NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Greater Netherlands

The Greater Netherlands (Dutch Groot-Nederland) is an irredentist ideal, at present usually referring to a union of the Netherlands and Flanders, and implying the break-up of Belgium. An older form, often referred to as Whole-Netherlands (Dutch: Heel-Nederland), proposed a restoration of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, creating a state equal to the present Benelux. Some claims included French Flanders, i.e. the formerly Flemish-speaking part of northern France around Dunkirk and Lille. Some versions sought a state approximating to the Low Countries at their largest extent, the Seventeen Provinces and the Bishopric of Liège before 1581. The widest versions included some form of union with the Afrikaners in South Africa, who formerly inhabited the Dutch Cape Colony and later migrated inland under British colonial pressure. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... irredentism is position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... Map of the kingdom United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 - 1830) (1839) (Dutch: Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, French: Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas and German: Vereinigte KÃ¶nigreich der Niederlande) were the unofficial names used to refer to a new unified European state created during the Congress of Vienna in... Satellite image of the Benelux countries Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Benelux Benelux (or BÃ©nÃ©lux) is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring monarchies, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. ... Nord (French, the north) is a département in the north of France. ... For other uses of Dunkirk or Dunkerque, see Dunkirk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lille (disambiguation). ... The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France (Artois, Nord) and a small part of Germany. ... The Bishopric of LiÃ¨ge in 1477. ... Events January 16 - English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism April 4 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. July 26 - The Northern Netherlands proclaim their independence from Spain in the Oath of Abjuration. ... Afrikaners (sometimes known as Boers) are white South Africans, predominantly of Calvinist German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloons descent who speak Afrikaans. ... Anthem: God Save the Queen Cape Colony Capital Cape Town Language(s) English and Dutch1 Religion Dutch Reformed Church, Anglican Government Constitutional monarchy Last Monarch King George VI Last Prime Minister - 1908 â€“ 1910 John X. Merriman Last Governor - 1901 - 1910 Walter Hely-Hutchinson Historical era 19th century - Dutch East India...

The more limited claims apply to an area where Dutch is the main language, the Netherlands and Flanders. (The Benelux states have five official languages, Dutch, Frisian, French, German, and Luxembourgish). Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... An official language is a language that is given a privileged legal status in a state, or other legally-defined territory. ... Frisian is a Germanic group of closely related languages, spoken by about half a million members of Frisian ethnic groups living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ... Luxembourgish (Luxembourgish: LÃ«tzebuergesch, French: , German: , Walloon: ), also spelled Luxemburgish, is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ...

Support for the idea was significant in the early 20th century, and reached its peak in the 1930's. At that time, the name Dietsland was sometimes used for the Greater Netherlands, and Diets/Dietsch for its language and people. (Dietsch is an archaic Dutch word for 'folk' or people', of the same origin as the exonym Dutch and the German endonym Deutsch). In the 1930's these terms became definitively associated with Flemish fascism, and especially Verdinaso, the Union of Diets National-Solidarists. Use of these terms was discredited after the Second World War, and only small right-wing groups such as Voorpost still speak of 'Dietsland'. An exonym is a name for a place or people that is created by people outside of that place and is different from the name used in the native language. ... An exonym is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local inhabitants, or a name for a people that is not used by that people. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... The Verdinaso was a fascist political party in Belgium during the 1930s. ... Voorpost (Outpost in English) is a group founded in Belgium. ...

Supporters of the idea of a Greater Netherlands see the division of the former Spanish Netherlands as artificial. During the early stages of the Dutch Revolt, the provinces divided into a Protestant-dominated Union of Utrecht and the southern Union of Atrecht where Catholicism remained dominant. Subsequent reconquests by Spanish forces resulted in a north-south division, with the new Dutch Republic in the north ultimately developing into a separate nation-state. The creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 restored a single state in the Low Countries but it only lasted 15 years. The Belgian revolution led to the creation of another separate nation-state. The Greater Netherlands idea was not promoted during the occupation of both Belgium and the Netherlands by Nazi Germany, from 1940 to 1944/1945. The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France (Artois, Nord) and a small part of Germany. ... The Eighty Years War, or Dutch Revolt from 1568 to 1648 was the secession war in which the proto-Netherlands first became an independent country. ... The Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) is a treaty signed on January 23, 1579 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under control of Spain. ... Map of the Spanish Netherlands, the Union of Utrecht and the Union of Arras (1579) The Union of Atrecht (French: Arras) was an accord signed on January 6, 1579 in Atrecht (Arras), under which the southern states of the Spanish Netherlands, today in Wallonia and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ... The term nation-state, while often used interchangeably with the terms unitary state and independent state, refers properly to the parallel occurence of a state and a nation. ... Map of the kingdom United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 - 1830) (1839) (Dutch: Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, French: Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas and German: Vereinigte KÃ¶nigreich der Niederlande) were the unofficial names used to refer to a new unified European state created during the Congress of Vienna in... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Egide Charles Gustave Wappers (1834), in the MusÃ©e dArt Ancien, Brussels The Belgian Revolution was a conflict in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that began with a riot in Brussels in August 1830 and eventually led to the establishment of... The term nation-state, while often used interchangeably with the terms unitary state and independent state, refers properly to the parallel occurence of a state and a nation. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Divisions between Flemings and Walloons came to play an important role in Belgian politics after the Second World War, resulting in the federalisation of Belgium, and the Flemish parties Flemish Interest, New-Flemish Alliance, Spirit, Christian Democratic and Flemish, VLOTT and List Dedecker openly strive for separatism or confederalism. Currently however, none of these Flemish parties strive for an union with the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, a similar situation exist as none of the Dutch parties have shown interest in an union. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Political federalism is a political philosophy in which a group or body of members are bound together (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. ... Flemish Interest (Dutch: Vlaams Belang) is a far-right Belgian political party formed in 2004 by members of the now defunct Flemish Block (Dutch: Vlaams Blok), which was condemned by a court for permanent incitation to discrimination and racism in November 2004. ... The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (New-Flemish Alliance) is a Belgian political party, founded in the autumn of 2001. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Belgian political parties-Flanders ... Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) (Christian Democratic and Flemish) is a political party in Belgium, formerly called Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP) (Christian Peoples Party). ... VLOTT (English:Flemisch Liberal Independent Tolerant Transparant) is a Belgian political party. ... List Dedecker (Dutch: ) is a Belgian political party founded in January 2007 by Senator Jean-Marie Dedecker. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: Separatism is a term usually applied to describe the attitudes or motivations of those seeking independence or separation of their land or region from the country that governs them. ... This article needs cleanup. ...