Capital of the Netherlands and residence of the Counts of Holland. Amsterdam in the mean time was growing to be a more important city. After the establishment of the Republic of the United Netherlands in 1572/1581, Dordrecht briefly became the seat of government of the United Provinces, residence of the States General, the Council of State and the Prince of Orange as Prince Stadtholder. In 1588 these central governmental institutions were moved to The Hague, which, from that point onwards, kept the position of seat of government for the whole republic. Amsterdam remained loyal to the Spanish/Burgundian empire until relatively late in the Eighty
Kingdom of the Netherlands at only , but with the constitutional reform of 10 October 2010 this changed as Saba became part of the Netherlands as a special municipality, and its Mount Scenery () took the place of the Vaalserberg. The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom consist of two zones with different geographic origins. The Leeward Islands (Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten) are all of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agriculture. The Windward Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) have a mixed volcanic and coral origin. The Caribbean islands have a tropical climate, with warm weather all year round. The