The Estates-General (Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of the Netherlands. It consists of two chambers, the most important of which is the Tweede Kamer (the Second Chamber or Lower House). The Eerste Kamer (the First Chamber or Upper House) is also known as the Senate. The meeting rooms of the Staten-Generaal are located at the Binnenhof (Inner Court), all in the Hague.
Historically the convocation of the Estates-General (Staten-Generaal), consisted of delegates from the provincial estates, and dated from about the middle of the 15th century, under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy. The name was transferred, after the separation of the northern Netherlands from the Spanish dominions, to the representatives elected by the seven sovereign provincial estates for the general government of the United Provinces. The States-General, in which the voting was by provinces - each province having one vote - was established from 1593.
The States-General in this form came to an end after the revolution in 1795, with the proclamation of the Batavian Republic and the subsequent convocation of the National Assembly (March 1, 1796). The title of Staten-Generaal, however, continued in the title of subsequent Netherlands parliaments.
Staten Island is co-extensive with Richmond County (comprising Staten Island and tiny adjacent islands), in New York Bay and lies south-west of Manhattan Island, with which it is linked by ferry, and west of Brooklyn, with which it is linked by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge across The Narrows of New York Bay.
The area passed to the English in 1664, and in 1683 the island was designated Richmond County in honour of Charles Lennox, the Duke of Richmond and a son of Charles II.
The bridge links Staten Island with Brooklyn and is the longest suspension bridge in the United States, with a main span of 1,298 m (4,260 ft).
Staten Island is separated from Long Island by the Narrows and from mainland New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull.
Staten Island's Borough President is James Molinaro, a member of the Conservative Party elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005, with the endorsement of the Republican Party.
Staten Island is home to a surprising variety of museums: the Alice Austen House Museum, the Conference House, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, Historic Richmond Town, Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, the John Noble Collection, Sandy Ground Historical Museum, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Staten Island Children's Museum, and the Staten Island Museum.
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