amsterdam (1984) Noordam (1984) Westerdam (1986)

Coat of arms of the former County of Holland

Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is also frequently used as a pars pro toto to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but disliked by Dutch people in the other parts of the Netherlands.^[1]

From the 10th century to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region, a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic.

Today, the former County of Holland consists of the two Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland, which together include the Netherlands' three largest cities: country capital Amsterdam; seat of government The Hague; and Rotterdam, home of Europe's largest port.

Etymology[link]

Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) referred to this region as the land between the Helinium and Flevo ("inter Helinium ac Flevum"), the names of the mouths into which the Rhine divided itself, the first discharging its waters in the Mosa in the neighbourhood of Brielle and the second into "the lakes of the north" (present IJsselmeer).^[2] The name Holland first appeared in sources in 866 for the region around Haarlem, and by 1064 was being used as the name of the entire county. By this time, the inhabitants of Holland were referring to themselves as "Hollanders".^[3] Holland is derived from the Middle Dutch term holtland ("wooded land").^{[citation needed]} This spelling variation remained in use until around the 14th century, at which time the name stabilised as Holland (alternative spellings at the time were Hollant and Hollandt). Popular, but incorrect etymology holds that Holland is derived from hol land ("hollow land") and was inspired by the low-lying geography of Holland.^{[citation needed]}

Usage[link]

The proper name of the area in both Dutch and English is "Holland". "Holland" is a part of the Netherlands. "Holland" is informally used in English and other languages, including sometimes the Dutch language itself, to mean the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands.^[4] (This example of pars pro toto or synecdoche is similar to the tendency to refer to the United Kingdom as "England".)

The people of Holland are referred to as "Hollanders" in both Dutch and English. Today this refers specifically to people from the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland. Strictly speaking, the term "Hollanders" does not refer to people from the other provinces in the Netherlands, but colloquially "Hollanders" is sometimes mistakenly used in this wider sense.

In Dutch, the Dutch word "Hollands" is the adjectival form for "Holland". The Dutch word "Hollands" is also colloquially and occasionally used by some Dutch people in the sense of "Nederlands" (Dutch), but then often with the intention of contrasting with other types of Dutch people or language, for example Limburgish, the Belgian form of the Dutch language ("Flemish"), or even any southern variety of Dutch within the Netherlands itself.

However, in English there is no commonly used adjective for "Holland". "Dutch" refers to the Netherlands as a whole, not just the region of Holland. "Hollands" is ordinarily expressed in English in two ways:

• a possessive construction (e.g. "Holland's economic power"); or
• an "of Holland" or "from Holland" construction (e.g. "the Maid of Holland"; "a girl from Holland").

The following usages apply in certain limited situations but do not ordinarily serve as the English equivalent of the commonly used Dutch adjective "Hollands".

• Occasionally, the noun "Holland" is used in apposition (e.g. "the Holland Society").
• The adjective "Hollandic" is occasionally used by some historians and other academic writers as an adjective for Holland. Historians who use the word tend to reserve it to pre-Napoleonic Holland. Hollandic is also the name linguists give to the dialect spoken in Holland.
• The adjective "Hollandish" is a word in English but is no longer in use.

Geography[link]

North Holland

South Holland

Holland is situated in the west of the Netherlands. A maritime region, Holland lies on the North Sea at the mouths of the Rhine and the Meuse (Maas). It has numerous rivers and lakes and an extensive inland canal and waterway system. To the south is Zealand. The region is bordered on the east by the IJsselmeer and four different provinces of the Netherlands.

Holland is protected from the sea by a long line of coastal dunes. Most of the land area behind the dunes consists of polder landscape lying well below sea level. At present the lowest point in Holland is a polder near Rotterdam, which is about seven meters below sea level. Continuous drainage is necessary to keep Holland from flooding. In earlier centuries windmills were used for this task. The landscape was (and in places still is) dotted with windmills, which have become a symbol of Holland.

Holland is 7,494 square kilometres (land and water included), making it roughly 13% of the area of the Netherlands. Looking at land alone, it is 5,488 square kilometres in size. The combined population is 6.1 million.

The main cities in Holland are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Amsterdam is formally the capital of the Netherlands and its largest city. The Port of Rotterdam is Europe's largest and most important harbour and port. The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands. These cities, combined with Utrecht and other smaller municipalities, effectively form a single city—a conurbation called Randstad.

The Randstad area is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe, but still relatively free of urban sprawl. There are strict zoning laws. Population pressures are enormous, property values are high, and new housing is constantly under development on the edges of the built-up areas. Surprisingly, much of the province still has a rural character. The remaining agricultural land and natural areas are highly valued and protected. Most of the arable land is used for intensive agriculture, including horticulture and greenhouse agri-businesses.

Language[link]

The predominant language spoken in the Holland is Dutch. Hollanders sometimes refer to the Dutch language as "Hollands", instead of the standard term Nederlands. Inhabitants of Belgium and other provinces of the Netherlands refer to "Hollands" to indicate someone speaking in a Hollandic dialect, or strong accent.

Standard Dutch was historically largely based on the dialect of the County of Holland, incorporating many traits derived from the dialects of the previously more powerful Duchy of Brabant and County of Flanders. Strong dialectal variation still exists throughout the Low Countries. Today, Holland-proper is the region where the original dialects are least spoken, in many areas having been completely replaced by standard Dutch, and the Randstad has the largest influence on the developments of the standard language—with the exception of the Dutch spoken in Belgium.^[5]

Despite this correspondence between standard Dutch and the Dutch spoken in the Randstad, there are local variations within Holland itself that differ from standard Dutch. The main cities each have their own modern urban dialect, that can be considered a sociolect.^[6] A small number of people, especially in the area north of Amsterdam, still speak the original dialect of the county, Hollandic. The Hollandic dialect is present in the north: Volendam and Marken and the area around there, West Friesland and the Zaanstreek; and in a south-eastern fringe bordering on the provinces of North Brabant and Utrecht. In the south on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, Zealandic is spoken.

History[link]

Each of the provinces in the Netherlands has a history that deserves full attention on its own. However, to a certain extent at least, the history of Holland is the history of the Netherlands, and vice versa. See the article on "History of the Netherlands" for a more detailed history. The article here focuses on those points that are specific to Holland itself or that highlight the nature of the role played by Holland in the Netherlands as a whole.

Reclamation of the land[link]

The land that is now Holland had never been stable. Over the millennia the geography of the region had been dynamic. The western coastline shifted up to thirty kilometres to the east and storm surges regularly broke through the row of coastal dunes. The Frisian Isles, originally joined to the mainland, became detached islands in the north. The main rivers, the Rhine and the Meuse (Maas), flooded regularly and changed course repeatedly and dramatically.

The people of Holland found themselves living in an unstable, watery environment. Behind the dunes on the coast of the Netherlands a high peat plateau had grown, forming a natural protection against the sea. Much of the area was marsh and bog. By the tenth century the inhabitants set about cultivating this land by draining it. However, the drainage resulted in extreme soil shrinkage, lowering the surface of the land by up to fifteen metres.

Benthuizen polder, seen from a dike

To the south of Holland, in Zeeland, and to the north, in Frisia, this development led to catastrophic storm floods literally washing away entire regions, as the peat layer disintegrated or became detached and was carried away by the flood water. From the Frisian side the sea even flooded the area to the east, gradually hollowing Holland out from behind and forming the Zuiderzee (the present IJsselmeer). This inland sea threatened to link up with the "drowned lands" of Zealand in the south, reducing Holland to a series of narrow dune barrier islands in front of a lagoon. Only drastic administrative intervention saved the county from utter destruction. The counts and large monasteries took the lead in these efforts, building the first heavy emergency dikes to bolster critical points. Later special autonomous administrative bodies were formed, the waterschappen ("water control boards"), which had the legal power to enforce their regulations and decisions on water management. As the centuries went by, they eventually constructed an extensive dike system that covered the coastline and the polders, thus protecting the land from further incursions by the sea.

However, the Hollanders did not stop there. Starting around the 16th century, they took the offensive and began land reclamation projects, converting lakes, marshy areas and adjoining mudflats into polders. This continued right into the 20th century. As a result, historical maps of mediaeval and early modern Holland bear little resemblance to the maps of today.

This ongoing struggle to master the water played an important role in the development of Holland as a maritime and economic power and in the development of the character of the people of Holland.

County of Holland[link]

Until the 9th century, the inhabitants of the area that became Holland were Frisians. The area was part of Frisia. At the end of the 9th century, Holland became a separate county in the Holy Roman Empire. The first Count of Holland known about with certainty was Dirk I, who ruled from 896 to 931. He was succeeded by a long line of counts in the House of Holland (who were in fact known as counts of Frisia until 1101). When John I, count of Holland, died childless in 1299, the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes, count of Hainaut. By the time of William V (House of Wittelsbach; 1354–1388) the count of Holland was also the count of Hainaut, Flanders and Zealand.

In this time a part of Frisia, West Friesland, was conquered (as a result, most provincial institutions, including the States of Holland and West Frisia, would for centuries refer to "Holland and West Frisia" as a unit). The Hook and Cod wars started around this time and ended when the countess of Holland, Jacoba or Jacqueline was forced to give up Holland to the Burgundian Philip III, known as Philip the Good, in 1432.

The last count of Holland was Philip III, better known as Philip II king of Spain. He was abolished in 1581 by the so-called Act of Abjuration, although the kings of Spain continued to carry the titular appellation of count of Holland until the Peace of Münster signed in 1648.

Holland's prominence in the United Provinces and Dutch Republic[link]

In 1432, Holland became part of the Burgundian Netherlands and since 1477 of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. In the 16th century the county became the most densely urbanised region in Europe, with the majority of the population living in cities. Within the Burgundian Netherlands, Holland was the dominant province in the north; the political influence of Holland largely determined the extent of Burgundian dominion in that area.

Comitatus Hollandiae (1682)

In the Dutch Rebellion against the Habsburgs during the Eighty Years' War, the naval forces of the rebels, the Watergeuzen, established their first permanent base in 1572 in the town of Brill. In this way, Holland, now a sovereign state in a larger Dutch confederation, became the centre of the rebellion. It became the cultural, political and economic centre of the United Provinces, in the 17th century, the Dutch Golden Age, the wealthiest nation in the world. After the King of Spain was deposed as the count of Holland, the executive and legislative power rested with the States of Holland, which was led by a political figure who held the office of Grand Pensionary.

The largest cities in the Dutch Republic were in the province of Holland, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, Alkmaar, The Hague, Delft, Dordrecht and Haarlem. From the great ports of Holland, Hollandic merchants sailed to and from destinations all over Europe, and merchants from all over Europe gathered to trade in the warehouses of Amsterdam and other trading cities of Holland.

Many Europeans thought of the United Provinces first as "Holland" rather than as the "Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands". A strong impression of "Holland" was planted in the minds of other Europeans, which then was projected back onto the Republic as a whole. Within the provinces themselves, a gradual slow process of cultural expansion took place, leading to a "Hollandification" of the other provinces and a more uniform culture for the whole of the Republic. The dialect of urban Holland became the standard language.

Kingdom of Holland[link]

The formation of the Batavian Republic, inspired by the French revolution, led to a more centralised government. Holland became a province of a unitary state. Its independence was further reduced by an administrative reform in 1798, in which its territory was divided into several departments called Amstel, Delf, Texel, and part of Schelde en Maas.

From 1806 to 1810 Napoleon styled his vassal state, governed by his brother Louis Napoleon and shortly by the son of Louis, Napoleon Louis Bonaparte, as the "Kingdom of Holland". This kingdom encompassed much of what would become the modern Netherlands. The name reflects how natural at the time it had become to equate Holland with the non-Belgian Netherlands as a whole.^[7]

During the period the Low Countries were annexed by the French Empire and actually incorporated into France (from 1810 to 1813), Holland was divided into the départements Zuyderzée and Bouches-de-la-Meuse.

Provinces like any other[link]

After 1813, Holland was restored as a province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Holland was divided into the present provinces North Holland and South Holland in 1840, after the Belgian Revolution of 1830. This reflected an historical division of Holland along the IJ into a Southern Quarter (Zuiderkwartier) and a Northern Quarter (Noorderkwartier). But the actual division is different from the old division.

From 1850 a strong process of nation formation took place, the Netherlands being culturally unified and economically integrated by a modernisation process, with the cities of Holland as its centre.^[8]

Image of Holland at home and abroad[link]

The predominance of Holland in the Netherlands has resulted in regionalism on the part of the other provinces. This is a reaction to the perceived threat that Holland poses to the identities and local cultures of the other provinces. The other provinces have a strong, and often negative,^[9] image of Holland and the Hollanders, to whom certain qualities are ascribed within a mental geography, a conceptual mapping of spaces and their inhabitants.^[10] On the other hand, some Hollanders take Holland's cultural dominance for granted and treat the concepts of "Holland" and the "Netherlands" as coincidental. Consequently, they see themselves not primarily as "Hollanders", but simply as "Dutch" (Nederlanders).^[11] This phenomenon has been called "hollandocentrism".^[12]

Holland tends to be associated with a particular image. The stereotypical image of Holland is an artificial amalgam of tulips, windmills, clogs, cheese and traditional dress (klederdracht). As is the case with many stereotypes, this is far from the truth and reality of life in Holland. This can at least in part be explained by the active exploitation of these stereotypes in promotions of Holland and the Netherlands. In fact only in a few of the more traditional villages, such as Volendam and locations in the Zaan area, are the different costumes with wooden shoes still worn by some inhabitants.

New Holland[link]

The province of Holland gave its name to a number of colonial settlements and discovered regions that were called Nieuw Holland or New Holland. The most extensive of these was the island continent presently known as Australia: New Holland was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman as a Latin Nova Hollandia, and remained in international use for 190 years. On the same voyage he named New Zealand after the Dutch province of Zeeland. In the Netherlands Nieuw Holland would remain the usual name of the continent until the end of the 19th century; it is now no longer in use there, the Dutch name today being Australië.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holland

• Map of Holland (the provinces of North Holland and South Holland) on Google Maps

Coordinates: 52°15′00″N 4°40′01″E / 52.250°N 4.667°E / 52.250; 4.667

Look up America in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

America usually refers to either:

• The Americas, a landmass comprising North America and South America
• The United States of America, a country in North America

America may also refer to:

Other locations[link]

• América, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
• America, Limburg, Netherlands
• América, Tamaulipas, Mexico
• America, Illinois, U.S.
• America, Oklahoma, U.S.

Astronomy[link]

• 916 America, a minor planet

Film and television[link]

• America (1924 film), a film by D. W. Griffith
• America (2009 film), an American made-for-television film
• America (2011 film), a 2011 Puerto Rican film
• America: Freedom to Fascism, a 2006 documentary
• América (TV series), a Brazilian telenovela
• America (US TV series), a syndicated afternoon talk show
• Amreeka, a 2009 film (Amreeka the Arabic pronunciation for America)
• America America, an American film by Elia Kazan
• America: A Personal History of the United States, a 13-part BBC television documentary series
• America: The Story of Us, a six-part, 12-hour television documentary depicting the history of the United States

Literature[link]

• America (novel), a young adult novel by E. R. Frank
• "America" (Judge Dredd story), a story by John Wagner
• "America" (poem), a poem by Allen Ginsberg
• America (The Book), a book written by the staff of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• "America" (short story), by Orson Scott Card
• America, a Jake Grafton novel by Stephen Coonts
• "America", a poem by Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass

Music[link]

• America (band), an English-American rock band
• America Records (France), a French jazz record label

Albums[link]

• America (America album)
• America (Havalina album)
• America (John Fahey album)
• America (Kurtis Blow album)
• America (Modern Talking album)
• America – The EP, an EP by Rebecca St. James
• America, an album by George Adams
• America: An Album for All Ages, an album by Bobby Susser
• América & En Vivo, an EP by Luis Miguel

Songs[link]

• "America" (Bree Sharp song)
• "America" (Killing Joke song)
• "America" (Neil Diamond song)
• "America" (Prince song)
• "America" (Razorlight song)
• "America" (Simon & Garfunkel song)
• "America" (West Side Story song)
• "America, Fuck Yeah", the satirical theme song of the 2004 film Team America: World Police
• "America", a song by Tracy Chapman from Where You Live
• "America", a song by Waylon Jennings from Turn the Page
• "America", a song by Nas from his untitled ninth studio album
• "America", a song by Santana featuring P.O.D. from Shaman
• "América", a song by José Luis Perales
• "America", a song by Bobby Susser from America: An Album for All Ages
• "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" or "America", a patriotic song of the United States

Other media[link]

• America (magazine), a weekly Roman Catholic magazine
• America (XM), an XM satellite radio channel
• América 2, an Argentine television station
• America One, an American over-the-air television network
• América Televisión, a Peruvian television network

People[link]

• America Ferrera, American actress
• America Hoffman, son of activist Abbie Hoffman
• America Olivo, American actress

Sports[link]

• América Football Club (disambiguation)
• América de Cali, a football club from Cali, Colombia
• América Managua, a football club from Managua, Nicaragua
• Club América, a football club from Mexico City
• Copa América (Spanish and Portuguese for "America Cup") football competition in South America

Vehicles[link]

• America (aircraft), a multi-engine airplane used by Richard E. Byrd and his crew on a 1927 transatlantic flight
• America (airship), an airship flown in 1907 and 1909 attempts to reach the North Pole, and a 1910 attempt to cross the Atlantic
• America (Spanish automobile), an automobile produced in Barcelona, Spain
• America (American automobile)
• America, the callsign of the Apollo 17 Command/Service Module

Ships[link]

• America (yacht), a racing yacht that won the America's Cup in 1851
• French ship America (1788), a Téméraire-class ship of the French Navy
  • America class ship of the line, derived from the French ship America
• SS America, several ships of the name
• HMS America, several ships of the Royal Navy
• USS America, several ships of the United States Navy
• America class steamship, Cunard sidewheel transatlantic steamships
  • RMS America, first of the America-class
• America class amphibious assault ship

Video games[link]

• America (video game), a 2001 Wild West-themed real-time strategy game

See also[link]

• Air America (disambiguation)
• American (disambiguation)
• Americana (disambiguation)
• Americas (terminology)
• Amerika (disambiguation)
• Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the Americas were named
• Amerrique Mountains
• All pages beginning with "America"

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