Holland

Holland, former county, Holy Roman Empire; former province, the Netherlands

Holland, former county of the Holy Roman Empire and, from 1579 to 1795, chief member of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Its name is popularly applied to the entire Netherlands. Holland has been divided since 1840 into two provinces, North Holland and South Holland. The county was created in the early 10th cent. and originally controlled not only present North and South Holland, but also Zeeland and part of medieval Friesland. William II was elected (1247) German king, but was unable to exert his authority; he died (1255) in a campaign against the independence-minded West Frisians. In 1299, John of Avesnes, count of Hainaut, seized Holland, which came (1345) into the hands of the Bavarian house of Wittelsbach through marriage. The house of Wittelsbach retained possession of Holland until 1433, when Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, wrested it from Jacqueline (or Jacoba), countess of Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland. In the civil strife that accompanied this event the party of the Kabeljauws [codfish], representing the cities, fought the Hoeks [fish hooks], the nobles who supported Jacqueline. The Hoeks again rebelled when Archduke Maximilian (later Emperor Maximilian I) assumed the guardianship over the Netherlands after the death (1482) of Mary of Burgundy; their fleet was annihilated and their leaders executed in 1490. The cloth industry and commerce of Holland, though they developed later than those of Flanders and Brabant, began to rival those of Bruges and Antwerp in the 15th cent. The ports of Holland were closely linked with the Hanseatic League and later became, after the Netherlands had gained independence, major entrepôts and shipbuilding centers. Holland led in the struggle (16th–17th cent.) for Dutch independence, and because it dominated the States-General, its history became virtually identical with that of the Netherlands.

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Holland, city, United States

Holland, city (1990 pop. 30,745), Allegan and Ottawa counties, SW Mich., near Lake Michigan, on Lake Macatawa, in a dairy and poultry area; founded 1847 by Dutch settlers, inc. 1867. Furnaces have been made there since 1906. Other products include food and beverages, machinery, metal products, electronic equipment, furniture, delftware, chemicals, and boats. Tulip growing is an important industry, and the city's many Dutch descendants hold a week-long tulip festival each spring. Points of interest include a replica of a 19th-century Dutch village and an operating windmill. The Dutch Reformed Church operates Hope College and Western Theological Seminary. A Coast Guard station is on Lake Macatawa, and Holland State Park is nearby. The city is a popular summer resort.

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Holland

Historic region, The Netherlands, occupying the northwestern portion of the modern country. It originated in the early 12th century as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1299 Holland was united with Hainaut. Members of the house of Wittelsbach served as counts of Holland, Zeeland, and Hainaut until 1433, when they ceded the titles to Philip III (the Good), duke of Burgundy. It passed to the Habsburgs in 1482 and became a centre of the revolt against Spain in 1572. Holland and six other northern Netherlands provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579, proclaiming the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Its capital, Amsterdam, became Europe's foremost commercial centre in the 18th century. The Napoleonic kingdom of Holland occupied the territory (1806–10). In 1840 it was divided into the provinces of North Holland and South Holland.

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Holland¹

1.  Henry. 1745--1806, British neoclassical architect. His work includes Brooks's Club (1776) and Carlton House (1783), both in London

2. Sir Sidney George. 1893--1961, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1949--57)

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Holland²

1. another name for the Netherlands

2. a county of the Holy Roman Empire, corresponding to the present-day North and South Holland provinces of the Netherlands

3. Parts of. an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire