Do Dutch people mind when foreigners call the Netherlands 'Holland'?
Quick context: In English speaking countries Holland is generally thought of as consisting of North and South Holland, a region in the west of the country of the Netherlands, consisting of those two aforementioned provinces:However, there are very few people I know that would feel strongly about the issue, and most of them didn’t live or grow up in the ‘Holland’ region. I’d like to add that if anyone does care, here are some reasons why they shouldn’t:Every language has their own names for different countriesIn the case of the Netherlands, the name given to the country can be grouped into 3 categories for most languages:A phonetic version of Nederland, e.g., Niederlande, Нидерланды, 네덜란드, etc.A literal translation of Nederland as the lower lands, e.g., the Netherlands, les Pays-Bas, Países Bajos, etc.A phonetic version of Holland, e.g., Hollanda, Ολλανδία, 荷兰, オランダ, etc.It’s thus not surprising that when a foreigner visits the Netherlands, and speaks English as their 2nd or even 3rd language, they will choose whichever English translation is closest to the country’s name in their native language.The Dutch use both Holland and Nederland as a name for their countryCase in point: Any international football match such as the World Cup. Listen to the Dutch fans chant and you’ll here phrases like “Hup Holland Hup” (go Holland go) and “Nederland o Nederland, wij worden kampioen!” (Netherlands oh Netherlands, we will be the champions!).
How does a monarch address their people? (for Britons, Spaniards, Dutchmen, Belgians, Swedes, Norwegians etc.)?
I live in a republic and when a president or another politician delivers a speech to the people, it always starts with "Dear fellow citizens ...". But it has come to my mind that such an address would be inappropriate in a monarchy, since the people are technically subjects instead of citizens; likewise, the word "fellow" would stress equality too much. So, I am asking those living in monarchies, how does your monarch address their people?
Were there any other kingdoms in Europe besides modern Greece whose monarchs were always foreign?
Installing a foreigner as monarch has been very common in European history.Many answers here have provided very good examples of specific monarchs that were not from the country they became a monarch of.I’m going to speak more broadly, and point out to foreign dynasties that have been imposed on European countries in the modern era: this happened in several countries, not just Greece. After the French Revolution in the late 18th century, the major powers pf Europe feared more anti-monarchical sentiment, so they made sure to impose monarchical systems on any newly-independent states in Europe. When the Netherlands regained their independence from Napoleonic France in 1815, the great powers (Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria) agreed to impose a monarchy on the Netherlands, which had previously been a republic for about 100 years. They appointed a descendants of Dutch royalty of pre-republic days; although not foreigners, they were the descendants of a foreigner, a German, who founded the dynasty and became King of the Netherlands upon the country’s independence from Spain in 1533. So, this dynasty that was founded by a foreigner no longer reigned over the country by the late 19th century, but the major powers reinstalled them. Elsewhere, when Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1831, it too was forced to take a monarchy; and just as in Greece, the first monarch as a foreigner: the German Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was made King Lepold I of Belgium. Likewise, Bulgaria and Romania also had monarchical systems imposed on them when those states were created.All that said, by saying that modern Greece’s monarchs were “always foreign”, you’re implying that the Greek-born descendants of George I were foreigners. Only George I was foreigner. It’s unjust to consider his Greek-born descendants “foreign”.
What are some mind-blowing facts about any nation?
Let’s talk about RUSSIA. Here are the facts about the country I love :-Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of territory, with a total area of 6,601,668 square miles (17,098,242 square kilometers) and is bigger than the 9th planet in our solar system Pluto.2. Beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia until 2013.We all know they love drinking Vodka.3. Russia has the 2nd most powerful Military in the world.4. The country is home to the largest McDonalds restaurant in the world.5. There are approximately 10 million more women in Russia than there are men. The imbalance was initially believed to the result of so many men dying during World War II.6. Most common female names in Russia are Anastasia, Maria, Anna and Daria.7. Russian women are considered to be one of world's most beautiful women.8. Russia Account for 20% of the world's forest area.9. Moscow has one of the world's highest concentration of billionaires.10. Russia spans 9 time zones and uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +2 hours through +11 hours, excluding the +4 time zone. In summer, Russian uses UTC +3 through +12 hours excluding +5 time zone.11. Russia's natural gas reserves are equivalent to about 13.2 billion Olympic size swimming pools.12.Russia has 87 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, enough to last it another 75 years.13. 9 million commuters are said to ride the Moscow Metro everyday, that's more than London and New York combined.14. Russia's Lake Baikal holds one-fifth of the world's fresh water.15. Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million in 1868.