Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country in northern Europe, in the region often called the "low countries" or "low lands".



Netherlands in Atlantis
The Netherlands was unable to establish a presence in Atlantis. Instead, the Dutch turned their attention to colonizing the west coast of northern Terranova.

In the 1650s, the Netherlands' shipping and colonies were threatened by pirates operating out of Avalon, Atlantis. Holland joined England and English-Atlantis in successfully crushing the Avalon pirates

Netherlands in In the Presence of Mine Enemies
The Netherlands was occupied by Germany in 1940, and, after the Axis victory in the Second World War, integrated into the German Reich. The Dutch were declared Aryans by the Nazis, and so escaped persecution.

When Heinz Buckliger became Führer in 2010, he initiated reforms which allowed more freedom for citizens and subjects of the German Reich. In response, the Dutch began demanding more national independence. Several Dutch demonstrators protested on the Adolf Hitler Platz, yelling the slogan Vrijheid (Dutch for Freedom and close to the German Freiheit) and carrying their flags. They were rounded up and arrested by the Security Police. However, they were not summarily executed as had been the custom.

The Netherlands denounced the SS-led putsch against Buckliger. Shortly after the putsch failed, the Dutch held a general election without German interference and elected a parliament with a non-Fascist majority. The Germans did not intervene.

Netherlands in Ruled Britannia
In the sixteenth century, The Netherlands were a group of small principalities in northwestern Europe. They were claimed by King Philip II of Spain as part of his Empire. A Dutch rebellion against Spanish rule supported by Queen Elizabeth of England, herself a Protestant, giving Philip casus belli to go to war with England.

In 1588, a falling-out between the Dutch and the English allowed the Spanish Armada to rendezvous with Parma's forces unopposed and land the Spanish army in England, which it conquered.

Netherlands in Southern Victory
The Netherlands was perhaps the only country in northwestern Europe to remain neutral in the Great War. Its only land borders were with Central Powers member Germany and German-occupied Belgium, but it had a North Sea coast which gave it easy access to Entente member Britain. Throughout the war, The Netherlands traded with both and sided with neither.

In 1917, The Netherlands became the first truly neutral country to extend diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Quebec.

In the interwar period, The Netherlands became more involved economically with victorious Germany. This relationship was not enough to keep Japan from taking Dutch possessions in Asia. Although the Japanese compensated The Netherlands, there was an underlying threat of force in the transaction.

In the Second Great War, the pro-German Netherlands were overrun by Franco-British troops, leading the country to formally join the Central Powers. In 1943, the German Army beat back British forces across The Netherlands, liberating the country from the Entente.

Netherlands in Worldwar
The Netherlands were conquered by Germany in May, 1940. Under the terms of the Peace of Cairo, the Netherlands remained part of the Greater German Reich.