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133-528: IGI is headquartered in Antwerp , Belgium , and has offices in New York City , Hong Kong , Mumbai , Bangkok , Tokyo , Dubai , Tel Aviv , Toronto , Los Angeles , Kolkata , New Delhi , Surat , Chennai , Thrissur , Ahmedabad , Shanghai , and Cavalese . It also runs Schools of Gemology in several locations around the globe. On May 21, 2023, Blackstone Group announced their acquisition of IGI. IGI has

266-525: A long siege and as part of the terms of surrender its Protestant citizens were given two years to settle their affairs before quitting the city. Most went to the United Provinces in the north, starting the Dutch Golden Age . Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by Genoa , and Amsterdam became the new trading centre. The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces by

399-539: A Gallo-Roman vicus . Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt in 1952–1961 (ref. Princeton), produced pottery shards and fragments of glass from mid-2nd century to the end of the 3rd century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks . The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century. Het Steen Castle has its origins in

532-506: A Spanish prisoner, nailed it on a vessel's prow, and invited the townsmen to come and fasten their teeth in it, which many did with savage satisfaction. The Duke of Alba attempted to suppress the Protestant movement in the Netherlands. Netherlanders were "burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive" by his " Blood Council " and Spanish soldiers. Bodies were displayed along roads to terrorise

665-599: A cultural centre, has been built in Antwerp (Wilrijk). Ramesh Mehta, a Jain, is a member of the Belgian Council of Religious Leaders, put up on 17 December 2009. There are significant Armenian communities that reside in Antwerp, many of whom are descendants of traders who settled during the 19th century. Most Armenian Belgians are adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church , while a smaller number are adherents of

798-592: A distinct governmental structure of their own. They were utilized as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Spanish-controlled Southern Netherlands . In the Dutch Golden Age , spanning much of the 17th century, the Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers. Science, military and art (especially painting ) were among the most acclaimed in the world. By 1650,

931-649: A diverse range of parks and recreational areas for locals and tourists to explore. One of the most popular attractions is the Antwerp Zoo . It opened on 21 July 1843, making it one of the oldest and most famous zoos in the world. The zoo covers an area of 10 hectares and is home to more than 5,000 animals from over 950 species. The zoo is located right next to Antwerp Central Station on the Koningin Astridplein. Antwerp Zoo has played its role in preservation and breeding programmes for several endangered species, including

1064-551: A few of them, the postal code has become a cultural reference. Encompassing the area between the river and the Spanish fortification walls, this is the historical heart of Antwerp. On the place of the Spanish walls is now an avenue called de Leien in Dutch or den Boulevard in the local dialect. Tourist sights such as the Cathedral are located here, but also more mundane places. Quarters in

1197-456: A gallant defence, Chassé made an honourable surrender, ending the Siege of Antwerp (1832) . Later that century, a double ring of Brialmont Fortresses was constructed some 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre, as Antwerp was considered vital for the survival of the young Belgian state. And in 1894 Antwerp presented itself to the world via a World's Fair attended by 3 million. Antwerp

1330-542: A mercantile middle class began to develop in these urban areas, especially in Flanders, and later Brabant. Wealthy cities started to buy certain privileges for themselves from the sovereign. Around 1100 AD, farmers from Flanders and Utrecht began draining and cultivating uninhabited swampy land in the western Netherlands, making the emergence of the County of Holland as the centre of power possible. The title of Count of Holland

1463-515: A parent that was not a Belgian citizen at birth. A notable community is the Jewish one , as Antwerp is one of the only two cities in Europe (together with London and its Stamford Hill neighbourhood) that is home to a considerable Haredi population in the 21st century. Early recorded versions of the name include Ando Verpia on Roman coins found in the city centre, Germanic Andhunerbo from around

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1596-408: A policy of toleration, which attracted a large crypto- Jewish community composed of migrants from Spain and Portugal. Antwerp experienced three booms during its golden age: the first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), and a third boom, after the stabilizing Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559, based on

1729-425: A set of canal docks. The broader aim was to facilitate the growth of the north-eastern Antwerp metropolitan region, which attracted new industry based on a flexible and strategic implementation of the project as a co-production between various authorities and private parties. The plan succeeded in extending the linear layout along the Scheldt river by connecting new satellite communities to the main strip. Starting in

1862-543: A staff of over 650 gemologists, appraisers and professional office personnel. The International Gemological Institute "has been at the forefront of technology since its commencement in 1975". This characteristic can be seen in the actions that the IGI has taken recently towards creating an Online Data Retrieval program and its Registration and Recovery Service. The IGI is also perfecting methods to reliably distinguish between synthetic and natural diamonds. IGI provides its services to

1995-433: A state of almost continual war or paradoxically formed personal unions. As Frankish settlement progressed from Flanders and Brabant, the area quickly became Old Low Franconian (or Old Dutch). Around 1000 AD, due to several agricultural developments, the economy started to develop at a fast pace, and the higher productivity allowed workers to farm more land or become tradesmen. Towns grew around monasteries and castles , and

2128-500: A toll from passing boatmen. He severed the hand of anyone who did not pay, and threw it in the river. Eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo , who cut off the giant's own hand and flung that into the river. This is unlikely to be the true origin, but it is celebrated by a statue (illustrated further below) in the city's main market square, the Grote Markt . Historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in

2261-497: A total area of 41,543 km (16,040 sq mi), including water bodies, and a land area of 33,481 km (12,927 sq mi). The Caribbean Netherlands has a total area of 328 km (127 sq mi) It lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N , and longitudes 3° and 8° E . The Netherlands is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat country, with about 26% of its area and 21% of its population below sea level. The European part of

2394-593: Is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium . It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province , and the third largest city in Belgium by area at 204.51 km (78.96 sq mi) after Tournai and Couvin . With a population of 536,079, it is the most populous municipality in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million people, the country's second-largest metropolitan area after Brussels . Flowing through Antwerp

2527-524: Is a blend of old and new, with a cultural heritage spanning from the Gothic and Renaissance periods to contemporary designs. In the 16th century, the city was noted for the wealth of its citizens ( Antwerpia nummis ). The houses of these wealthy merchants and manufacturers have been preserved throughout the city. However, fire has destroyed several old buildings, such as the house of the Hanseatic League on

2660-497: Is estimated that the port of Antwerp was earning the Spanish crown seven times more revenues than the Spanish colonization of the Americas". Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp was foreign-controlled, which made the city very cosmopolitan, with merchants and traders from Venice , Genoa , Ragusa , Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had

2793-682: Is now the southern Netherlands: the Menapii and the Eburones . Under Augustus , the Roman Empire would conquer the entirety of the modern day Netherlands, incorporating it into the province of Germania Antiqua in 7 BC, but would be repelled back across the Rhine after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, with the Rhine becoming fixed as Rome's permanent northern frontier around 12 AD. Notable towns would arise along

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2926-527: Is the river Scheldt . Antwerp is linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary. It is about 40 km (25 mi) north of Brussels, and about 15 km (9 mi) south of the Dutch border. The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe after Rotterdam and within the top 20 globally . The city is also known as the hub of the world's diamond trade . In 2020,

3059-414: Is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil , mild climate, intensive agriculture , and inventiveness . The four largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam , Rotterdam , The Hague and Utrecht . Amsterdam is the country's most populous city and the nominal capital , though the primary national political institutions are located in

3192-667: The 1920 Summer Olympics . During World War II , the city was an important strategic target because of its port. It was occupied by Germany on 18 May 1940 and liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on 4 September 1944. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the Port of Antwerp , which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. Thousands of Rheinbote , V-1 and V-2 missiles were fired (more V-2s than used on all other targets during

3325-722: The Armenian Catholic Church and Armenian Evangelical Church . One of the important sectors that Armenian communities in Antwerp excel at and are involved in is the diamond trade business, that based primarily in the diamond district . Some of the famous Armenian families involved in the diamond business in the city are the Artinians, Arslanians, Aslanians, Barsamians and the Osganians. Netherlands – in Europe  (light green & dark grey) – in

3458-515: The Baltic . The city's skilled workers processed soap, fish, sugar, and especially cloth. Banks helped finance the trade, the merchants, and the manufacturers. The city was a cosmopolitan center; its bourse opened in 1531, "To the merchants of all nations." Antwerp became the sugar capital of Europe, importing the raw commodity from Portuguese and Spanish plantations on both sides of the Atlantic, where it

3591-712: The Batavian rebellion of 69 AD but were eventually defeated. The Batavi later merged with other tribes into the confederation of the Salian Franks, whose identity emerged in the first half of the third century. Salian Franks appear in Roman texts as both allies and enemies. They were forced by the confederation of the Saxons from the east to move over the Rhine into Roman territory in the fourth century. From their new base in West Flanders and

3724-606: The Carolingian period in the 9th century. The castle may have been built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages; in 879 the Normans invaded Flanders. The surviving structure was built between 1200 and 1225 as a gateway to a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant which was demolished in the 19th century. It is Antwerp's oldest building. At the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became

3857-463: The Duchy of Brabant , grew in importance, with the city doubling its population between 1500 and 1569. At the end of the 15th century, the foreign trading houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp, and the building assigned to the association of English merchants active in the city is specifically mentioned in 1510. During this time, the old Mediterranean trade routes were gradually losing importance and

3990-606: The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company , established colonies and trading posts all over the world. With a population of over 18 million people, all living within a total area of 41,850 km (16,160 sq mi)—of which the land area is 33,500 km (12,900 sq mi)—the Netherlands is the 33rd most densely populated country, with a density of 535 people per square kilometre (1,390 people/sq mi). Nevertheless, it

4123-506: The Eighty Years' War between the Provinces and their Spanish ruler began. The level of ferocity exhibited by both sides can be gleaned from a Dutch chronicler's report: On more than one occasion men were seen hanging their own brothers, who had been taken prisoners in the enemy's ranks... A Spaniard had ceased to be human in their eyes. On one occasion, a surgeon at Veer cut the heart from

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4256-685: The European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community . In 1993, the former two were incorporated into the European Union . Government-encouraged emigration efforts to reduce population density prompted some 500,000 Dutch to leave the country after the war. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid de- pillarisation . Students and other youth rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters such as women's rights , sexuality , disarmament and environmental issues . In 2002

4389-565: The European Union  (light green) The Netherlands , informally Holland , is a country in Northwestern Europe , with overseas territories in the Caribbean . It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces ; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to

4522-573: The Globalization and World Cities Research Network rated Antwerp as a Gamma + (third level/top tier) Global City . Both economically and culturally, Antwerp is and has long been an important city in the Low Countries , especially before and during the Spanish Fury (1576) and throughout and after the subsequent Dutch Revolt . The Bourse at Antwerp , originally built in 1531 and re-built in 1872,

4655-563: The Hilversum culture . Iron ore brought a measure of prosperity and was available throughout the country. Smiths travelled from settlement to settlement with bronze and iron, fabricating tools on demand. The King's grave of Oss (700 BC) was found in a burial mound, the largest of its kind in Western Europe. The deteriorating climate in Scandinavia from 850 BC and 650 BC might have triggered

4788-721: The Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies . In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army liberated much of the Netherlands. Soon after VE Day , the Dutch fought a colonial war against the new Republic of Indonesia . In 1954, the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands reformed the political structure as a result of international pressure to carry out decolonisation . The Dutch colonies of Surinam and Curaçao and Dependencies and

4921-754: The Limes Germanicus : Nijmegen and Voorburg . In the first part of Gallia Belgica , the area south of the Limes became part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior . The area to the north of the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii, remained outside Roman rule, while the Germanic border tribes of the Batavi and Cananefates served in the Roman cavalry . The Batavi rose against the Romans in

5054-659: The Nordwestblock culture. The first author to describe the coast of Holland and Flanders was the geographer Pytheas , who noted in c. 325 BC that in these regions, "more people died in the struggle against water than in the struggle against men." During the Gallic Wars , the area south and west of the Rhine was conquered by Roman forces under Julius Caesar from 57 BC to 53 BC. Caesar describes two main Celtic tribes living in what

5187-467: The Rhine - Meuse river estuary . In the east of the Netherlands, remains are found of the last ice age , which ended approximately ten thousand years ago. As the continental ice sheet moved in from the north, it pushed moraine forward. The ice sheet halted as it covered the eastern half of the Netherlands. After the ice age ended, the moraine remained in the form of a long hill-line. The cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen are built on these hills. Over

5320-611: The States General , was headquartered in The Hague and comprised representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of Drenthe was part of the republic, albeit not considered a province in its own right. Moreover, during the Eighty Years' War , the Republic came to occupy a number of Generality Lands located in Flanders , Brabant and Limburg . These areas were primarily inhabited by Roman Catholics and lacked

5453-709: The Treaty of Münster in 1648 stipulated that the Scheldt should be closed to navigation, which destroyed Antwerp's trading activities. This impediment remained in force until 1863, although the provisions were relaxed during French rule from 1795 to 1814, and also during the time Belgium formed part of the Kingdom of the United Netherlands (1815 to 1830). Antwerp had reached the lowest point in its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk to under 40,000, when Napoleon , realizing its strategic importance, assigned funds to enlarge

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5586-652: The euro was introduced as fiat money , and in 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved . Referendums were held on each island. As a result, Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands) were incorporated as special municipalities upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands . The European Netherlands has

5719-475: The 10-year development plan for the Port of Antwerp , the municipalities of Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo were integrated into the city territory and lost their administrative independence. During the 1983 merger of municipalities, conducted by the Belgian government as an administrative simplification, the municipalities of Berchem , Borgerhout , Deurne , Ekeren , Hoboken , Merksem and Wilrijk were merged into

5852-415: The 1570s, the city's banking business declined: England ceased its borrowing in Antwerp in 1574. Fernand Braudel states that Antwerp became "the centre of the entire international economy, something Bruges had never been even at its height." Antwerp had the highest growth rate and was the richest city in Europe at the time. Antwerp's Golden Age is tightly linked to the " Age of Exploration ". During

5985-451: The 1990s, Antwerp rebranded itself as a world-class fashion centre. Emphasizing the avant-garde, it tried to compete with London , Milan , New York and Paris . It emerged from organized tourism and mega-cultural events. The municipality comprises the city of Antwerp proper and several towns. It is divided into nine entities (districts): (km ) in residential areas In 1958, in preparation of

6118-436: The 490s, Clovis I had conquered and united all these territories in the southern Netherlands in one Frankish kingdom , and from there continued his conquests into Gaul . During this expansion, Franks migrating to the south (modern territory of France and Walloon part of Belgium) eventually adopted the Vulgar Latin of the local population. A widening cultural divide grew with the Franks remaining in their original homeland in

6251-438: The Dutch Republic was attacked by France, England and three German Bishoprics simultaneously, in what would become known as the Franco-Dutch War . At sea , it could successfully prevent the English and French navies from blockading the western shores. On land, however, it was almost taken over by the advancing French and German armies from the east. It managed to turn the tide by inundating parts of Holland . From 1672 to 1712,

6384-439: The Dutch established a presence in India , the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ), Formosa (now Taiwan ), and the only western trading post in Japan, Dejima . During the period of Proto-industrialisation , the empire received 50% of textiles and 80% of silks import from the India's Mughal Empire . Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country. In early modern Europe, it had

6517-399: The Dutch government officially has preferred the Netherlands instead of Holland when talking about the country . Often Holland or Hollanders is used by the Flemish to refer to the Dutch in the Netherlands, and by the Southern Dutch (Dutch living " below the great rivers ", a natural cultural, social and religious boundary formed by the rivers Rhine and Meuse ) to refer to

6650-485: The Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships. The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company established colonies and trading posts all over the world. The Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in 1652. Dutch colonies in South America were established along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains, among them Colony of Surinam (now Suriname ). In Asia,

6783-457: The European country all became countries within the Kingdom, on a basis of equality. Indonesia had declared its independence in August 1945. Suriname followed in 1975. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of Benelux and NATO . In the 1950s, the Netherlands became one of the six founding countries of the European Communities , following the 1952 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community , and subsequent 1958 creations of

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6916-507: The Frisians were defeated after a series of wars . With the approval of the Franks, the Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibrord converted the Frisian people to Christianity and established the Archdiocese of Utrecht . However, his successor Boniface was murdered by the Frisians in 754. The Frankish Carolingian empire controlled much of Western Europe. In 843, it was divided into three parts— East , Middle , and West Francia . Most of present-day Netherlands became part of Middle Francia, which

7049-431: The Hague. The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation (separation of citizens into groups by religion and political beliefs) and a long record of social tolerance , having legalised prostitution and euthanasia , along with maintaining a liberal drug policy . The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and

7182-445: The Holy Sepulchre (1099–1100). In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michael's Abbey at Caloes. Antwerp was also the headquarters of Edward III during his early negotiations with Jacob van Artevelde , and his son Lionel , the Duke of Clarence , was born there in 1338. After the silting-up of the Zwin and the consequent decline of Bruges , Antwerp, then part of

7315-450: The IGI school of Gemology are awarded an IGI Diploma. The Toronto location will be closing. IGI is the largest laboratory for certification of diamonds and fine jewelry. IGI has the only international certification lab controlled by one central governing body that adheres to one internationally accepted system for diamond grading. IGI is International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001: 2000 certified in four countries, including

7448-403: The Low Countries from 1384 to 1581. The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests. The fleets of the County of Holland defeated the fleets of the Hanseatic League several times. Amsterdam grew and in the 15th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the Baltic region . Amsterdam distributed grain to the major cities of Belgium, Northern France and England. This trade

7581-413: The Low Countries south of the great rivers. These tribes would eventually develop into the Salian Franks . The Celtic La Tène culture (c. 450 BC to the Roman conquest) expanded over a wide range, including the southern area of the Low Countries . Some scholars have speculated that even a third ethnic identity and language, neither Germanic nor Celtic, survived in the Netherlands until the Roman period,

7714-447: The Low Countries. Under Habsburg rule , this became pays d'embas ("lands down-here"). This was translated as Neder-landen in contemporary Dutch official documents. From a regional point of view, Niderlant was also the area between the Meuse and the lower Rhine in the late Middle Ages. From the mid-sixteenth century, the "Low Countries" and the "Netherlands" lost their original deictic meaning . In most Romance languages ,

7847-409: The Meuse. These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between fiefdoms and hence historically created a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognisable on either side of what the Dutch call their "Great Rivers" ( de Grote Rivieren ). Another significant branch of the Rhine, the IJssel river, discharges into Lake IJssel , the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). Just like

7980-422: The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union , Eurozone , G10 , NATO , OECD , and WTO , as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. It hosts intergovernmental organisations and international courts , many of which are in The Hague. The countries that comprise the region called the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium , and Luxembourg ) all have comparatively

8113-476: The Netherlands to the brink of bankruptcy. However, the Cultivation System was introduced in 1830; in the Dutch East Indies, 20% of village land had to be devoted to government crops for export. The policy brought the Dutch enormous wealth and made the colony self-sufficient. The Netherlands abolished slavery in its colonies in 1863. Enslaved people in Suriname would be fully free only in 1873. The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, in part because

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8246-447: The Northern Dutch (Dutch living North of these rivers). In the Southern province of Limburg, the term is used for the Dutch from the other 11 provinces. The use of the term in this context by the Southern Dutch is in a derogatory fashion. Dutch is used as the adjective for the Netherlands, as well as the demonym . The origins of the word go back to Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz , Latinised into Theodiscus , meaning "popular" or "of

8379-407: The Northern Netherlands in 1839 as the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created by decree), while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when William III died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess. The Belgian Revolution and the Java War in the Dutch East Indies brought

8512-418: The Portuguese Community Ben Moshe. Antwerp has an extensive network of synagogues, shops, schools and organizations. Significant Hasidic movements in Antwerp include Pshevorsk , based in Antwerp, as well as branches of Satmar , Belz , Bobov , Ger , Skver , Klausenburg , Vizhnitz and several others. Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth , chief rabbi of the Machsike Hadas community, who died in 2001, was arguably one of

8645-428: The Republic, led by William III of Orange and Anthonie Heinsius would regularly clash with France in what some historians have come to call the Forty Years' War . In the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession , the Republic was at the centre of anti-French coalitions. The Dutch ultimately successfully defended the Spanish Netherlands , established a barrier there, and their troops proved central to

8778-454: The Silent in driving out Spanish troops and forming a new government for the Netherlands. Don Juan of Austria , the new Spanish governor, was forced to concede initially, but within months returned to active hostilities. The Dutch looked for help from the Protestant Elizabeth I of England, but she initially stood by her commitments to the Spanish in the Treaty of Bristol of 1574. When the next large-scale battle occurred at Gembloux in 1578,

8911-432: The Southwest Netherlands, they were raiding the English Channel . Roman forces pacified the region but did not expel the Franks, who continued to be feared at least until the time of Julian the Apostate (358) when Salian Franks were allowed to settle as foederati in Texandria . After the Roman government in the area collapsed in roughly the year 406, the Franks expanded their territories into numerous kingdoms. By

9044-406: The Spanish forces won easily. In light of the defeat at Gembloux , the southern states of the Seventeen Provinces distanced themselves from the rebels in the north with the 1579 Union of Arras . Opposing them, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces forged the Union of Utrecht in which they committed to support each other against the Spanish. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of

9177-431: The Spanish in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma in a series of largely indecisive actions that tied down significant numbers of Spanish troops and bought time for the Dutch to reorganise their defences. The war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV recognised the independence of the seven north-western provinces in the Peace of Münster . Parts of the southern provinces became de facto colonies of

9310-444: The Spanish port of Bilbao collapsed and became impossible. On 4 November 1576, Spanish soldiers sacked the city during the so-called Spanish Fury : 8,000 citizens were massacred, several houses burnt down, and over £2 million sterling of damage was done. Subsequently, the city joined the Union of Utrecht in 1579 and became the capital of the Dutch Revolt . In 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza , captured it after

9443-429: The United Provinces consistently possessed one of Europe's largest and most capable armies. However, following the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession , other major powers such as Prussia, Austria, Britain, and Russia significantly expanded their military forces. The Republic struggled to match these developments, and gradually assumed the status of a mid-tier power. However, historians have sometimes overstated

9576-946: The United States, Canada, India and the United Arab Emirates. Recently, IGI became the first gem lab to collaborate with the Tanzanite Foundation to help distribute jewelry certificates using the Tanzanite Quality Scale, developed by the Tanzanite Foundation in collaboration with IGI. An estimated 11 percent of all diamonds purchased by India's consumers come from IGI vendors in Kolkata . Antwerp Antwerp ( / ˈ æ n t w ɜːr p / ; Dutch : Antwerpen [ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)] ; French : Anvers [ɑ̃vɛʁs] )

9709-526: The alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in 1792 with the French Revolutionary Wars . However, the wars left them effectively bankrupt, and inflicted permanent damage on the Dutch merchant navy; while they remained the dominant economic power in the Far East, Britain took over as the pre-eminent global commercial and maritime power. Between 1590 and 1713,

9842-466: The areas below sea level, known as polders , are the result of land reclamation that began in the 14th century . In the Republican period , which began in 1588, the Netherlands entered a unique era of political, economic, and cultural greatness, ranked among the most powerful and influential in Europe and the world; this period is known as the Dutch Golden Age . During this time, its trading companies,

9975-616: The armed support of revolutionary France , Dutch republicans proclaimed the Batavian Republic , modelled after the French Republic and rendering the Netherlands a unitary state on 19 January 1795. The stadtholder William V of Orange had fled to England. From 1806 to 1810, the Kingdom of Holland was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother Louis Bonaparte . However, King Louis Bonaparte tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's, and he

10108-554: The better known personalities to have been based in Antwerp. An attempt to have a street named after him has received the support of the Town Hall and is in the process of being implemented. The Jains in Belgium are estimated to be around about 1,500 people. The majority live in Antwerp, mostly involved in the very lucrative diamond business. Belgian Indian Jains control two-thirds of the rough diamonds trade and supplied India with roughly 36% of their rough diamonds. A major temple, with

10241-630: The boundary of the Holy Roman Empire . Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto II , a border province facing the County of Flanders . In the 11th century, the best-known leader of the First Crusade (1096–1099), Godfrey of Bouillon , was originally Margrave of Antwerp , from 1076 until his death in 1100, though he was later also Duke of Lower Lorraine (1087–1100) and Defender of

10374-471: The case of the Low Countries and the Netherlands, the geographical location of this lower region is more or less downstream and near the sea, compared to that of the upper region of Germania Superior. The designation 'Low' returned in the 10th-century Duchy of Lower Lorraine , which covered much of the Low Countries. The Dukes of Burgundy used the term les pays de par deçà ("the lands over here") for

10507-418: The centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of natural disasters and human intervention. On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany, killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder , replacing it with

10640-487: The city was captured by the Belgian insurgents, but the citadel continued to be held by a Dutch garrison under General David Hendrik Chassé . For a time, Chassé subjected the town to periodic bombardment which inflicted much damage, and at the end of 1832, the citadel itself was besieged by the French Northern Army commanded by Marechal Gerard . During this attack, the town was further damaged. In December 1832, after

10773-404: The city. At that time the city was also divided into the districts mentioned above. Simultaneously, districts received an appointed district council; later district councils became elected bodies. The neighboring municipality of Borsbeek has declared the intention to become the tenth district of the city of Antwerp. However, the final decision has not been made and a non-binding citizens vote on

10906-462: The corner of Bloedberg and Burchtgracht. Steen castle on the Scheldt-quai is the gate wing of the demolished castle of the Dukes of Brabant. It was partly reconstructed in the 19th century. Antwerp's development as a fortified city is documented between the 10th and the 20th century. The fortifications were developed in different phases: This is the population of the city of Antwerp only, not of

11039-549: The country being referred to as Holland instead of the Netherlands , on much the same grounds as many Welsh or Scottish people object to the United Kingdom being referred to as England. In particular, those from regions other than Holland find it undesirable or misrepresentative to use the term Holland for the whole country, as the Holland region only comprises two of the twelve provinces, and 38% of Dutch citizens. As of 2019,

11172-540: The country is for the most part flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast, up to a height of no more than 322 m (1,056 ft) at the Vaalserberg , and some low hill ranges in the central parts. Most of the areas below sea level are caused by peat extraction or achieved through land reclamation . Since the late 16th century, large polder areas are preserved through elaborate drainage systems that include dikes , canals and pumping stations. Much of

11305-578: The country was originally formed by the estuaries of three large European rivers: the Rhine ( Rijn ), the Meuse ( Maas ) and the Scheldt ( Schelde ), as well as their tributaries . The south-western part of the Netherlands is a river delta of these rivers, the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta . The European Netherlands is divided into north and south parts by the Rhine, the Waal , its main tributary branch, and

11438-516: The countryside was plundered for food. Although there were thousands of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, over 20,000 Dutch fascists joined the Waffen SS . Political collaborators were members of the fascist NSB , the only legal political party in the occupied Netherlands. On 8 December 1941, the Dutch government-in-exile in London declared war on Japan, but could not prevent

11571-551: The discovery of new sea routes via Africa to Asia and via the Atlantic to America helped push Antwerp to a position of prominence. By 1504, the Portuguese had established Antwerp as one of their main shipping bases, bringing in spices from Asia and trading them for textiles and metal goods. The city's trade expanded to include cloth from England, Italy and Germany, wines from Germany, France and Spain, salt from France, and wheat from

11704-583: The end of the Ice Age , the nomadic late Upper Palaeolithic Hamburg culture (13,000–10,000 BC) hunted reindeer in the area, using spears. The later Ahrensburg culture (11,200–9,500 BC) used bow and arrow . From Mesolithic Maglemosian-like tribes (c. 8000 BC), the world's oldest canoe was found in Drenthe . Indigenous late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from the Swifterbant culture (c. 5600 BC), related to

11837-441: The entire war combined), causing severe damage to the city but failed to destroy the port due to poor accuracy. After the war, Antwerp, which had already had a sizeable Jewish population before the war, once again became a major European centre of Haredi (and particularly Hasidic ) Orthodox Judaism . A Ten-Year Plan for the port of Antwerp (1956–1965) expanded and modernized the port's infrastructure with national funding to build

11970-520: The extent of this decline, especially when considering the period up to the 1750s. In the 18th century the Dutch Republic had seen a state of a general decline, with economic competition from England and long-standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the republican Staatsgezinden and the supporters of the stadtholder the Prinsgezinden as main political factions. With

12103-518: The first half of the 16th century, Antwerp grew to become the second-largest European city north of the Alps. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city. Francesco Guicciardini , the Florentine envoy, stated that hundreds of ships would pass in a day, and 2,000 carts entered the city each week. Portuguese ships laden with pepper and cinnamon would unload their cargo. According to Luc-Normand Tellier "It

12236-519: The harbour by constructing a new dock (still named the Bonaparte Dock), an access-lock and mole , and deepening the Scheldt to allow larger ships to approach Antwerp. Napoleon hoped that by making Antwerp's harbour the finest in Europe he would be able to counter the Port of London and hamper British growth. However, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo before he could see the plan through. In 1830,

12369-718: The import of goods through the Netherlands proved essential to German survival until the blockade by the British Royal Navy in 1916. That changed in World War II, when Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. The Rotterdam Blitz forced most of the Dutch army to surrender. During the occupation, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were transported to Nazi extermination camps ; only a few survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in Germany, civilians who resisted were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and

12502-524: The inner city are: Antwerpen-Noord or synonymously 2060 is a densely populated part of the city, and the most diverse one as well. This is not a neighborhood by itself, but is the postal code for the remaining quarters of the district that lie between de Leien and the ringway. United with the city in 1923, Linkeroever ("Left bank") consists of the former polders of Zwijndrecht and Burcht . Antwerp-Berchem : Vibrant district, rich history, lively streets, major transportation hub. Antwerp's architecture

12635-694: The larger current municipality of the same name. In 2010, 36% to 39% of the inhabitants of Antwerp had foreign origins. A study projected that in 2020, 55% of the population would be of immigrant background, either first, second, or third generation. After the Holocaust and the murder of its many Jews, Antwerp became a major centre for Orthodox Jews. At present, about 15,000 Haredi Jews, many of them Hasidic , live in Antwerp. The city has three official Jewish Congregations: Shomrei Hadass, headed by Rabbi Dovid Moishe Lieberman, Machsike Hadass, headed by Rabbi Aron Schiff (formerly by Chief Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth ) and

12768-559: The major trading center for the region. The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Low Countries . The regent Margaret, Duchess of Parma , was swept aside when Philip II sent the Duke of Alba at the head of an army the following summer. When the Dutch revolt against Spain broke out in 1568, commercial trading between Antwerp and

12901-413: The matter is scheduled for September 2023. With the exception of Ekeren and Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo, all the districts form together one contiguous inhabited area. The former town halls have been converted into district halls and the former town centers are now local main streets within the larger urban agglomeration. The historical city of Antwerp consists nowadays of the following neighborhoods. For

13034-523: The migration of Germanic tribes from the North. By the time this migration was complete, around 250 BC, a few general cultural and linguistic groups had emerged. The North Sea Germanic Ingaevones inhabited the northern part of the Low Countries . They would later develop into the Frisii and the early Saxons . The Weser–Rhine Germanic (or Istvaeones ) extended along the middle Rhine and Weser and inhabited

13167-551: The modern Netherlands. Spanish troops sacked Maastricht in 1579, killing over 10,000 civilians. In 1581, the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration , the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II. Against the rebels Philip could draw on the resources of the Spanish Empire . Elizabeth I sympathised with the Dutch struggle and sent an army of 7,600 soldiers to aid them. English forces faced

13300-482: The new republican-mercantile empire. Following the declaration of independence, the provinces of Holland , Zeeland , Groningen , Friesland , Utrecht , Overijssel , and Gelderland entered into a confederation . All these duchies, lordships and counties enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy and was governed by its own administrative body known as the States-Provincial . The confederal government, known as

13433-685: The north (i.e. the southern Netherlands and Flanders), who kept on speaking Old Frankish , which by the ninth century had evolved into Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch. A Dutch-French language boundary hence came into existence. To the north of the Franks, climatic conditions improved, and during the Migration Period Saxons , the closely related Angles , Jutes , and Frisii settled the coast. Many moved on to England and came to be known as Anglo-Saxons , but those who stayed would be referred to as Frisians and their language as Frisian . Frisian

13566-494: The north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom , Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland . Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories . Netherlands literally means "lower countries" in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with 26% below sea level . Most of

13699-527: The north to create a strong country on the northern border of France. William Frederick raised this United Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself as King William I in 1815. William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in exchange for his German possessions. However, the Southern Netherlands had been culturally separate from the north since 1581, and rebelled . The south gained independence in 1830 as Belgium (recognised by

13832-662: The northern quays, in 1891. During World War II , the city also suffered considerable damage from V-bombs . Here are some of the most notable examples of Antwerp's diverse architecture: Antwerp is also home to a wealth of historic Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance-style buildings, such as the Antwerp City Hall , the Cathedral of Our Lady , the St. James' Church , the Vleeshuis Museum and the St. Charles Borromeo Church . Antwerp offers

13965-740: The okapi, the Przewalski horse, the Congo peafowl, the bonobo, the golden-headed lion tamarin, the European otter, and the Knysna seahorse. They take part in the European Endangered Species Programme . On 1 January 1983 the entire park (architecture and garden) was listed as a monument. Other well-known parks include: Antwerp has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ), with cool winters, warm summers and frequent, though light, precipitation throughout

14098-555: The people", akin to Old Dutch Dietsch or Old English þeodisc , meaning "(of) the common ( Germanic ) people". At first, the English language used Dutch to refer to any or all speakers of West Germanic languages . Gradually its meaning shifted to the West Germanic people they had the most contact with. The oldest human ( Neanderthal ) traces in the Netherlands, believed to be about 250,000 years old, were found near Maastricht . At

14231-406: The population into submission. Alba boasted of having executed 18,600; this figure does not include those who perished by war and famine. The first great siege was Alba's effort to capture Haarlem and thereby cut Holland in half. It dragged on from December 1572 to the next summer, when Haarlemers finally surrendered on 13 July upon the promise that the city would be spared from being sacked. It

14364-455: The previous, this river forms a linguistic divide: people to the northeast of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland , which has its own language). The Netherlands is mostly composed of deltaic , coastal and aeolian derived sediments during the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods. Almost the entire west Netherlands is composed of

14497-424: The public through diamond dealers, and jewelry manufactures. IGI provides independent grading reports, colored stone reports, identification and appraisal reports, diamond authentication and attestations of origin, and laser inscription services. They also offers diamond and colored stone courses through IGI's Schools of Gemology. The IGI school was the first to offer the practical Rough Diamond course. Graduates from

14630-417: The riverbank; an alluvial deposit ; a mound (like a terp ) thrown up (as a defence) against (something or someone); or a wharf. If Andoverpis is Celtic in origin, it could mean "those who live on both banks". There is a folklore tradition that the name Antwerpen is from Dutch handwerpen ("hand-throwing"). A giant called Antigoon is said to have lived near the Scheldt river and extracted

14763-582: The same toponymy . Place names with Neder , Nieder , Nedre , Nether , Lage(r) or Low(er) (in Germanic languages ) and Bas or Inferior (in Romance languages ) are in use in low-lying places all over Europe. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior (nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands) and upstream Germania Superior . Thus, in

14896-459: The southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture , were strongly linked to rivers and open water. Between 4800 and 4500 BC, the Swifterbant people started to adopt from the neighbouring Linear Pottery culture the practice of animal husbandry , and between 4300 and 4000 BC agriculture. The Funnelbeaker culture (4300–2800 BC) erected the dolmens , large stone grave monuments found in Drenthe . There

15029-402: The term "Low Countries" is officially used as the name for the Netherlands. The term Holland has frequently been used informally to refer to the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands in various languages, including Dutch and English. In some languages, Holland is used as the formal name for the Netherlands. However, Holland is a region within the Netherlands that consists of

15162-445: The textiles industry. At the beginning of the 16th century, Antwerp accounted for 40% of world trade. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers. In the century after 1541, the city's economy and population declined dramatically. The Portuguese merchants left in 1549, and there was much less trade in English cloth. Numerous financial bankruptcies began around 1557. Amsterdam replaced Antwerp as

15295-466: The time Austrasia became a separate kingdom (that is, about 567 CE), and (possibly originally Celtic) Andoverpis in Dado 's Life of St. Eligius (Vita Eligii) from about 700 CE. The form Antverpia is Neo-Latin . A Germanic ( Frankish or Frisian ) origin could contain prefix anda ("against") and a noun derived from the verb werpen ("to throw") and denote, for example: land thrown up at

15428-536: The two provinces of North and South Holland . Formerly these were a single province, and earlier the County of Holland , which included parts of present-day Utrecht . The emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic , the Eighty Years' War , and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, made Holland a pars pro toto for the entire country. Many Dutch people object to

15561-510: The wealthiest trading city in Amsterdam , and the first full-time stock exchange . The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom-bust cycle , the world's first asset-inflation bubble , the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and the world's first bear raider , Isaac le Maire . In 1672 – known in Dutch history as the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) –

15694-514: The year. Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream , Antwerp has a relatively mild climate throughout the year, with the average temperature fluctuating between 4 °C (39 °F) and 19 °C (66 °F) throughout the year. Although Antwerp was formerly a fortified city, hardly anything remains of the former enceinte , only some remains of the city wall can be seen near the Vleeshuis museum at

15827-487: Was Gerolf of Holland , who assumed lordship in Frisia, and Viking rule came to an end. The Holy Roman Empire ruled much of the Low Countries in the 10th and 11th century but was not able to maintain political unity. Powerful local nobles turned their cities, counties and duchies into private kingdoms that felt little sense of obligation to the emperor. Holland , Hainaut , Flanders , Gelre , Brabant , and Utrecht were in

15960-833: Was a quick transition from the Funnelbeaker farming culture to the pan-European Corded Ware pastoralist culture (c. 2950 BC). In the southwest, the Seine-Oise-Marne culture —related to the Vlaardingen culture (c. 2600 BC)—survived well into the Neolithic period, until it too was succeeded by the Corded Ware culture. The subsequent Bell Beaker culture (2700–2100 BC) introduced metalwork in copper, gold and later bronze and opened new international trade routes, reflected in copper artefacts . Finds of rare bronze objects suggest that Drenthe

16093-566: Was a stipulation Don Fadrique was unable to honour, when his soldiers mutinied, angered over pay owed and the miserable conditions of the campaign. On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios seized Antwerp and subjected it to the worst pillage in the Netherlands' history. The citizens resisted but were overcome; seven thousand were killed and a thousand buildings were torched. Following the sack of Antwerp , delegates from Catholic Brabant, Protestant Holland and Zeeland agreed to join Utrecht and William

16226-659: Was a trading centre in the Bronze Age (2000–800 BC). The Bell Beaker culture developed locally into the Barbed-Wire Beaker culture (2100–1800 BC) and later the Elp culture (1800–800 BC), a Middle Bronze Age culture marked by earthenware pottery. The southern region became dominated by the related Hilversum culture (1800–800 BC). From 800 BC onwards, the Iron Age Celtic Hallstatt culture became influential, replacing

16359-601: Was a weak kingdom and subject to numerous partitions and annexation attempts by its stronger neighbours. It comprised territories from Frisia in the north to the Kingdom of Italy in the south. Around 850, Lothair I of Middle Francia acknowledged the Viking Rorik of Dorestad as ruler of most of Frisia. When the kingdom of Middle Francia was partitioned in 855, the lands north of the Alps passed to Lothair II and subsequently were named Lotharingia . After he died in 869, Lotharingia

16492-511: Was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. The Emperor sent in an army and the Netherlands became part of the French Empire until November 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig . William Frederick , son of the last stadtholder, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince . Two years later, the Congress of Vienna added the southern Netherlands to

16625-673: Was fought over in the Hook and Cod Wars between 1350 and 1490. The Cod faction consisted of the more progressive cities, while the Hook faction consisted of the conservative noblemen. These noblemen invited Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy to conquer Holland. Most of the Imperial and French fiefs in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium were united in a personal union by Philip the Good in 1433. The House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs would rule

16758-404: Was grown by a mixture of free and forced labour, increasingly with enslaved Africans as the century progressed. The city attracted Italian and German sugar refiners by 1550, and shipped their refined product to Germany, especially Cologne . Antwerp also had an unusually high number of painters, around 360 in 1560, in a city with a population of roughly 89,000 in 1569 (250 people per painter), it

16891-553: Was partitioned, into Upper and Lower Lotharingia , the latter comprising the Low Countries that became part of East Francia in 870. Around 879, another Viking expedition led by Godfrid, Duke of Frisia , raided the Frisian lands. Resistance to the Vikings, if any, came from local nobles, who gained in stature as a result, and that laid the basis for the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia into semi-independent states. One of these local nobles

17024-498: Was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. By the seventh century, a Frisian Kingdom (650–734) under King Aldegisel and King Redbad emerged with Traiectum ( Utrecht ) as its centre of power, while Dorestad was a flourishing trading place. Between 600 and around 719 the cities were often fought over between the Frisians and the Franks. In 734, at the Battle of the Boarn ,

17157-437: Was the first city to host the World Gymnastics Championships , in 1903. During World War I , the city became the fallback point of the Belgian Army after the defeat at Liège . The Siege of Antwerp lasted for 11 days, but the city was taken after heavy fighting by the German Army, and the Belgians were forced to retreat westwards. Antwerp remained under German occupation until the Armistice. A few years later, Antwerp hosted

17290-413: Was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. Its mixed-market advanced economy has the eleventh-highest per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the States General , Cabinet , and Supreme Court . The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest in Europe . Schiphol is the busiest airport in the Netherlands , and the fourth busiest in Europe . Being a developed country ,

17423-402: Was the most important artistic centre north of the Alps , serving notable painters such as Pieter Bruegel . Moneylenders and financiers developed a large business lending money all over Europe including the English government in 1544–1574. London bankers were too small to operate on that scale, and Antwerp had a highly efficient bourse that itself attracted rich bankers from around Europe. After

17556-476: Was the world's first purpose-built commodity exchange . In 1920, the city hosted the Summer Olympics . The inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren ( Dutch pronunciation: [sɪˈɲoːrə(n)] ), after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur , "lord", referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city's population is very diverse, including about 180 nationalities; as of 2019, more than 50% of its population had

17689-443: Was vital because Holland could no longer produce enough grain to feed itself. Land drainage had caused the peat of the former wetlands to reduce to a level that was too low for drainage to be maintained. Under Habsburg Charles V , all fiefs in the current Netherlands region were united into the Seventeen Provinces , which included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. In 1568, under Phillip II,

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