www.HistoryofNL.comFrom gravel and sand to loud white giants with clogs and windmills to keep them dry from water, joking of course! The history of the Netherlands is more complicated than one people or one straight line of a straightforward narrative. Some people make, for example, a quick assumption such as the comment that our country is called Holland, but why? Why is it the Netherlands and why is there irritation about it? I shall dive deeper into the way the Netherlands are shaped, and I want to begin with the basics of every people: the soil. Many commented before me but the story begins with the rivers, ice and sediment. Later came the white skins and all through history, land has been the most important but its people make it worth looking at what happens, what changes and what stays the same. Spoiler: a lot!