Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands the Kingdom of the Netherlands' did not come into being until 1818. The city of Amsterdam was, and still is, the centre of Dutch Lutheranism. Most Lutherans in the Netherlands are descendants of German or Scandinavian merchants, and the Lutheran church has always been quite small. Because of the urban and internationally oriented membership of the Lutheran Church, liberal influences have always been relatively strong. The church was always counted among the most liberal denominations in the Netherlands. They were among the first churches to ordain women. On May 1, 2004, the Lutheran Church's membership was down to a mere
Kingdom of the Netherlands two official languages: its own national language Papiamento and the Kingdom of the Netherlands' Dutch language. Curaçao is a centralised unitary state, with similar administrative characteristics to Aruba. It has the Netherlands Antillean guilder as its currency. Sint Maarten is a centralised unitary state, with similar administrative characteristics to Aruba. It has the Antillean Guilder as its currency. Unlike the other Dutch Caribbean countries and special municipalities, Sint Maarten covers only part of an island. It consists of roughly the southern half of the divided island of Saint Martin. The northern half of the island is the French Collectivity of