Greater Netherlands

Greater Netherlands
Area
• Total
55,490 km2 (21,420 sq mi)
Population
• 2022 estimate
24,562,743a[1][2]
• Density
460/km2 (1,191.4/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
€1.289 trilliona[3]
  1. Excluding Brussels.

Greater Netherlands (Dutch: Groot-Nederland) is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-speaking areas of Germany and France, or even the ethnically Dutch and/or Afrikaans-speaking parts of South Africa.[4] A related proposal is the Pan-Netherlands concept, which includes Wallonia and potentially also Luxembourg.

The Greater Netherlands concept was originally developed by Pieter Geyl,[5] who argued that the "Dutch tribe", encompassing the Flemish and Dutch people, only separated due to the Eighty Years' War against Spain in the 16th century.[6] While Geyl—an outspoken anti-fascist—argued from a historical and cultural perspective, the fascist Verdinaso and Nazi movements built upon the idea of a Greater Netherlands during the 1930s and 1940s with a focus on ethnic nationalism, a concept still prominent among some on the far-right. Other 21st-century proponents of the Greater Netherlands concept include moderates in Belgium and the Netherlands who seek to elevate the Benelux ideal to a more centralized political union.[7]

Public support for a union of Flanders and the Netherlands is relatively small, especially in Flanders, where Flemish independence is seen as the main alternative to the Belgian state.

  1. ^ "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel". statbel.fgov.be. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Bevolkingsteller". Statistics Netherlands (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". www.ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Groot-Nederlandse gedachte" (in Dutch). Network of War Collections. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ^ Geyl, Pieter (1930). De Groot-Nederlandsche gedachte. Historische en politieke beschouwingen (in Dutch).
  6. ^ Geyl, Pieter. Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Stam. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. ^ van der Kwast, Ricus (17 July 2019). "Een verenigde Benelux zal een machtsfactor van jewelste blijken. En zal als cement en katalysator voor de EU fungeren". De Morgen. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.