The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II.

A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC, and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
The Netherlands, inhabited since the Ice Age, were invaded and then controlled by many factions over time, including the Romans, Germanic Franks and Spanish.

Via the (Dutch East and West India Companies) it once ruled its own worldwide empire of trade during much of the 17th and 18th Centuries.

This classic home of Rembrandt, windmills and tulips, is in a constant battle with the sea to save its land. In that effort it uses 1,500 miles of dikes, a tidal barrage and additional innovative technologies.

Europort, just west of Rotterdam, is the world’s busiest tonnage port. Additional prosperity comes from flowers, electronics, offshore oil and gas production, and a wide variety of agricultural industries.