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Netherlands–United States relations

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Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the United States started in 1776 with the first salute at St. Eustatius's Fort Oranje and continues to this day as one of the oldest continual bilateral alliances in the western world.[1] Today they are described as "excellent" by the United States Department of State[2] and "close" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.[3] Founding members of the North Atlantic Alliance and allies since John Adams's visit to the Netherlands in 1782, it is considered one of the strongest military and economic alliances in contemporary history.[4]

Dutch–American relations
Map indicating locations of Netherlands and USA

Netherlands
United States
Diplomatic mission
Dutch Embassy, Washington, D.C.United States Embassy, The Hague
Envoy
Ambassador Birgitta TazelaarAmbassador Shefali Razdan Duggal

The United States and the Netherlands work together both bilaterally and multilaterally in such institutions as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as within the European Union to advance the shared US goal of a more open and market-led world economy and militarily in the context of the North Atlantic Treaty.

As the two nations were never at war or in serious conflict U.S. President Ronald Reagan referred to the alliance in 1982 as "the longest unbroken, peaceful relationship that we have had with any other nation."[5] In 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed that "we have no stronger ally than the Netherlands".[6] In 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump remarked that "the relationship with the Netherlands has never been better than it is now".[7] The two countries have been allies in recent decades in military, anti-terrorism, anti-piracy and peacekeeping missions. They are also the third largest (from the Netherlands to the United States) and largest (from the United States to the Netherlands) direct foreign investors in each other's economies.

History

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Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and United States Ambassador Roland Arnall
 
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and Fay Hartog-Levin (seen from behind) in the White House in 2009
 
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on 18 July 2019
 
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on 17 January 2023

The United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands have been close allies since the United States became a sovereign nation with the treaty of Paris after the American Revolutionary War and have kept unbroken bilateral ties since.

16th & 17th centuries

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Starting in the late 16th century, the Dutch and other Europeans began to colonize the eastern coast of North America. The Dutch named their territory New Netherland, which became a colony of the Dutch Republic in 1624. The Dutch colonial settlement of New Amsterdam later became New York City. The present-day flag of New York City is based on the flag of Republic of the United Netherlands.[8] Following the Act of Abjuration the newly independent Dutch Republic quickly rose to power as a major naval power during the Dutch Golden Age. Although primarily focused on the East, New Amsterdam and other Dutch colonies in the Americas quickly rose to significant importance for the Dutch West India Company. After the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Dutch War with the Treaty of Breda the Dutch Republic did not press its claim on New Netherland ending formal Dutch colonization of America.

18th century

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In the 18th century the Dutch republic supported the Thirteen Colonies during American Revolution from the outset as it was still embroiled in disputes with the British Empire over naval supremacy. Dutch merchants sold many goods to the American rebels, which helped the Thirteen Colonies gain independence from the British Empire.[9] Nearly 4,000 tons of gunpowder was sent by the Dutch in the first half of 1775 alone, many more followed in the next years. The Dutch merchants also provided daily shipments of goods to the American Rebels.[10] Gunpowder was not the only thing they supplied them with; the Dutch also supplied the American Rebels with weapons, including muskets and Dutch long-arms, and tulips.[11] In 1780 John Adams was able to secure a $2 million loan from the Dutch Republic which was vital in funding the revolutionary war.[12] Some historians even argue that without the Dutch helping the American rebels, the outcome of the American Revolutionary War might have been a British victory.[13]

Though the action was disavowed by the government of the Netherlands, on November 16, 1776, the fort at St. Eustatius gave the first formal salute (firing its guns nine times) to a ship flying the American flag.[14] After the pilgrims had lived and worked in Leiden, many founding fathers advocated for a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands.[15] On 19 April 1782, John Adams was received by the States General in The Hague and recognized as Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America. By doing so, it became the second foreign country to recognize the United States[16] (after France on February 6, 1778).[17] The house that Adams purchased in The Hague became the first American embassy in the world.[18] Historically the support and friendship offered by the Dutch people to then ambassador John Adams in support of his petition to the States General to defeat the British Empire during the Revolutionary War is seen as the start of the unbroken alliance between the Netherlands and the United States.

19th century

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Dutch officers in Sumatra (then part of the Dutch East Indies) assisted the U.S. Navy during the First and Second Sumatran Expeditions in 1832 and 1838 respectively. Both operations were punitive expeditions, carried out against Chiefdom of Kuala Batee after the crews of U.S. merchant ships were massacred by the native Malays.

In 1861–63 the Lincoln administration looked abroad for places to relocate freed slaves who wanted to leave the United States. It opened U.S. negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African American migration and colonization of the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. Nothing came of the idea, and after 1864 the idea was dropped.[19]

U.S. and Dutch soldiers fought together during the Siege of the International Legations, part of the larger Boxer Rebellion in China.

20th century

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The Netherlands was steadfastly neutral in the late 19th and early 20th century trading with everyone but avoiding alliances. In foreign affairs it build up its overseas empire especially in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Neutrality did not stop the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. The Dutch government in exile remained allied to the United States and Dutch troops fought side by side with American troops in various theaters including the Pacific and Europe. The Dutch Resistance supplied intelligence and cooperated with the American effort to liberate Europe at the command of Queen Wilhelmina.[20]

In peacetime following its liberation in 1945 by allied forces neutrality was no longer attractive for the Netherlands and they turned to the new hegemony of the United States as their principal security partner and in turn supported the United States goals in global political affairs. The Dutch tried for years to recover its valuable colony of Indonesia, but the United States was impressed with the anti-communist stance of the Indonesian Republic, and insisted that the Dutch leave. Resentfully, they did so, and refocused their attention on West European and trans-Atlantic relations.[21] By the 1950s, according to Giles Scott-Smith the Americans considered the Dutch to be perfect allies in the Cold War:

The Dutch were politically close to the UK and were opposed to European affairs being dominated by either a renewed France or a resurgent Germany....the Dutch body politic, dominated as it was by the democratic socialists and Christian parties, was resoundingly anti-communist in outlook. The Netherlands was also positive towards a US-led free-trade regime, and during the Cold War was wholly committed to building a managed post-war economic and political order based around international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).[22]

In the post-war peace the U.S. was generous with Marshall Plan funds, designed to modernize Dutch technology and help it integrate into what became the European Union. The Netherlands political climate was dominated by a desire to never see war on the European continent again in the wake of World War 2 and Dutch foreign minister Dirk Uipko Stikker started advocating for a strong, militarily integrated trans-Atlantic alliance. Together with other Western Union members (Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom) and with the backing of the United States' secretary of state George C. Marshall they negotiated the Treaty of Brussels.

In recognition of the Dutch People's admiration and respect for the war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, on his birthday October 14, 1947 at the Dutch embassy in Washington, D.C., ambassador Eelco van Kleffens presented the "legendary hero of World War II" with an ‘honorary sabre’. Weighing nearly five pounds, the gold-encrusted sabre was embedded with hundreds of gemstones and had been meticulously handcrafted by one of the most skillful goldsmiths in The Netherlands; Edelsmidse Brom Edelsmidse Brom [nl] in Utrecht.[23]

With the Dutch American alliance for the first time taking on a decidedly military character, talks at the Pentagon in early 1948 laid the foundation for the North Atlantic Treaty. In recognition of his earlier work in establishing the Western Union, Dwight D Eisenhower advocated for Dirk Uipko Stikker to become its third secretary general.[24]

Immediately following the tighter integration of military forces in the context of NATO, the United States became increasingly worried about the rise of communism in the second phase of the Cold War, culminating in the Korean War. With their newly established military cooperation, the Netherlands joined the United Nations Command. Despite strong anti-war sentiments in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations (NDVN) was deployed to assist the United States military operation, with maritime efforts following shortly after.[25]

As prosperity returned, Dutch tourists increasingly came to the United States. They had become fascinated by American movies, music, and television programs and took advantage of the sharp drop in transatlantic airfares in the 1960s. The tourists chose destinations based on their media exposure, so Hollywood and New York City were favored. Tourism thus reinforced the stereotypical images portrayed in the American media.[26]

Relations became tense in 1981 when United States President Ronald Reagan rejected détente and escalated the Cold War. Reagan deployed cruise missiles or INF (intermediate-range nuclear forces) weapons at Woensdrecht in the Netherlands to counter new Soviet missile deployments. A wave of protest resulted. In 1982 four Dutch journalists were killed by Washington-backed government forces in El Salvador. To calm the tensions, Washington sent a new ambassador, Paul Bremer. By 1985 he won Dutch approval for the INF deployment and the Dutch supported Reagan's dealings with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.[27]

In 1989 with tensions building in the lead up to the first Gulf War, the Netherlands joined the US led coalition against Iraq at the request of US secretary of state James Baker.

The Netherland and United States have been both held active roles in global peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sinai Peninsula.

Modern relations

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The countries were described by President George W. Bush as "brother nations",[28] and by President Barack Obama as "closest friends which friendship will never die". Obama has also said that, "Without the Netherlands there wouldn't be a United States of America as everyone knows it now".[citation needed]

The bilateral relations between the two nations are based on historical and cultural ties as well as a common dedication to individual freedom and human rights. The Netherlands shares with the United States a liberal economic outlook and is committed to free trade. The Netherlands is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the United States,[29] and the Dutch-American trade and investment relationship is supporting close to 625,000 American jobs[30] with Texas, California and Pennsylvania benefiting most from these economic ties.[31] The United States is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the Netherlands.

The United States and the Netherlands often have similar positions on issues and work together both bilaterally and multilaterally in such institutions as the United Nations and NATO. The Dutch have worked with the United States at the World Trade Organization, in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as within the European Union to advance the shared US goal of a more open and market-led world economy.

In 2001 the United States was attacked during the September 11 attacks and in response invoked article 5 of the North Atlantic Alliance for the first time since its inception. The royal armed forces of the Netherlands responded by mobilizing the 11th Airmobile Brigade and most of its active duty Air Force and started to actively patrol European air space with the halting of global commercial air travel to the United States with the activation of the SCATANA plan. The Dutch government's head of state Wim Kok issued a statement vowing to bring to justice any and all perpetrators of the attack at any cost.[32][33] Queen Beatrix conveyed her condolences per telegram to president Bush.[34] With the subsequent United States invasion of Afghanistan the Netherlands were active participants in the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom.

In 2005, George W. Bush traveled to several countries including the Netherlands to commemorate the 60th anniversary of World War 2 ending and commemorate Victory in Europe Day at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial at Margraten near Maastricht.[35] George W. Bush met with Jan Peter Balkenende during the visit to discuss trade and security matters. It is widely believed that Dutch Prime Minister asked for the end of using the Netherlands as a hub in the CIA's extraordinary renditions.[36][37]

In 2016, the Netherlands joined the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.[38]

In 2024, the Netherlands and the United States entered into security agreements with Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of a larger NATO initiative to support Ukraine with ammunition and weapons systems.[39] As part of the agreement the United States approved delivery of advanced F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands to Ukraine.[40] The appointment of Mark Rutte as Secretary General of NATO was favored by the United States president Joe Biden.[41]

Diplomatic missions

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Dutch missions

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Embassy of the Netherlands, Washington, D.C.

Ambassadors

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Further information: List of ambassadors of the Netherlands to the United States

U.S. missions

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Embassy of the United States, The Hague
 
U.S. Consulate General in Amsterdam

In the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, the U.S. has a consulate-general

The U.S. Consulate General in Willemstad operates as its own mission, with the Consul General as the "Chief of Mission". As such, the Consul General is not under the jurisdiction of the Ambassador to the Netherlands, and reports directly to the U.S. Department of State as do other chiefs of mission, who are ambassadors in charge of embassies.[42]

Ambassadors

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Further information: List of ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands

Incidents

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  • The American Service-Members' Protection Act, passed in 2002 under President George W. Bush, grants the US president authorization to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court." It has been derisively nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act", as it would in theory authorize the president of the United States to invade The Hague, which is the seat of the Dutch government and the seat of several international criminal courts, should they prosecute an American citizen or ally. The act is widely considered to be symbolic, and that the threat of invasion by the U.S. is unrealistic.[43]
  • US ambassador Pete Hoekstra had stated previously erroneously in the US in 2015 that
The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos. Chaos in the Netherlands, there are cars being burnt, there are politicians that are being burnt ... and yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands.
In an interview on Dutch television on 22 December 2017, Hoekstra first denied having said this, later calling this fake news, then denying that he had called it fake news, before finally offering his apologies the day after.[44][45][46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "U.S. Relations with the Netherlands".
  2. ^ U.S. Relations With the Netherlands, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
  3. ^ Relations between the Netherlands and the United States of America Archived 2017-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Rijksoverheid.
  4. ^ https://www.john-adams.nl/the-dutch-american-perspective John Adams Institute (Netherlands)
  5. ^ Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, The American President Project
  6. ^ "Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands Before Bilateral Meeting". 29 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Rutte of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Before Bilateral Meeting – the White House".
  8. ^ "American Legal Publishing - Online Library".
  9. ^ British Naval Biography. Scott, Webster, and Geary. 1840. p. 354.
  10. ^ Klooster, Wim (June 2009). Revolutions in the Atlantic World A Comparative History. NYU Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8147-4789-6.
  11. ^ Danielski, John (7 April 2021). "Dutch Weapons and American Independence – How the United Provinces Made a Fortune Supplying Muskets in the Revolutionary War".
  12. ^ "John Adams' Diplomatic Missions | American Experience | PBS". PBS.
  13. ^ Van Buren, Denise Doring (2021-10-08). "The Dutch Influence".
  14. ^ "First Official Salute To The American Flag". American Heritage Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  15. ^ "The Founding Fathers in the Netherlands". 24 November 2020.
  16. ^ "The Netherlands - Countries - Office of the Historian". Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  17. ^ "What country was the first to recognize the United States? - FAQs - About Us - Office of the Historian". Archived from the original on 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  18. ^ "Dutch American Friendship Day / Heritage Day – U.S. Embassy The Hague, Netherlands". Thehague.usembassy.gov. November 16, 1991. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  19. ^ Michael J. Douma, "The Lincoln Administration's Negotiations to Colonize African Americans in Dutch Suriname." Civil War History 61#2 (2015): 111-137. online
  20. ^ "Wilhelmina | Dutch Monarch, Reformer & Stateswoman | Britannica". 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ Marc Frey, "Decolonization and Dutch-American Relations," in Krabebbendam, ed., Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations (2009) pp 609-20.
  22. ^ Giles Scott-Smith, "The Ties that Bind: Dutch-American Relations, US Public Diplomacy and the Promotion of American Studies since the Second World War." The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 2.3 (2007): 283-305, at p 290.
  23. ^ "A Sabre for Eisenhower: Forging Transatlantic Bonds for the Twentieth Century | Nationaal Archief".
  24. ^ Krabebbendam, ed., Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations (2009) pp 641-662, 761-772, 864-874.
  25. ^ https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA563101 [bare URL]
  26. ^ Marc Dierikx, "In Pursuit of the American Dream: The Spread of the Televised American Image and the Rise of European Tourism to the United States, 1945-1980." European contributions to American studies 30 (1996): 114-132.
  27. ^ D.F.J. Bosscher, "The Nadir of Dutch-American Relations: Ronald Reagan, El Salvador and Cruise Missiles." in Dynamics of Modernization (VU University Press, 1998) pp. 67-83.
  28. ^ "U.S.-Netherlands Relations President Bush and Prime Minister Balkenende spoke to reporters about their meeting and answered questions about efforts to combat terrorism and coalition efforts in Iraq". www.c-span.org. March 16, 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  29. ^ White House FDI Report 2013
  30. ^ "Economic Ties Home - Economic Ties". Economic Ties. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  31. ^ 400 Years of Economic Ties between the US and the Netherlands - By State Archived 2018-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Economic Ties, 2014.
  32. ^ "The World Reacts | George W. Bush Library".
  33. ^ Walker, Martin (2001). "Post 9/11: The European Dimension". World Policy Journal. 18 (4): 1–10. doi:10.1215/07402775-2001-3006. JSTOR 40209772.
  34. ^ https://militairespectator.nl/sites/default/files/teksten/bestanden/MS%209-2011%20Eijsvoogel%20Nederland%20in%20de%20wereld%20na%209-11.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  35. ^ "President to Travel to Latvia, the Netherlands, Russia, and Georgia May 2005".
  36. ^ https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/20090401_cscp_security_paper_hillebrand.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  37. ^ "Bush honors WWII dead on Netherlands stop". NBC News. 5 May 2005.
  38. ^ "Dutch F16 jets to start bombing in Syria, ministers agree". DutchNews.nl. 2016-01-29. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  39. ^ "Our Relationship". 17 June 2024.
  40. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/us-approves-sending-f-16s-ukraine-denmark-netherlands-2023-08-17/ [bare URL]
  41. ^ https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/21/biden-backs-dutch-pm-mark-rutte-for-top-nato-job-00142554 [bare URL]
  42. ^ Chiefs of Mission
  43. ^ The Christian Science Monitor (13 February 2009). "Dutch still wincing at Bush-era 'Invasion of The Hague Act'". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  44. ^ youtube.com Fake news blunder from US envoy to the Netherlands - BBC News 23 December 2017
  45. ^ US ambassador to Netherlands describes own words as 'fake news', Martin Belam, guardian.com, 22 December 2017
  46. ^ (in Dutch) Amerikaanse ambassadeur Hoekstra zegt sorry voor NOS interview, NOS, 23 December 2017

Further reading

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  • Bootsma, N. "The Discovery of Indonesia: Western (non-Dutch) Historiography on the Decolonization of Indonesia." in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde 1ste Afl (1995): 1-22. online in English
  • Bosscher, D. F. J. "The Nadir of Dutch-American Relations: Ronald Reagan, El Salvador and Cruise Missiles." in Dynamics of Modernization (VU University Press, 1998) pp. 67–83. excerpt
  • de Graaff, Bob, and Cees Wiebes. "Intelligence and the cold war behind the dikes: The relationship between the American and Dutch intelligence communities, 1946–1994." Intelligence and National Security 12.1 (1997): 41–58.
  • Foster, Anne L. Projections of Power: The United States and Europe in Colonial Southeast Asia, 1919–1941 (Duke UP, 2010).
  • Frey, Marc. "Visions of the Future: The United States and Colonialism in Southeast Asia, 1940-1945." Amerikastudien/American Studies (2003): 365–388. online
  • Freise, Christopher. "American grand strategy and US foreign policy towards Indonesia" (PhD. Diss. U of Melbourne 2017) online bibliography on pp. 253–269.
  • Gouda, Frances. American Visions of the Netherlands East Indies/Indonesia: US Foreign Policy and Indonesian Nationalism, 1920-1949 (Amsterdam University Press, 2002) online Archived 2020-01-21 at the Wayback Machine; another copy online
  • Homan, Gerlof D. “The Netherlands, the United States, and the Indonesian Question, 1948”, Journal of Contemporary History 24#1 (1990), 123–41.
  • Homan, Gerlof D. “The United States and the Netherlands East Indies: the Evolution of American Anticolonialism,” Pacific Historical Review 53#4 (1984), pp. 423–446 online
  • Kaplan, Lawrence S. "The founding fathers and the two confederations. The United States of America and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, 1783-1789." BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review 97.3 (1982): 423–438. online
  • Koopmans, Joop W. Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015).
  • Krabbendam, Hans, et al. eds. Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations 1609-2009 (Amsterdam: Boom, 2009, 1190 pp., ISBN 978-9085066538) A standard scholarly survey.
  • Krabbendam, Hans. "Valentine's Days: The Experiences of Marshall Mission Chief Alan C. Valentine in the Netherlands, 1948-1949." European Contributions to American Studies (June 1998), Vol. 41, pp 121–134; on the U.S. Marshall Plan
  • Kroes, Rob, ed. Image and Impact: American Influences in the Netherlands since 1945 (Amsterdam, 1981),
  • Nordholt, Jan Willem Schulte, and Robert P. Swierenga. Bilateral Bicentennial: A History of Dutch-American Relations, 1782-1982 (1982) 279pp
  • Scott-Smith, Giles. "The ties that bind: Dutch-American relations, US public diplomacy and the promotion of American Studies since the Second World War." The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 2.3 (2007): 283–305.
  • Scott-Smith, Giles. "The Fulbright Program in the Netherlands: An Example of Science Diplomacy." in Cold war science and the transatlantic circulation of knowledge (Brill, 2015) pp. 136–161. online
  • Snyder, David J. "The Dutch Encounter with the American Century: Modernization, Clientelism, and the Uses of Sovereignty during the Early Cold War." Dutch Crossing 40.1 (2016): 10–23.
  • Staden, A. van. "American-Dutch political relations since 1945. What has changed and why?." BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review 97.3 (1982): 470–488. online
  • van Dijk, Cornelis W. "The American Political Intervention in the Conflict in the Dutch East Indies 1945-1949." (Army Command and General Staff College (Fort Leavenworth Kansas, 2009) online.

Primary sources

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  • Brinks, Herbert J., ed. Dutch American Voices: Letters from the United States, 1850-1930 (Cornell UP, 1995.)

  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

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