So the World Cup final is set, it’s the Netherlands versus Spain. What do these nations have in common? Well, they were both ruled at one point by the Hapsburgs, even at the same time at one point. When the whole place started to come apart, the southern part of the Hapsburg Netherlands became the Spanish Netherlands. Will this 500 year old domination of the Dutch by the Spaniards, and the subsequent independence lead to any festering and raw emotions among the two sides?
Probably not, because the Hapsburgs were actually Austrian.
If you want to find some differences between the two countries, I have some!
– The Dutch use a lot of vowels and K’s in their names. Spain has little use for the letter K or any work with a double U.
– The Spanish Inquisition was a big power play by the Catholic Church in Spain. The Netherlands are known for their Red Light Districts and loose drug laws.
– Spanish people look like this, while Dutch folks look like this.
– There are more Spanish speakers in the United States than in Spain (true). There are more English speakers in the Netherlands than New Mexico (might be true).
– The largest city ever founded by Spaniards: Mexico City. Largest city ever founded by the Dutch: New York.
– Things to call the Spain/the Spanish: Spain. The Spanish. Names for Holland/Hollanders: Holland, Netherlands, Hollanders, Nederlanders, the Dutch.. the Dutch in Africa even have different names.. Boers, and Afrikaaners.
Hopefully that will help you pick your winner. I think I will be pulling for Spain, simply because the competition is in South Africa. The Dutch don’t have such a good track record in South Africa.
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