why is the country holland known as the netherlands?

Answer 1

The correct term is The Netherlands or Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in dutch,...it refers to (as you will see below in greater detail) low lands. I lived in Belgium and it was called Pays Bas which means flat land. We call it Holland in the U.S. but that is actually incorrect as it only refers to a small portion of the nation. It is known by flat or low lands because it is primarily a flat country which is why flooding is such a major issue for them.

Below is some info from wikipedia:

Holland is commonly used as a synonym for the Netherlands as a whole, while actually it just refers to the central-western part of the country. This part consists of two of the twelve provinces of the country, namely North Holland and South Holland.

Historically Holland was the most powerful district of the Netherlands: the counts of Holland were also counts of Hainaut, Flanders and Zeeland for several periods in the 13th-15th century; during the period of the Dutch Republic the stadholder of the Holland was the most powerful politician in the Netherlands, and he often also was stadholder in other provinces; the cities in Holland were important trading cities, for instance six cities in Holland made up the Dutch East India Company. Still the two provinces, making up Holland, are very strong: they house 37.1 percent of the Dutch population.

The name 'Holland' is used in the Netherlands as well, especially in relation to soccer, where "Holland!" is shouted out loud by Dutch soccer fans. Furthermore do Dutch tour operators and tourist information centres use the term, because the name 'Holland' is better known worldwide.

The name Holland ultimately stems from "holt land" ("wooded land"). A popular, but incorrect, fake etymology holds that it is derived from hol land ("hollow land"), inspired by the low-lying geography of both the region.

Answer 2

There are a lot of questions about this, so I guess it must be very important :)
Some really good answers came up - I think this covers most of it:

They use two names for the country, Holland and the Netherlands. Actually, originally 'Holland' was used as a name for only a region of the Netherlands. So that must be historical...
It is like saying England for Great Britain, the United Kingdom, except that the Dutch don't get cross.

You also say United States when you talk about America, and the Americans speak English.

Oh, a big part of the country lays so low it is below sea level. Low='neder' thus Netherlands as 'the low lands' - also use 'hollow'th explain how low the land is: 'Holland'.
This also explains all the canals and the boating, and I suppose that explains the trade history.

Still interested? Have a look http://www.thenetherlands.com/index.php

Answer 3

The Netherlands is a geographical area of Europe around the mouth of the Rhine: nether refers to the area being low lying. In the late Middle Ages (until the sixteenth century) this area was ruled by Spain. During the Reformation, the nine Northern provinces in this area broke away and became a separate state (the rest are now Belgium). Holland is one of the Provinces - the most important as it includes Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. The city of Utrecht, however and for example, is at the centre of a province of the same name.

The Netherlands is popularly called Holland in the same way that the United Kingdom is often inaccurately called England when it also includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Answer 4

Holland is not known as the Netherlands
the Netherlands is the Netherlands ,which means the low lands,because half of it is lower than the sea

but two provinces on the coast are called South Holland (with Rotterdam)and North Holland (with Amsterdam ,the capital),

which means countries with a hole in it ,which was the water ,because originally it was swamp land.

there are 10 more provinces ,Ulster,Friesland,
Gelderland,Twente ,Drente;
limburg,Brabant,Zeeland
.Groningen,Terschelling.

because most business is in Amsterdam or Rotterdam ,people mistakenly refer to the whole country as Holland
and it is not ------it is called Nederland or in English the Netherlands ,or in Spanish Paises Baixas all meaning the same --the low lands

Answer 5

Holland is not a country but actually a region of the Netherlands,which in Dutch means low-country

Answer 6

The Netherlands is the country, Holland is a part of the country. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_%28terminology%29 for more details.

Answer 7

byderule: You got the provinces wrong!

Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Overijsel, Drenthe, Groningen, Friesland, Noord-Holland, Zuid Holland, Flevoland, Gelderland, Utrecht.

Flevoland is land that has been reclaimed of the sea. (the old Zuiderzee)

Answer 8

holland , netherlands ,dutchland , all the same place or how about this then england , great britan , united kingdom all the same place good question any body out there now the answer

Answer 9

Maybe its because most of the land is under sea level, and if the dikes would break, they would all be returned to the sea???

Just a supposition on my part...

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 10

this Jesse guy above me is a TOOL