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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 80 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Dutch
| The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602. The Dutch displaced another European colonial power to monopolize trade with the Spice Islands. What colonial power did they displace? | Dutch Colonial History
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Portugal. Portugal lost most of its colonies in Asia to the Dutch and the English in the 17th century.
Batavia. Batavia became capital of the Dutch East Indies.
| The Spice Islands were captured by the Dutch in ca. 1605-21, and so they gained a monopoly of the spice trade. What are these islands called today? They are still the world´s major producer of spices, especially nutmegs, mace and cloves. | Dutch Colonial History
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The Moluccas, Amboina and Banda Islands. Ambon, the capital of the Moluccas, was the early seat of Dutch control.
| The Treaty of Paris in 1815 (after the Napoleonic Wars) awarded another Caribbean island to the Dutch. Which one? | Dutch Colonial History
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Aruba. Capital: Oranjestad.
New Netherlands. New Amsterdam was capital. New Orange was the name given to New York City in 1673-74 when it was temporarily reconquered by the Dutch.
| What was the Dutch name of Georgetown, now capital of Guyana, when it was part of Dutch colony Guiana (or Essequibo-Demerara)? | Dutch Colonial History
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Stabroek. Georgetown was called Stabroek during Dutch occupation. It was made capital of combined colonies of Essequibo and Demerara in 1784. Renamed Georgetown in 1812, ceded to British in 1814. Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara were united as crown colony of British Guiana in 1831.
| What was the name of the Dutch 'factory' established in 1598 on West Java? It used to be a powerful Muslim sultanate. It was captured by the British in 1602, but the Dutch expelled them in 1682. | Dutch Colonial History
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Bantam. Now called Banten. Part of the Indonesian Province of West Java, capital: Serang.
| Once upon a time New York was called New Amsterdam until it was lost to the English. The Dutch gave up their claim on New York in 1667 in exchange for what? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Surinam. All of the above have been Dutch colonies. But the Dutch received Surinam in exchange for New York.
| During the Edo period in Japan (1603-1867), the Dutch were the only Western nation allowed to trade with Japan. Their trading post, now a Dutch theme park called Huis Ten Bosch, was in which city? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Nagasaki. The trading post was in Dejima, an island in Nagasaki harbour, from 1641 until 1859. The only other foreign nation allowed to trade in Japan was China.
| The Dutch first landed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1602. It took them 56 years to drive out the other European nation that wanted control over the island. Which nation was this? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Portugal. Ceylon did not become British until 1796. Before the Dutch took control is was a Portuguese colony.
| The focal point of the Dutch overseas empire in the 17th and 18th century was Jakarta in Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies). At the time it was not called Jakarta. What was the Dutch name? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Batavia. Batavia did not become Jakarta until the start of World War II when Japan occupied Indonesia.
| An island in the Indian ocean was used by the Dutch as a reserve for fresh food on the way to India. It was occupied from 1638 until 1710 and was named after the Dutch stadholder (highest government official) at the time. The island still bears this name. What is it? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Mauritius. Named after Stadholder Maurits.
| Tasmania is of course named after the Dutch seafarer, Abel Tasman. He didn't name it after himself though as it was only named Tasmania in 1856. Before that it was named after the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. What was his name? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Anthony Van Diemen. Tasmania used to be called Van Diemen's Land.
| Afrikaans, the language spoken by many white South Africans is a version of Dutch and many place names in South Africa are of Dutch origin. In 1854 the Boers (which is the Dutch word for farmer) proclaimed parts of South Africa to be two seperate republics. One was Transvaal, what was the other? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Oranje Vrijstaat. Both republics were annexed by England after the Boer Wars in 1902.
| There have been three presidents of the United States whose ancestry can be traced back to the settlers in New Amsterdam. Both Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Who is the third? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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Martin Van Buren. Kind of an easy one as the name is so obviously Dutch. Peter Stuyvesant was governor of New York when the Dutch lost New Amsterdam.
| The Dutch have lost all their overseas possessions with the exception of Aruba and the Dutch Antilles. The Antilles consist of 5 islands, Curacao, Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius. What is the fifth? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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St. Maarten. Only half of St. Maarten is Dutch, the other half is French and called St. Martin.
| So far most of the Dutch influence mentioned in this quiz have been in the warmer parts of this world. There is however a sea North of Norway and Russia named after a Dutch explorer who tried to sail to China via the Northern route in the 16th century. What is it called? | The Dutch Are Everywhere
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The Barents Sea. Named after Willem Barentsz who died in 1597 after spending the winter on Novaya Zemlya caught in the ice while trying to sail past the North Pole.
Troelstra. Pieter Jelles Troelstra led the party from 1894 until 1925.
1939. In 1939, a week before the Second World War, the SDAP got two ministers in the newly formed government of Mr. De Geer.
Drees. Willem Drees (1886-1988) is considered to be the real founder of the Dutch social welfare state. He started a state pension system (AOW).
three. They are: Willem Drees, Joop den Uyl and Wim Kok.
| In 1966 a group of self proclaimed reformers, Nieuw Links (New Left) tried to give a new programme to the Labour Party. What is the name of the document in which they stated their demands? | History of Dutch Socialism
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Tien over Rood (Ten about Red). Tien over Rood demanded, for instance, the abolition of the monarchy after the then reigning Queen Juliana and the recognition of East Germany.
| One of the reasons for the Dutch Revolt, although not necessarily the primary and only reason, was because of a small Protestant minority in the Netherlands. Which Protestant's doctrines did they follow? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Calvin. Although most Netherlanders were deemed to be Roman Catholic at the time, there was a small but vocal group of Calvinists gathering in the country. With Philip II a devout Catholic, trying to impose strict religious conformity in the Netherlands, this was always going to create considerable difficulty. Other problems that may have caused the revolt include the perception of unfair taxation and xenophobia from the Netherlands regions against the Spanish.
| As Philip II decided he couldn't control both Spain and the Netherlands, he appointed a governer to run the various regions instead. Whom did he appoint as the governor? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Margaret of Parma. Philip II's illegitimate half-sister, Margaret of Parma, was appointed as governor of this part of the Spanish Empire, and Granvelle was appointed head of the States General, which was the Parliament of the Netherlands. Granvelle was a very unpopular man in the United Provinces at the time, so Philip and Margaret's association with him would always cause problems. One of Margaret's main mistakes was her over-reaction to the problem faced by her government in a letter to Philip, causing him to send the Duke of Alba to bring the area under control again, which made things worse. Alba took over as governor in 1569. Egmont was a Catholic statesman from Flanders who was executed by Alva, even though he almost certainly didn't want a revolt against Spain.
Iconoclastic Fury. The Iconoclastic Fury occured as a result of the news in April 1566 that heresy laws against Calvinism wouldn't be monitored so harshly. This gave hope to the many French Huguenots, as they knew that local magistrates were prepared to overlook such practices. Buoyed by this news, Protestants started to hold open-air ceremonies in the United Provinces, and this eventually turned into the Iconoclastic Fury, which was the desecration of Catholic churches and images. This unexpected event changed the direction of the revolt, turning it into a full-scale rebellion. However, at this point William the Silent was still on the Spanish side. The sacking of Antwerp didn't occur until about ten years later.
| As the Duke of Alva started to impose his authority on the Netherlands, William of Orange went into exile to avoid the same fate that had befallen Egmont and Hoorn. Where did William go into hiding? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Saxony. William never actually directly opposed Philip II in his early years, but he opposed the idea of Spaniards obtaining power in his country rather than Dutch people. William's wife was Anna of Saxony, so he was able to stay in the region that was ruled by his wife's father, who had the title of Elector of Saxony. France was still under Catholic rule, so it wasn't safe for William to take refuge here. England wasn't an option either because Elizabeth I was reluctant to support the rebels because no-one believed they had a chance of victory. Holland and Zealand were under the jurisdiction of Spain, so this also wasn't a very safe option.
| During the Dutch uprising between 1568-1571, Spain was also fighting another war that drained its resources, which hampered their efforts against the Dutch. Who else were the Spaniards fighting against? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Ottoman Empire. Peru was a Spanish colony, but a revolt didn't take place in the country for over 200 years after it was conquered by Spain. Although Philip detested any country that had a Protestant ruler, he never actually declared war on the English until the 1580s, and although Philip gave a lot of financial aid to the Catholics in the French Wars of Religion, he didn't interfere in the fighting. Spanish interference in both countries would affect Spain later on, but the fighting against the Ottoman Empire was the main problem the Spaniards faced between 1568 and 1571. This eased when Don John secured a decisive victory against the Ottoman Empire in 1571 at the Battle of Lepanto. Don John would later try to deal with the United Provinces, with little success.
A group of nobles opposing Spanish rule. The 'Sea Beggars' were named after a large group of nobles presented a petition to Margaret of Parma, and one of her councillors was heard to call them a group of beggars. After originally being supressed by Alba, the 'Sea Beggars' were successful in plundering Spanish ships and ports and returning to England. However, in 1572, Elizabeth I refused them entry to her harbours, as she didn't want to provoke Spain. This led the 'Sea Beggars' to launch a desperate attack on Brielle, and later Flushing, which were under Spanish control. Because they were so unexpected, both attacks succeeded, and eventually they spread resistance southwards, dealing a massive blow to the Duke of Alba and Spain.
| In 1576, an event called the Spanish Fury saw many people from the Low Countries take up the rebel cause. Which city did the rebels loot and pillage that saw 8,000 people allegedly killed? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Antwerp. The Spanish Fury took place in Antwerp after Philip declared the Spanish state bankrupt in 1575. Spanish troops fighting against the rebels were given no leave and no pay, and the the distance from Spain to the Low Countries added to their grievances. Because of this, the Sack of Antwerp took place in November 1576. Spanish troops decided to 'pay themselves' by pillaging the city that was the economic capital of the Netherlands. The population of Antwerp had plummeted to 40,000 by 1585, with this event alienating many Dutch people who were loyal to Philip, particularly Catholics. It also meant that any remaining hope of peace had all but vanished.
Don John of Austria. The Duke of Parma followed the victor at Lepanto, Don John of Austria, into the position of Governor. Don John tried to negotiate a peace treaty with William the Silent many times, but William didn't believe he was trustworthy, and he was later proved right. Don John only lasted two years before he died of typhus, but he wasn't the most successful of governors. He didn't get along very well with Philip II, and he wasn't received well by the States General and the people of the United Provinces. He was an example of another excellent general who had blackened his reputation in the Netherlands, like Alba.
| Which treaty did the Duke of Parma negotiate in 1579 to ensure the loyalty of some of the southern states, resulting in a split with the United Provinces? | The Dutch Revolt : Part 1, 1555-1609
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Union of Arras. The Union of Arras was signed in 1579 and recognised Philip II as the lawful ruler of these states. One of the key conditions of the agreement was that Catholicism was deemed to be the only lawful religion, and that Calvinism was outlawed. It was from here that the Duke of Parma started his reconquest of the central and Northern states of the Netherlands. The Union of Utrecht was signed by the rebel states not long afterwards, and covered most of the nothern Netherlands states.
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