Character Information

[tenderlands]

NOTE: Because Netherlands only has a small number of canon appearances, some of the information here is headcanon, which is noted in the footnotes. Most of it, however, is either straight canon, inference based on Netherlands' actions in canon, or historical 'canon'. Feel free to correct any historical/cultural/language mistakes!

Basic Info
Name: Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) ^[1]
Human Name: Hendrik van den Berg ^[2]
Age: Appears around 24 ^[3]; roughly 2600 years total history
Physical Appearance: Dirty blonde hair, shamrock green eyes, approximately 6'1 (186cm), fit build, moderately muscular, prominent scar on the right side of forehead
Birthday: January 30 1648 (independence from Spain recognized)

FOOTNOTES + ADDITIONAL INFO
[1] NETHERLANDS or HOLLAND? -> There is sometimes confusion as to whether or not the names ‘Netherlands’ and ‘Holland’ can be used interchangeably when referring to the country, or if both terms have the same meaning. Technically, the answer to both is no. ‘Holland’ simply refers to two of the provinces within the Netherlands (North and South Holland), not the country itself. Netherlands is the correct term to use when referring to the whole country.

However, there seems to be a bit of leniency within Dutch society about this issue. Some Dutch people tend to use the name ‘Holland’ themselves when referring to their country, and for the most part the Dutch do not seem to mind which name others prefer to use. It is most notably in North and South Holland where more people understandably object to using ‘Holland’ as an all-encompassing term.

KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS? -> Himaruya himself had officially referred to the character’s name as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Kingdom of the Netherlands). However, to date, the character in canon only appears to represent the country of the Netherlands and not the other countries represented within the Kingdom (Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Marteen). Other characters in canon refer to him as オランダ(Oranda, meaning Netherlands/Holland) as well. Because of this, I will not refer to this character as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and will just use ‘Netherlands’ instead.

Personally, I will refer to the character as Holland when discussing him casually with friends and peers, simply because it is easier and faster to write and pronounce. However, in-game, I always refer to him as Netherlands and have him refer to himself as Netherlands. He also does not show any difference when reacting to people who call him Holland instead of Netherlands.

[2] HUMAN NAME -> This name is not canon and is simply for AU use, but was chosen for historical reasons. Netherlands does not have a canon human name. Some names that Himaruya liked that were suggested by fans included 'Tim,' 'Govert,' 'Abel,' and 'Morgens.' As none of these are official names, however, I kept to the human name I had come up with before these names were mentioned. 'Hendrik' was chosen based on lists of common Dutch names throughout the past few centuries. As the representation of a nation, I felt it was best to give him a name that was common amongst the whole of the people. 'Hendrik' is a less common name in recent decades, but it had been incredibly popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries- prominent centuries in Netherlands' history. These centuries helped define Netherlands as a country, and I wanted to pick a fitting name, just as a name helps to define a person.

Some Dutch surnames consist of a prefix (such as van/de/der, meaning of/from/from the) and a name, although this style of naming is outdated and not as common in recent history. As surnames were not required by law in the Netherlands until 1811, it is my belief that Hendrik did not have a surname until around that time, and that he picked his surname himself. 'Van den Berg' literally means "of the mountain." I chose it because, although the terrain of the Netherlands is virtually flat and mountainless, mountains tend to symbolize obstacles, and it's fitting for a country that, at the time, was still emerging from a tumultuous and emotionally-conflicting history.

[3] AGE -> This age is headcanon. He does not have a canon physical age. This age was based off of the official ages of Romano and Spain, who are 22-23 and 25 respectively. Based on Netherlands' appearance in a strip with them, I have inferred Netherlands to be older than Romano, yet slightly younger than Spain. Hence placing him at 24.