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Welcome to the Netherlands Portal
Welkom bij het Nederlandportaal!

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdərlɑnt] (listen)), informally Holland, is a country located in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east, and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium in the North Sea. The country's official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories.

With a population of 17.7 million people, all living within a total area of 41,850 km² (16,160 sq mi)—of which the land area is 33,500 km² (12,900 sq mi)—the Netherlands is the 16th most densely populated country in the world and the second-most densely populated country in the European Union, with a density of 520 people per square kilometre (1,300 people/sq mi). Nevertheless, it is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness.

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised abortion, prostitution and euthanasia, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. Its mixed-market advanced economy has the thirteenth-highest per capita income globally. The Netherlands ranks among the highest in international indices of press freedom, economic freedom, human development and quality of life, as well as happiness. (Full article...)

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Gagak Item ([ɡaˈɡaʔ iˈtəm]; Vernacular Malay for Black Raven, also known by the Dutch title De Zwarte Raaf) is a 1939 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. Starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah, and Eddy T. Effendi, it follows a masked man known only as "Gagak Item" ("Black Raven"). The black-and-white film, which featured the cast and crew from the 1937 hit Terang Boelan (Full Moon), was a commercial success and received positive reviews upon release. It is likely lost. (Full article...)
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Sorga Ka Toedjoe ([ˈsɔrɡa kə ˈtudʒu]; vernacular Malay for Seventh Heaven; also advertised under the Dutch title In Den Zevenden Hemel) is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. It follows an older couple (Kartolo and Annie Landouw) who are reunited by another, younger couple (Roekiah and Djoemala) after years of separation. The black-and-white film, the first production by Tan's Film after the departure of Rd Mochtar, featured kroncong music and was targeted at lower-class native audiences. It was a commercial and critical success. Roekiah and Djoemala took leading roles in three more films before Tan's closed in 1942. Sorga Ka Toedjoe is now thought lost. (Full article...)
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Jan van Eyck, Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych, c. 1430–40. Oil on canvas, transferred from wood. Each 56.5 cm × 19.7 cm (22.25 in × 7.75 in); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych (or Diptych with Calvary and Last Judgement) consists of two small painted panels attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck, with areas finished by unidentified followers or members of his workshop. This diptych is one of the early Northern Renaissance oil on panel masterpieces, renowned for its unusually complex and highly detailed iconography, and for the technical skill evident in its completion. It was executed in a miniature format; the panels are just 56.5 cm (22.2 in) high by 19.7 cm (7.8 in) wide. The diptych was probably commissioned for private devotion.

The left-hand wing depicts the Crucifixion. It shows Christ's followers grieving in the foreground, soldiers and spectators milling about in the mid-ground and a portrayal of three crucified bodies in the upper-ground. The scene is framed against an expansive and foreboding sky with a view of Jerusalem in the distance. The right-hand wing portrays scenes associated with the Last Judgement: a hellscape at its base, the resurrected awaiting judgement in the centre-ground, and a representation of Christ in Majesty flanked by a Great Deësis of saints, apostles, clergy, virgins and nobility in the upper section. Portions of the work contain Greek, Latin and Hebrew inscriptions. The original gilt frames contain Biblical passages in Latin drawn from the books of Isaiah, Deuteronomy and Revelation. According to a date written in Russian on their reverse, the panels were transferred to canvas supports in 1867. (Full article...)
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An 1882 print of a pig-faced woman, from The Illustrated Police News

Legends featuring pig-faced women originated roughly simultaneously in Holland, England and France in the late 1630s. The stories tell of a wealthy woman whose body is of normal human appearance, but whose face is that of a pig.

In the earliest forms of the story, the woman's pig-like appearance is the result of witchcraft. Following her wedding day, the pig-faced woman's new husband is granted the choice of having her appear beautiful to him but pig-like to others, or pig-like to him and beautiful to others. When her husband tells her that the choice is hers, the enchantment is broken and her pig-like appearance vanishes. These stories became particularly popular in England, and later in Ireland. (Full article...)
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The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the Allies needed as a base to support the liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's Japanese defenders and secured their objectives in two weeks. Japanese reinforcements landed on the island between September and November, but lacked the supplies needed to effectively attack the Allied defensive perimeter. Intermittent fighting continued until the end of the war, with the Japanese troops suffering heavy loss of life from disease and starvation.

Morotai's development into an Allied base began shortly after the landing, and two major airfields were ready for use in October. These and other base facilities played an important role in the Liberation of the Philippines during 1944 and 1945. Torpedo boats and aircraft based at Morotai also harassed Japanese positions in the NEI. The island's base facilities were further expanded in 1945 to support the Australian-led Borneo Campaign, and Morotai remained an important logistical hub and command center until the Dutch reestablished their colonial rule in the NEI. (Full article...)
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Harta Berdarah ([harˈta bərˈdarah]; Indonesian for Bloody Treasure) is a 1940 action film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Directed by Rd Ariffien and R Hu for Union Films, the film was written by Saeroen. The film, which stars Zonder and Soelastri, tells of a young man who convinces a stingy hadji to be more charitable and, in the process, falls in love with the man's daughter.

Released during Eid al-Fitr, Harta Berdarah was advertised as a "magnificent Indonesian action hit" and used Zonder's silat skills and Soelastri's fame as a keroncong singer to draw audiences. Reviews for the work were positive, with praise focused on its acting and story. Although Harta Berdarah was screened as late as 1944, as with most contemporary productions it is now likely lost. (Full article...)
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Soeara Berbisa ([suˈara bərˈbisa]; Perfected Spelling: Suara Berbisa; Indonesian for Venomous Voice) is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies. Produced by Ang Hock Liem for Union Films and directed by R Hu, this black-and-white film stars Raden Soekarno, Ratna Djoewita, Oedjang, and Soehaena. The story, written by Djojopranoto, follows two young men who compete for the affections of a woman before learning that they are long-lost brothers.

Filmed in September and October 1941, Soeara Berbisa features keroncong music and was shot partly in western Java. It was released to coincide with the Eid al-Fitr holiday and rated for all ages. Advertisements emphasised the film's appeal to both native and Dutch audiences, and a review in De Indische Courant was positive. Although the film—Union's penultimate production—was screened as late as 1949, it is now likely lost. (Full article...)
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Lie, c. 1900

Lie Kim Hok (Chinese: 李金福; pinyin: Lǐ Jīnfú; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lì Kim-hok; 1 November 1853 – 6 May 1912) was a peranakan Chinese teacher, writer, and social worker active in the Dutch East Indies and styled the "father of Chinese Malay literature". Born in Buitenzorg (now Bogor), West Java, Lie received his formal education in missionary schools and by the 1870s was fluent in Sundanese, vernacular Malay, and Dutch, though he was unable to understand Chinese. In the mid-1870s he married and began working as the editor of two periodicals published by his teacher and mentor D. J. van der Linden. Lie left the position in 1880. His wife died the following year. Lie published his first books, including the critically acclaimed syair (poem) Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari and grammar book Malajoe Batawi, in 1884. When van der Linden died the following year, Lie purchased the printing press and opened his own company.

Over the following two years Lie published numerous books, including Tjhit Liap Seng, considered the first Chinese Malay novel. He also acquired printing rights for Pembrita Betawi, a newspaper based in Batavia (now Jakarta), and moved to the city. After selling his printing press in 1887, the writer spent three years working in various lines of employment until he found stability in 1890 at a rice mill operated by a friend. The following year he married Tan Sioe Nio, with whom he had four children. Lie published two books in the 1890s and, in 1900, became a founding member of the Chinese organisation Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan, which he left in 1904. Lie focused on his translations and social work for the remainder of his life, until his death from typhus at age 58. (Full article...)
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Chinezenmoord, Unknown author

The 1740 Batavia massacre (Dutch: Chinezenmoord, lit. 'Murder of the Chinese'; Indonesian: Geger Pacinan, lit. 'Chinatown tumult') was a massacre and pogrom in which European soldiers of the Dutch East India Company and Javanese collaborators killed ethnic Chinese residents of the port city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. The violence in the city lasted from 9 October 1740, until 22 October, with minor skirmishes outside the walls continuing late into November that year. Historians have estimated that at least 10,000 ethnic Chinese were massacred; just 600 to 3,000 are believed to have survived.

In September 1740, as unrest rose among the Chinese population, spurred by government repression and declining sugar prices, Governor-General Adriaan Valckenier declared that any uprising would be met with deadly force. On 7 October, hundreds of ethnic Chinese, many of them sugar mill workers, killed 50 Dutch soldiers, leading Dutch troops to confiscate all weapons from the Chinese populace and to place the Chinese under a curfew. Two days later, rumors of Chinese atrocities led other Batavian ethnic groups to burn Chinese houses along Besar River and Dutch soldiers to fire cannons at Chinese homes in revenge. The violence soon spread throughout Batavia, killing more Chinese. Although Valckenier declared an amnesty on 11 October, gangs of irregulars continued to hunt down and kill Chinese until 22 October, when the governor-general called more forcefully for a cessation of hostilities. Outside the city walls, clashes continued between Dutch troops and rioting sugar mill workers. After several weeks of minor skirmishes, Dutch-led troops assaulted Chinese strongholds in sugar mills throughout the area. (Full article...)
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Newspaper advertisement, Surabaya

Djaoeh Dimata (Indonesian: [dʒaˈuh diˈmata]; Perfected Spelling: Jauh di Mata; Indonesian for Out of Sight) is a 1948 film from what is now Indonesia written and directed by Andjar Asmara for the South Pacific Film Corporation (SPFC). Starring Ratna Asmara and Ali Joego, it follows a woman who moves to Jakarta to find work after her husband is blinded in an accident. SPFC's first production, Djaoeh Dimata took two to three months to film and cost almost 130,000 gulden.

The first domestically produced feature film to be released in five years, Djaoeh Dimata received favourable reviews, although financially it was outperformed by Roestam Sutan Palindih's Air Mata Mengalir di Tjitarum (released soon after). The film's cast remained active in the Indonesian film industry, some for another 30 years, and SPFC produced six more works before closing in 1949. A copy of the film is stored at Sinematek Indonesia. (Full article...)

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The Amsterdam Tournament (Dutch: Amsterdam Toernooi) was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 Tournament to celebrate 700 years of history in the city. It was held annually each summer until 1992, when the last edition of the original tournament was played. It returned in 1999 with the backing of the International Event Partnership (IEP). Four teams participate in the competition, played in a league format since 1986.

Since its return, the tournament has used an unusual point scoring system. As with most league competitions, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. An additional point, however, is awarded for each goal scored. The system is designed to reward teams that adopt a more attacking style of play. Each entrant plays two matches, with the winner being the club that finishes at the top of the table. The original competition was held at Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium, where Ajax played its international games until 1996. The Amsterdam Arena, now named the Johan Cruyff Arena, has played host to the event since the return until 2009. (Full article...)
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As of 1 January 2023, there are 342 municipalities (Dutch: gemeenten) and three special municipalities (bijzondere gemeenten) in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies (openbare lichamen), in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.

These municipalities come in a wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with a land area of 7.03 km² (2.71 sq mi) and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of 523.01 km² (201.94 sq mi). Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated, with 936 people, and the least densely populated municipality at 23/km² (60/sq mi). Amsterdam has the highest population with 893,783 residents, whereas The Hague is the most densely populated with a density of 6,650/km² (17,200/sq mi). (Full article...)
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The Battle of Camperdown, painted by Philip de Loutherbourg in 1799.

The Battle of Camperdown was an important naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought off Camperduin on the North Holland coast on 11 October 1797 between a British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter. The French Republic had overrun the Dutch Republic two years earlier, reforming it into the Batavian Republic. In early 1797, the Batavian Navy was ordered to sail to Brest and unite with the French Atlantic Fleet in preparation for an invasion of Ireland. Shortly afterwards, the British fleets were paralysed by the Spithead and Nore mutinies, in which the sailors refused to take their ships to sea until they were awarded better pay and conditions. For two months^{[citation needed]}, the English Channel was undefended, but the Dutch failed to take the opportunity to sail from their harbour in the Texel: their preparations were not complete, and a small squadron of loyal British ships under Duncan convinced de Winter that the British fleet was at sea by sending nonsensical signals to fictitious ships over the horizon.

By October 1797, the plan to attack Ireland had been abandoned and the British North Sea Fleet was again at full strength. During a brief period replenishing supplies at Yarmouth, news reached Duncan on 10 October that the Dutch had sailed on a raiding cruise^{[citation needed]} and he returned to the Dutch coast, intercepting de Winter's fleet on its way back to the Texel. The Dutch formed a line of battle in shallow coastal waters to meet Duncan's attack, which was conducted in a confused mass, the British fleet separating into two groups that struck the vanguard and rear of the Dutch fleet, overwhelming each in turn and capturing eleven ships, including de Winter's flagship Vrijheid. On the return journey, three of the captured ships were lost, and none of the surviving Dutch prizes was ever suitable for active service again^{[citation needed]}. Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the battle as each fleet had been trained to aim at the hulls of their opponents, maximising the damage to personnel. (Full article...)
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Twenty-two people are recorded as having produced fictional films in the Dutch East Indies between 1926, when L. Heuveldorp released Loetoeng Kasaroeng, the colony's first domestically produced film, and 1949, when the Dutch formally recognised Indonesia's sovereignty after a four-year revolution, leaving the Dutch East Indies defunct. Altogether, they are credited for 93 of all known films produced in the Indies, and four of them remained active after independence. All were men; the first female film producer in Indonesia, Ratna Asmara, produced her first film in 1953.

The colony's first producer, Heuveldorp, was of European descent. He was followed in 1928 by the ethnic Chinese businessmen Tjan Tjoen Lian and Liem Goan Lian, who began work on Lily van Java but soon pulled out, to be replaced by David Wong. By 1930 Chinese producers had dominated the industry. The most active of these, The Teng Chun, made his debut in 1931 with Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang; he would go on to produce another 27 films before independence. No native Indonesian film producers are recorded from this period, although several productions were credited only to companies. (Full article...)
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This page is a list of films that received the Golden Film since its introduction in 2001 by the Netherlands Film Festival and the Netherlands Film Fund. In 2001 and 2002, films from the Netherlands received the award once they had sold 75,000 tickets. From 2003 to date, the Golden Film is awarded to films from the Netherlands once they have sold 100,000 tickets. This page shows, for both audience criteria, which films received the Golden Film and how soon they received it after their releases.

In the following tables, the 'year' column contains the years in which the films received the Golden Film, the '#' column contains the number of the Golden Film, the 'film title' column contains the titles of the receiving films, the 'film release' column contains the dates on which the films were first released in the cinemas, and the 'Golden Film' column contains the days when the Netherlands Film Festival and the Netherlands Film Fund announced that the receiving films reached the audience criterion of the Golden Film. (Full article...)
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The Wong brothers (one pictured) were the first ethnic Chinese directors in the Indies.

Twenty-nine people are recorded as having directed fictional films in the Dutch East Indies between 1926, when L. Heuveldorp released Loetoeng Kasaroeng, the colony's first domestically produced film, and 1949, when the Dutch formally recognised Indonesia's sovereignty after a four-year revolution, leaving the Dutch East Indies defunct. Thirteen directors active in the Indies continued to direct films after 1950, including Usmar Ismail: his 1950 film Darah dan Doa (The Long March) is generally considered the first truly Indonesian film.

The colony's first directors, Heuveldorp and G. Kruger, were of European or mixed descent. They were followed by ethnic Chinese soon after, when Nelson Wong made his debut in 1928 with Lily van Java; other Chinese directors included Lie Tek Swie (1929), Wong's brothers Joshua and Othniel (1930), and The Teng Chun (1931). Ethnic Chinese directors dominated the colony's cinema for the remainder of its existence. The first native director, Bachtiar Effendi, made his debut in 1932 with the talkie Njai Dasima; another native director would not appear until Andjar Asmara and Rd Ariffien made their debuts in 1940. (Full article...)
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Film poster for Loetoeng Kasaroeng, the first locally produced film released in the Dutch East Indies

A total of 112 fictional films are known to have been produced in the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia) between 1926 and the colony's dissolution in 1949. The earliest motion pictures, imported from abroad, were shown in late 1900, and by the early 1920s imported serials and fictional films were being shown, often with localised names. Dutch companies were also producing documentary films about the Indies to be shown in the Netherlands. The first reports of fictional film production in the Indies date from 1923, although the work in question was not completed. The first locally produced film, Loetoeng Kasaroeng, was directed by L. Heuveldorp and released on 31 December 1926.

Between 1926 and 1933 numerous other local productions were released. Although Dutchmen like Heuveldorp and G. Krugers continued to be active in the industry, the majority of filmmakers and producers were ethnic Chinese. The Tan brothers (Khoen Yauw and Khoen Hian) and The Teng Chun were major producers during this period, while the Wong brothers (Nelson, Othniel, and Joshua) were among the more prominent directors. During the mid-1930s, production dropped as a result of the Great Depression. The release of Albert Balink's commercially and critically successful Terang Boelan (Full Moon) in 1937 led to renewed interest in filmmaking, and 1941 saw thirty locally produced films. This rate of production declined after the Japanese occupation beginning in early 1942, closing all but one film studio; this resulted in several films which had begun production in 1941 being released several years later. The majority of films produced during the occupation were short propaganda pieces. Following the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence in 1945 and during the ensuing revolution several films were made, by both pro-Dutch and pro-Indonesian backers; the Dutch formally recognised Indonesia's sovereignty on 27 December 1949, leaving the Dutch East Indies defunct. (Full article...)

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Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a German-born Jewish girl from the city of Frankfurt. She gained international fame posthumously following the publication of her diary which documents her experiences hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Anne and her family moved to Amsterdam in 1933 after the Nazis gained power in Germany, and were trapped by the occupation of the Netherlands, which began in 1940. As persecutions against the Jewish population increased, the family went into hiding in July 1942 in hidden rooms in her father Otto Frank's office building. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Seven months after her arrest, Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, within days of the death of her sister, Margot Frank. Her father Otto, the only survivor of the group, returned to Amsterdam after the war to find that her diary had been saved, and his efforts led to its publication in 1947. It was translated from its original Dutch and first published in English in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl.

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Peace of Münster
Bartholomeus van der Helst's 1648 painting depicting a company of schutterij celebrating the Peace of Münster, the treaty between the Dutch Republic and Spain signed earlier that year making the United Netherlands independent from the Holy Roman Empire. The Dutch Revolt had begun in 1566, and the Northern Netherlands became de facto independent over the years. By the end, France allied itself with the Dutch, taking much of the Southern Netherlands. On January 30, 1648, the warring parties reached an agreement after seven years of negotiations, and the final treaty was signed on May 15.
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Indonesian rupiah
Banknotes: Bank of Indonesia
The rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden which had been introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch. Since 1950, it has had a lengthy history of inflation and revaluation. As of August 2018^[update]
'"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000001A-QINU`"'
, the currency—which is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia—is trading for more than 14,600 rupiah to the United States dollar.

This note, denominated 5,000 rupiah, is part of the 2009 series. It depicts Tuanku Imam Bonjol, a National Hero of Indonesia, on its obverse, and a West Sumatran weaver on its reverse.

See other denominations: Rp 1,000, Rp 2,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 50,000, Rp 100,000
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Ambrosius Bosschaert
Painting credit: Ambrosius Bosschaert
Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573–1621) was a Flemish-born Dutch still-life painter and art dealer. A rising interest in botany and a passion for flowers led to an increase in still-life paintings of flowers at the end of the 1500s in the Netherlands and Germany, and Bosschaert was the first great Dutch specialist in the genre. In this oil-on-copper painting, butterflies, a dragonfly, a bumblebee and a caterpillar are nestled among roses, forget-me-nots, lilies-of-the-valley, tulips and other flowers. The painting is in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.
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Indonesian rupiah
Banknotes: Bank of Indonesia
The rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden which had been introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch. Since 1950, it has had a lengthy history of inflation and revaluation. As of August 2018^[update]
'"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000001B-QINU`"'
, the currency—which is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia—is trading for more than 14,600 rupiah to the United States dollar.

This note, denominated 1,000 rupiah, is part of the 2000 series. It depicts Pattimura, a National Hero of Indonesia, on its obverse, and the islands of Maitara and Tidore on its reverse.

See other denominations: Rp 2,000, Rp 5,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 50,000, Rp 100,000
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East Frisia
Photo credit: Matthias Süßen
Morning fog on the plains of East Frisia, a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. It connects Western Frisia (in the Netherlands) with the district of Nordfriesland ("Northern Frisia") in Schleswig-Holstein, all of which belong to the historic and geographic Frisia.
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Carl Linnaeus
Painting: Alexander Roslin
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy".

Born in the countryside of Småland, Linnaeus received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He studied abroad between 1735 and 1738, and published the first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands. Upon his return to Sweden, he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, and published several volumes. At the time of his death, he was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe.
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Raden Saleh
Painting: Friedrich Carl Albert Schreuel
Raden Saleh (1811–1880) was a Romantic painter of Arab-Javanese ethnicity from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Born in Semarang, in 1829 he was sent to the Netherlands to study portraiture and landscape painting under artists such as Cornelis Kruseman and Andreas Schelfhout. Upon returning to Java in 1851, Saleh focused predominantly on the day-to-day lives of the Javanese, although he also completed his magnum opus, The Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro, in this period.

This painting, though long thought to be a self-portrait, is now attributed to Friedrich Carl Albert Schreuel, a German artist whom Saleh knew during his time in Europe.
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Jan Jacob Rochussen
Painting: Nicolaas Pieneman
Jan Jacob Rochussen (1797–1871) was a Dutch politician who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and, later, Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Beginning his political career as a tax collector, Rochussen spent most of his life with an interest in finance and financial reform.
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Schutterij
De Magere Compagnie (completed 1637), which depicts a company of schutterij, a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands. Frans Hals was commissioned to create this, but he was unable to complete it after three years, and the company hired Pieter Codde to finish it. Group portraits such as this of schutterij were known as schuttersstuk, and were popular among the guards themselves.
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Indonesian rupiah
Banknotes: Bank of Indonesia
The rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden which had been introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch. Since 1950, it has had a lengthy history of inflation and revaluation. As of August 2018^[update]
'"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000001C-QINU`"'
, the currency—which is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia—is trading for more than 14,600 rupiah to the United States dollar.

This note, denominated 50,000 rupiah, is from a 2011 revision of an earlier series. It depicts I Gusti Ngurah Rai, a National Hero of Indonesia, on its obverse, and Bratan Temple on its reverse.

See other denominations: Rp 1,000, Rp 2,000, Rp 5,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 100,000
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The Threatened Swan
Painting: Jan Asselijn
The Threatened Swan is an oil painting made around 1650 by Dutch Golden Age painter Jan Asselijn. Depicting a life-size swan defending its nest, it has been interpreted as an allegory of grand pensionary Johan de Witt protecting the Netherlands from its enemies. The work is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
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Japanese government-issued currency in the Dutch East Indies
Banknotes: Empire of Japan. Reproduction: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
The Japanese-issued Netherlands Indies gulden was the currency issued by the Japanese Empire when it occupied the Dutch East Indies during World War II. Following the Dutch capitulation in March 1942, the Japanese closed all banks, seized assets and currency, and assumed control of the economy in the territory. They began issuing military banknotes, as had previously been done in other occupied territories. These were printed in Japan, but retained the name of the pre-war currency and replaced the Dutch gulden at par. From 1943 the military banknotes were replaced by identical bank-issued notes printed within the territory, and the currency was renamed the roepiah from 1944. The currency was replaced by the Indonesian rupiah in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender and the country's independence.

This note, denominated ten cents, is part of the 1942 series.

See other denominations: One cent · Five cents · Ten cents · Half gulden · One gulden, Five gulden, Ten gulden
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Aletta Jacobs
Photograph credit: Max Büttinghausen; restored by Adam Cuerden
Aletta Jacobs (1854–1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. Jacobs strove throughout her life to change laws that limited women's access to equality, starting in 1883 with an unsuccessful court challenge and eventually achieving success 100 years ago today, on 18 September 1919, with the signing of a suffrage bill into law. She is also noted for founding the world's first birth control clinic, in 1882. As a child Jacobs yearned to become a doctor like her father and, despite existing barriers, she fought to gain entry to higher education and became the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, and one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. Providing medical services to women and children, she grew concerned over the health of working women, and although she continued to practice medicine until 1903, she increasingly turned her attention to activism with a view to improving women's lives. In addition to her suffrage work she led campaigns aimed at deregulating prostitution, improving women's working conditions, and promoting peace.
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Image 14
Indonesian rupiah
Banknotes: Bank of Indonesia
The rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden which had been introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch. Since 1950, it has had a lengthy history of inflation and revaluation. As of August 2018^[update]
'"`UNIQ--nowiki-0000001D-QINU`"'
, the currency—which is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia—is trading for more than 14,600 rupiah to the United States dollar.

This note, denominated 100,000 rupiah, is from a 2011 revision of an earlier series. It depicts Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, respectively Indonesia's first president and vice-president, on its obverse, and the People's Consultative Assembly building on its reverse.

See other denominations: Rp 1,000, Rp 2,000, Rp 5,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 50,000
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Image 15
Mary of Hungary
Painting: Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen
Mary of Hungary (1505–1558) was queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the wife of King Louis II. After their short, childless marriage ended with Louis' death, Mary's brother Ferdinand I came to power and made her regent – and later governor – of the Netherlands. She created unity between the provinces and was an enthusiastic patron of literature, music, and hunting.
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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Dutch soprano Jo Vincent appeared in Willem Mengelberg's 1939 recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion, and in the world premiere of Britten's Spring Symphony in 1949?
... that in 1969, the first women's strike for equal pay in the Netherlands was called in a cigar factory in Nieuwe Pekela?
... that Alois Wyrsch, the first member of colour of the Swiss parliament, was born to a mercenary in the Dutch Indies in 1825?
... that Rafflesia meijeri was named after Dutch botanist Willem Meijer for his work on the conservation and study of Rafflesia plants?
... that Dutch arachnologist Father Chrysanthus was the only person to make the International Society of Arachnology's first congress "international"?
... that about 700 airmen – and Ida Veldhuyzen van Zanten – have received the Dutch Airman's Cross?