Dutch Treat Trivia Quiz

Answer: Utrecht

The correct answer is Utrecht. The city, founded in 47 A.D., was initially a fortress called Rheno Traiectum. Ultra Traiectum literally means "upper cross over". The regular Traiectum was used to indicate the city of Maastricht. Utrecht was located at the Rhine River (Rheno) in those days. Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands. Only Nijmegen, named 'Noviomagus' by the Romans, is older.

It is also the second city to obtain city rights after Deventer. Utrecht is considered to be one the nicest cities in The Netherlands.

Its canals are due to its wharfs, as much worth a visit as the ones in Amsterdam. The city dome is also a major landmark of this small but interesting city. Voorburg was named "Forum Hadriani" (Hadrian's Market) and Heerlen was called "Coriovallum" or "Cortovallum".

Answer: Spain

It was Spain. When King Philip II of Spain decided to tax the Dutch (10%), The unruly inhabitants revolted against the Spanish. The conflict (in fact it had not been a full scale war for the whole period) grew when in 1579 the Union of Utrecht was formed.

This pact between the Northern provinces implied that the committed provinces decided to rebel against the Spanish rulers. Initially the Dutch sought protection with the French and English, but decided to become independent in 1588. The Treaty of Münster was the end of the conflict and also the recognition of The Netherlands as an independent state.

The Republic of The Seven United Netherlands was formed and was the first republic in the world. Today, The Netherlands are a constitutional monarchy resulting in France being the oldest (but not the first) republic in the world. Nevertheless, some claim Rome prior to Julius Caesar or even Sparta is the first republic.

Answer: It was directly controlled by the government

The VOC was certainly not controlled by the government, although governmental influences were strong. The VOC was the first multinational in the world having dependencies in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Japan and the Middle East. Its power to wage war and establish colonies lay in the presence of stock.

The main stock holder was the Dutch government, which gave the VOC governmental authority abroad. The VOC lasted from 1602 to 1799. Decline of the VOC specific and The Netherlands in general, caused bankruptcy for the VOC.

Answer: The forming of a national army

The Dutch already had a national army prior to the Napoleonic period. Napoleonic influence led to the following implementations: national citizens administration, obligatory usage of family names, house numbering, conscription (abolished in 1996 in The Netherlands), cadastre, abolishment of medieval guilds, supreme court, attorney general, separation between church and state, juridical equality, religious equality, chamber of commerce, budgets municipalities, national tax system, metric system, national archive, national museum (Rijksmuseum), national library, ministers, sewage system and medical exams.

Answer: The separation of Belgium from The Netherlands

In 1830, Belgium separated from The Netherlands (later also Luxembourg became independent). This event, the Belgian Revolution, mainly happened for economic reasons, but religion and nationalism also played a role. The country has been occupied by Nazi Germany and huge pieces of land have been taken from the sea.

Answer: The Netherlands were neutral

The Netherlands were neutral the whole war, although most of the country sympathized with its German neighbors - large portions of the Dutch population were of German origin. The German emperor fled to The Netherlands after the war, where he remained until his death in 1941 when The Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. Southern neighbor Belgium always blamed The Netherlands for staying neutral and even claimed the Dutch had profited from the war.

In World War II, The Netherlands tried to remain neutral again, but did not succeed, since Hitler was afraid the British would use The Netherlands as a landing strip for a future invasion.

Answer: Rotterdam

Rotterdam was bombed May 14th 1940. About 800 people lost their lives and forced the Dutch government to surrender, since Germany threatened to bomb Utrecht and Amsterdam as well. The Netherlands were liberated on May 5th 1945.

Answer: Coronations take place in Amsterdam

The reason is that coronations are held in Amsterdam. Although this takes place only once in about every thirty years, Amsterdam is the capital solely for this reason.

Answer: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism & Islam

The main three religions are Roman Catholicism (27%), Protestantism (16%) and Islam (6%). The majority of the population is atheist (49%), making The Netherlands the most non-religious country in the world. Islam is growing due to the rising number of Dutch people with origins in Islamic countries.

The Netherlands used to have a large Jewish community especially in Amsterdam, but three quarters of the Jewish Dutch have been murdered by the Nazis in World War II.

Answer: The Dutch are the tallest people in the world

The Dutch are the tallest people in the world even beating the Scandinavians and Masai. Life expectancy, education and wealth are on a high level as well, but other countries outperform the Dutch.

Answer: Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach the South Pole. Amundsen was not Dutch though, but Norwegian.

The rest of the bunch was Dutch. The most famous Dutch explorer was perhaps Abel Tasman, because Tasmania was named after him just like Tasman Sea. Tasman was hired by the VOC for whom he travelled to Tasmania and New Zealand which he discovered between 1642 and 1644. Willem Barentsz cannot be listed among the world's greatest explorers, but is still famous because the Barentsz Sea is named after him. He tried to find a north-eastern passage to the Indies. On his journey he explored Nova Scotia and discovered Spits Bergen while doing this. Willem Janszoon (or Willem Jansz) is lesser known, but may be regarded as one of the world's greatest explorers. He is the true discoverer of Australia almost two hundred years before James Cook set sail to Terra Australis. Janszoon discovered Australia in 1606, but the Dutch soon left Australia as it was of no commercial interest to them. Still, Australia was long called New Holland. It was James Cook though, who really explored the land itself and thus is being regarded as the Aussie Columbus.

Answer: Peter Paul Rubens

The correct answer is Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens was born in Flanders which is part of Belgium. Vincent van Gogh is the most well-known Dutch painter even having his own museum in Amsterdam. His most famous work is actually a series of seven paintings from vases with sunflowers of which one was destroyed in WWII.

The others can be found in museums in Munich, London, Tokyo, Philadelphia and of course the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The seventh piece is part of a U.S. private collection. Rembrandt van Rijn is from a previous era and is another great master sometimes considered to be bigger than Van Gogh.

He is the artist who made the famous Night Watch (De Nachtwacht). This item can be found in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. There are also a considerable number of other pieces by this artist in the same museum. Jan Steen is a lesser known Dutch artist, but is also considered to be one of the greatest masters ever.

This even led to a saying in The Netherlands: "a household by Van Steen". Van Steen was known for disturbing paintings of low class households. If someone today is a bit disorganized at home, this leads to this saying. Steen hasn't made a legendary masterpiece of a "Night Watch" caliber, but produced a large number of paintings which are highly valued by critics.

His most appreciated pieces are found in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Hermitage in Saint-Petersburg and the National Gallery in London.

Answer: Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx was a great cyclist, but of Belgian nationality. Johan Cruijff is regarded as one of the best football players the world has ever seen. He won several titles with Ajax and Barcelona and was the finalist with the Dutch national team in the 1974 World Cup.

The loss is still a national trauma - there is even a joke the Dutch don't hate the Germans because of the war, but hate them because of the 1974 World Cup. Cruijff has also been successfully active as a coach. Anton Geesink was a judoka who was the first non-Japanese victor in all categories in 1961. Pieter van den Hoogenband swam several world records and is the holder of seven Olympic medals (three gold).

Answer: The automatic gearbox

The answer is the automatic gearbox. Although Dutch car manufacturer DAF (still a truck manufacturer) did make a huge contribution to automatic gear boxes, it should not be regarded as a Dutch invention. The telescope was a Dutch invention dating from 1608.

It was claimed by two Dutch people: Zacharias Jansen and Johannes Lipperhey. It is most likely the last one was the real inventor since he patented it. Jansen is the most probable inventor of the microscope, but it was Dutch scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek who had scientific results with it as early as the seventeenth century. Sad enough, medical science never really understood his findings until two centuries later.

The compact disc was an invention by Dutch company Philips (also the inventors of the video, cassette and CD-ROM) in 1982.

The compact disc is also the predecessor of the CD-ROM, DVD and Blu-ray disc. The hole inside a disc is the exact shape of a Dutch quarter (abolished since the Euro). Other Dutch inventions are: the mercury thermometer, the ECG-scan, the speed camera and the kidney dialysis machine.

Answer: Maastricht

The answer is Maastricht. The Treaty of Maastricht was signed 1992 in Maastricht and meant the start of the transformation from European Community towards European Union. The Treaty of Amsterdam meant some changes for the Treaty of Maastricht. The Hague does not have such a treaty.

The Treaty of Schengen (Luxembourg) was also important to the EU: it meant the abolishment of all borders between EU-members.