Netherlands–Spain relations

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Dutch-Spanish relations
Map indicating locations of Netherlands and Spain

Netherlands
Spain
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of the Netherlands, MadridEmbassy of Spain, The Hague

Netherlands–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. The relations between both countries are defined mainly by their membership in the European Union and by being allies in the NATO, as well as belonging to numerous International Organizations.

Country comparison[]

Netherlands the Netherlands Spain Spain
Coat of arms State coat of arms of the Netherlands.svg Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
Population 17,237,700[1] 46,354,321
Area 41,543 km2 (16,033 sq mi) 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi)
Population density 415.1/km2 (1,075.1/sq mi) 92/km2 (238/sq mi)
Capital Amsterdam (capital), The Hague (seat of government) Madrid
Largest city Amsterdam – 851,573 (2,431,000 Metro) Madrid – 3,141,991 (6,700,000 Metro)
Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with regional devolved powers
Current Leader Monarch Willem-Alexander
Prime Minister Mark Rutte 		Monarch Felipe VI
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
Official languages Dutch Spanish
Main religions 50.1% unaffiliated, 23.7% Roman Catholic, 6.5% Dutch Reformed Church, 5.7% Protestant Church in the Netherlands,

3.3% Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, 4.9% Islam, 4.6% other, 0.6% Hinduism, 0.4% Buddhism, 0.1% Judaism[2][3]

68% Catholic Christians, 27% not religious, 2% other religions
Ethnic groups 79.3% Dutch, 6.3% other European, 4.9% Indo, 2.4% Turkish,

2.2% Moroccan-Dutch, 2.1% Surinamese, 0.9% Caribbean, 0.3% Chinese, 0.3% Iraqi, 3.9% other

88% Native-born Spanish citizens, 12% immigrants

(57% of them from Spain's former colonies in Latin America, the rest are
mostly Eastern European, especially Romanians, Bulgarians, Russians and Serbs)

GDP (nominal) US$945.327 billion[4] US$1.864 trillion ($40,290 per capita)

History[]

Reign of Carlos I[]

Philip the Handsome, with his marriage to the daughter of Catholic Monarchs and future queen Juana I, made possible the linking of Burgundian territories ( including the Netherlands) with the Spaniards.

With his successor, Carlos, future king of Spain and emperor, there was the consolidation and organization of the different territories of the Netherlands within the Hispanic Monarchy.

On a territorial level, in 1521 he conquered the city of Tournai, which joined Flanders, in 1523/1524 after years of war, he was accepted as lord of Friesland (after buying his rights to the Duke Jorge the Bearded of Saxony-Meissen in 1515), in 1528 he bought the bishopric of Utrecht (which included Utrecht and Overijssel) by the Schoonhoven and Gorinchem treaties,[5] in 1536 he conquered Groningen with Ommelanden and Drenthe, and in 1543 the duchy of Gelderland with Zutphen by the treaty of Venlo.[6] With this, he came to dominate almost all of the territories in the region of the Netherlands, with the exception of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Reign of Philip II[]

On 25 October 1555, Emperor Charles V resigned from his son Philip the headquarters of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Duchy of Burgundy and therefore the 17 territories from the Netherlands.

Within the Hispanic monarchy, the Netherlands offered a good economic vitality, with a well-established merchant class. So the attempts to increase taxes to cover wars, the defense of their privileges and the spread of Calvinism created a focus of resistance that led to the general rebellion in the area against Spanish politics.

Union of Utrecht and Union of Arrás (1579).

In 1568, the rebellion in the Netherlands began, which would lead to the Eighty Years War. On 5 January 1579, Catholics formed the : provinces of Artois, Hainaut and part of Flanders (Lille, Douai and Orchies). Protestants in contrast constituted 23 January the Utrecht Union: Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Groningen, and later cities of Brabant and Flanders.[7]

Before the death of the King of Spain, the territory of the Netherlands, in theory the seventeen provinces, did not pass to his son Philip III, but jointly to his son-in-law Albert and his daughter Isabel Clara Eugenia, as he was part of the dowry, along with the Duchy of Burgundy at his wedding with Archduke Alberto by the Act of Assignment of 6 May 1598, in an attempt by the King to solve the problem generated by the insurrection of the Netherlands by establishing an indigenous branch of the Habsburgs.[8][9]

Reign of Philip III[]

The with France (1598) and with England (1604) and the exhaustion by war led to the establishment of the .

In practice, the northern territories formed the United Provinces: Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland (with Zutphen), Overijssel (with Drenthe), Friesland and Groningen, in addition to the territories of the Generalitat (parts of Brabant, Flanders and Limburg) . And the southern territories under the sovereignty of the Habsburgs formed the Spanish Netherlands: Flanders, Artois, Hainaut, Namur, Luxembourg, Brabant, Antwerp, Mechelen, Limburg. This was reflected in the States General of the Netherlands, since in the northern part they settled in The Hague and in the southern part in Brussels.

Reign of Philip IV[]

In 1621, Archduke Alberto died without having had descendants, and by the Act of Assignment of 1598,[9][10] the alleged sovereignty over the 17 provinces (in fact the southern part only), returned to the king of Spain and nephew of Isabel Clara Eugenia, Felipe IV, which coincided with the end of the truce and the beginning of Thirty Years War.

Reign of Carlos II[]

  • In the Treaty of Aachen (1668), which ended the War of Devolution (1667–1668), Flanders, Bergues, Furnes, Armentières, Courtrai, Douai, Menen, Oudenaarde, Charleroi and Binche).
  • In Treaty of Nijmegen (19 September 1678), which ended Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678) seats were ceded in the Netherlands (, , Ypres, Wervick, Warneton, Cambrai, Bouchain, Condé -sur-l'Escaut, Bavay).
  • In the Truce of Regensburg (15 August 1684), which interrupted the War of the Reunions motivated by the Meeting chambers,[11] Luxembourg was lost after a war of several months.[12]
  • By Rijswijk Treaty (20 September 1697), which concluded Nine Years' War, part of the lost territories was recovered after the previous treaties, such as the squares of Mons, Luxembourg, Kortrijk, Chimay, Charleroi, etc. because the French monarch was interested in his family inheriting all the territories of the Spanish crown.

Diplomatic relations[]

The political climate of diplomatic relations between Spain and the Netherlands is good. Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on 13 July 2004 in The Hague, bilateral relations and visits increased. In 2008 the Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende signed a Joint Declaration in Madrid for the development of the Memorandum of Understanding. It envisaged the intensification of cooperation in immigration, R&D, energy, climate change, terrorism, human rights and intercultural dialogue, and multilateral cooperation (NATO and development cooperation).[13]

Commerce[]

The Netherlands is one of the main trading partners of Spain, occupying the seventh position in the ranking of countries receiving Spanish exports and reaching an export figure of 6,807 million euro s, 2.9% of the Total exports of Spain in 2013. According to the first estimates provided by the Estacom database, Spanish exports to the Netherlands increased by 2.15% in 2013. As far as imports are concerned, the Netherlands is the sixth largest supplier partner in Spain. The value of goods and services imported from the country to Spain in 2013 amounted to 9,853 million euros. Imports of Dutch products to Spain declined in 2013, and for that period the coverage rate was 69%.[13]

Cultural relations[]

There is great interest in the Netherlands for language and culture Spanish and it is reflected in the numerous manifestations of Spanish culture in this country. The Spanish Embassy has a Cultural Department that every year executes a cultural program previously approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the field of education, the increase in demand for Spanish as a foreign language in all educational sections, especially in university and higher education, stands out. Special mention also requires the existence of an Instituto Cervantes, based in Utrecht, which organizes numerous cultural promotion and dissemination activities in Spanish.[14]

Resident diplomatic missions[]

  • Netherlands has an embassy in Madrid.
  • Spain has an embassy in The Hague and a consulate-general in Amsterdam.


  • Torre Espacio hosting the Embassy of the Netherlands in Madrid

  • Embassy of Spain in The Hague

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Population counter". Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. ^ Schmeets, Hans (2016). De religieuze kaart van Nederland, 2010–2015 (PDF). Centraal Bureau voor der Statistiek. p. 5.
  3. ^ CBS. "Helft Nederlanders is kerkelijk of religieus". www.cbs.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Netherlands". International Monetary Fund. April 2018.,
  5. ^ "Holland under Habsburg Rule, 1506–1566, James D. Tracy".
  6. ^ Nederland in lijsten allesopeenrij.nl [1] July 2011
  7. ^ "Collectie Nationaal Archie". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, julio de 1906" (PDF).
  9. ^ a b Conditions of the resignation made by King Don Felipe II, of the states of Flanders in the Infanta Doña Isabel his daughter , included in the Collection of unpublished documents for the history of Spain, vol. XLII, pags. 218–225.
  10. ^ "Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, julio de 1906" (PDF).
  11. ^ {España y Holanda Jan Lechner, Harm den Boer (1995)
  12. ^ Historia general de España, Juan de Mariana (1852)
  13. ^ a b Oficina de Información Diplomática del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación, Ficha de los Países Bajos
  14. ^ Office of Diplomatic Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, File of the Netherlands, Cultural relations.
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