The Nation
Version 2, 12/4/2000
Version 2, 12/4/2000
The Royal Dutch Commonwealth is a Minor Power in the Tuffleyverse. It has a small but well-developed territory on Earth (the Netherlands), and a few offworld colonies; it is comparable to the Romanov Hegemony in size.
The history of the Commonwealth begins in 2102, when the Netherlands seceded from the Federal Stats Europa and became and independent nation once more. Of course, Dutch history stretches back far before this, to the last time when the Dutch escaped FSE rule in 1648; the Netherlands were previously Spanish colonies, acquired through various routes. Ever since, the Dutch have been quietly aligned against the FSE; the struggle for independence by the French colonies of Brettoneux and Doullens in the late 2160s was assisted by a small Dutch naval force. Partly due to common opposition to the FSE, and partly due to strong historical ties, the RDC is aligned with the New Anglian Commnwealth, the Neu Swabian League and Free Cal-Tex, to the point of being part of the combined assault against the Kra'Vak at the Third Battle of Rheinhold in 2187. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth is careful to maintain a generally neutral stance wherever possible, to minimise the impact of its politics on trade.
The Commonwealth consists of seventeen provinces: the eleven Terran provinces of Noord Holland, Zuid Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Groningen, Friesland, Brabant, Limburg, Drente en Flevoland. and the six offworld provinces of Groen, Nieuw Friesland, Nieuw Batavia (where there is a significant Cretan-ethnic population), Oranje Haven, Nieuw Brabant and Morgenster. In addition, there are numerous possessions, including islands on Earth and asteroid and space installations in the outworlds. The Commonwealth also has considerable sway over the disputed territories of Luxembourg and Flanders.
The system of government of the Commonwealth is simple; the Crown is technically resident in Amsterdam, but the court, the parliament, the cabinet and the other primary offices of state are in fact in the Hague. These are the primary governmental bodies. Each province also has a council, but this is relatively powerless in the Terran provinces; in the offworld provinces, they have considerably more power.
Politically, the Commonwealth is, as are most mature democracies, especially in Europe, sort of vaguely liberal social democratic. There are substantial political tensions between the Terran and offworld provinces. There are several centrist parties, prone to fragmenting and merging, as well as smaller traditional socialist and capitalist parties. There is also a banned anarcho-capitalist movement, with a sporadically active terrorist arm. Commercial cooperatives are numerous and often large, wielding considerable political influence, much like a combination of the earlier unions and corporate lobbies.
Much of the economy is based on shipping; there is a large trade fleet, continuing the historical Dutch mercantile tradition. Otherwise, the chief industries are petrochemicals, synthetic chemicals, light manufacturing, shipbuilding, shipping services, financial services, biotechnology, electronics and advertising. Exports of diatomaceous earth from Nieuw Brabant are also significant. The Crown is a major stakeholder in industry, owning several major corporations and having shares in a multitude of others. The Crown is also a 49% owner of each of the Companies granted charters to develop offworld systems.
In addition to trading ports within Commonwealth systems, there are four freeport complexes in more remote systems; these are large space facilities with attendant constellations of service stations, factories, warehouses, etc, geared towards providing nexuses for interstellar trade. These stations are largely crown-owned, and are crucial sources of revenue and information. There are also many small trading posts (on permanent stations, orbiting barges or planetside camps) in foreign and neutral systems, fulfilling similar roles.
There is a cryobiology institute run jointly with the IAS on a Titanian moon in the 2nd colony system [this is sort of pending final agreement from Beth]. There is a large skill base of comet / ice-moon mining, and there are Dutch comet miners operating under UN contract in the Sol system.
Further information: