FOR almost five years now we are no longer allowed to say Holland abroad. It’s The Netherlands. The Dutch government must have thought hard about that, because the decision even removed The: ever since January 2020, it is Netherlands, period.
But had they asked around among Dutch people abroad, “What do you think, which is better: Netherlands or The Netherlands?” Then the answer would have been, unanimously: “Holland.”
The name Holland has opened the door for millions of Dutch folks worldwide because it has always been so recognizable. Hollandia in Greece, Olanda in Italy, Holanda in Spain, Hollandi in Iceland, and simply Holland in Japan, Chile, Finland, Russia and Alaska. Only in Germany they use a condescending Niederlande, with the thumb pushing hard on Nieder, and the French stick to Pays Bas, but they call the Dutch and their sauce for eggs benedict simply Hollandais.
There is pride in the name Holland. When Messrs. Plate and Reuchlin founded a shipping company in Rotterdam, not for a moment did they consider calling it the Netherlands America Line. America counts 29 towns named Holland, and only two called Holland. Nobody in a soccer stadium yells Hup Nederland Hup! Amazon sells 80,000 products named Holland, and every time you think they are selling something with Nederland in it too, it turns out to be Neverland.
Holland is a brand, a trademark. It stands for quality, courage, perseverance, an underdog with a bite. It stands for the Oranje supporters, Virgil van Dijk, Femke Bol, coach Andries Jonker’s ladies, Max Verstappen. Foreign countries know the Netherlands as nothing but Holland. At the little airport of Bariloche in the deep south of Argentina, you show your passport, and the immigration guy only needs to see the cover in order to know: “Ah,” with a broad welcoming smile, “Máxima! Reina de Holanda.”
Dear Dutch government and your marketing experts, even after five years, no one in the United States and the rest of the world thinks there are Netherlanders living in the Netherlands.
They are called the Dutch, and they are from Holland.
