Holland or the Netherlands?

The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn (1650)/Wikimedia

While the Dutch football team is prominently part of the 2014 World  Cup, I am continuously being asked : What is the difference between Holland and the Netherlands? What is Holland? Or how do your fellow Dutchmen call their own country?

I have to admit it may be a bit confusing, because both the Dutch and others use the name Holland, L'Hollande, L'Ollanda, but also Nederland, the Netherlands, Les Pays Bas, and Pajais Bass intermittently. 

A brief history lesson for those history buffs among you: the official name of the Netherlands is Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) or in short the Netherlands (in Dutch: Nederland.) The state of the Netherlands exists in its current form only since 1830, when the current state of Belgium seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which in turn then became the Kingdom of the Netherlands. To make things a bit more complicated, in 2013 the Netherlands celebrated its 200th anniversary as Kingdom of the Netherlands, because it was in 1813 that the Dutch Prince of Orange returned to what was then the Kingdom of Holland, at the end of the reign of King Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, and a country which was essentially part of the French empire. Prince of Orange took first over as "sovereign prince", while in 1815 becoming the first (Dutch) King of the Netherlands, King William I.

So what is then Holland? It is actually

The American Dream: Just a Dream?

American Dreams at Little Duck Key/US National Archives

The American writer and historian John Truslow Adams coined the term "The American Dream" in his 1931 book The Epic of America and called it "the greatest contribution we have made to the thought and welfare of the world." His American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. ... It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

Well, it has become increasingly clear that this American Dream is harder to attain for most in the U.S. A recent Harvard study found that "contrary to popular perception, economic mobility has not changed significantly over the last fifty years" - so it is not as bad as many people believed, but not as good as it could after fifty years of economic progress. In addition, the famed mobility of the U.S. is consistently lower than in most developed countries.

Also, we've seen several studies on increasing inequality around the world. For example, an OECD study shows how income gains between 1975 and 2007 were divvied up in 18 OECD countries: in the U.S., its top 1 percent of earners accounted for 47 percent of all pre-tax income growth over that time period, while for example in Denmark, the vast majority of gains during the same period of time went to the "bottom" 90 percent.

In addition, the French economist Thomas Piketty's bestselling book Capital in the 21st Century, has drawn attention this year to the growing inequality in wealth like no other economics book before.   Piketty's  research is based on reviewing tax returns in over twenty countries since the 18th century, and more directed at the effects of capitalism in general, than the situation in one single country. Still, Piketty said the following about the situation in the U.S. in an interview with CBS:

Disappointments, Drama, and Surprises in the World Cup Quarter Finals

Brazil 2014 World Cup Flags/VectorOpenStock

Four World Cup Quarter Final games were played in Brazil over the last two days, which means eight of the world's best football teams and each winners of their respective groups during the first round would compete to reach the semi-finals. Let's first look at some forecasts: first, there is the investment bank Goldman Sachs, which always combines its economic forecasts with World cup forecasts: this time it had forecasted Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain to be the four semi-finalists.Then there is BBC Sport Football expert Mark Lawrenson who has been predicting the outcomes correctly of 50% of the 48 games in the group phase and picked the correct winner in each of the eight last-16 ties. What did he forecast for the quarter-finals? France-Germany 0-2; Brazil-Colombia 2-0; Argentina-Belgium 0-2; The Netherlands - Costa Rica 2-0.

So what were the actual results, and were these matches worthwhile to watch?

France- Germany 0-1
Germany, three-time World Cup winner, ranked 2nd on FIFA World Ranking and with a population of nearly 81 million the largest European country, was slightly favored over France (one-time World Cup winner, ranked 17  and a population of 67 million). However, the French had shown much promise and progress since their disastrous 2010 South African World Cup.  How did this match go? The Germans beat the French matter-of-factually by scoring in the 13th minute and never looking back. The French were clearly disappointing as was this game. Surprising fact: Germany seems to be playing like it used in the 1980s and 1990s: cool, organized and effective even if not playing well.

Brazil-Colombia 2-1
Brazil, five-time World Cup winner, ranked 3rd on FIFA World Ranking, a population of 201 million and host of this World cup, is the tournament's favorite. Still, Colombia, (first-time quarter-finalist, ranked 8th, with a population of 47 million) was considered by many to have played some great football during this tournament with one of its new stars, James Rodriguez.) Brazil won this match after a first half in which it played quite well, almost Brazilian-like, for the first time during this competition. The second half was quite disappointing from both sides. Only the second Brazilian goal, a free kick from 35 yards by defender David Luiz, was a highlight. This was a tense game for the fans of both teams, but for the objective viewer it was not a pretty game and lacked the quality one would expect from

Why the US Should Support the Netherlands for the Rest of the World Cup 2014

Dutch soccer jerseys/Vogler

As the World Cup Soccer (or football as it's called around the world) in Brazil is reaching its final stages, there are still six countries left competing: Brazil that beat fellow South American contender Colombia, and Germany that beat France in today's quarter finales. Then still matching up in tomorrow's quarter finals, Argentina and Belgium, and the Netherlands and Costa Rica.

In the meanwhile, last Tuesday, Team USA was eliminated by Belgium in extra time in a hard fought game.  Now that the US is out, The Wall Street Journal executive editor, Almar Latour, who is from Dutch origins, calls upon US soccer fans not to stop watching the World Cup, but instead to start cheering for the Dutch team because of the many historical ties and similarities between the US and the Netherlands.

Latour states:


" For starters, our flags have the same colors, which means you don't necessarily have to switch fan gear if you switch your support to the Netherlands............

....... Like you, the Netherlands has had fights with Belgians and lost. Granted, ours was in the 1830s while yours was just Tuesday. But we both had great defenders who ultimately could not save us from losing. Yours of course is the mighty Tim Howard, blocker of countless shots at his goal. Ours is Jan van Speijk, a Dutch naval officer who when confronted with hostile Belgians decided to blow up his own gunboat in front of the Belgian city of Antwerp.....

......... Like the Netherlands or not, I think you can legally claim victory in any case if we win. Your grandparents freed our grandparents 70 years ago, so without you guys there would be no Dutch team. We won't forget that......