Capital of the Netherlands to 1795 there remained a strong animosity between the Orange faction and the republican faction in Dutch politics. The former supported the idea of hereditary political leadership vested in the princes of Orange as Stadtholders, and had its powerbase in The Hague and the rural areas. The latter supported civic independence and found its support mainly in the cities and towns of Holland, with Amsterdam as its progenitor and most outspoken representative. When in 1814 the new kingdom was formed, the appointment of Amsterdam, still the most prominent city in the kingdom, as capital city was also very much a
Kingdom of the Netherlands the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These municipalities resemble ordinary Dutch municipalities in most ways (e.g., they will have mayors, aldermen, and municipal councils) and will have to introduce most laws of the Netherlands. As a transitional measure, only law applicable to the Netherlands that is considered to be necessary to function within the legal system of the Netherlands was introduced, and most laws of the Netherlands Antilles remained in force when the BES islands they joined the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. Since that date, Dutch legislation is projected to slowly replace Netherlands Antilles laws. Nevertheless, some