Capital of the Netherlands Years War, which allowed the city a lot of trade opportunities, but made it unsuitable for the seat of government of the emerging 'rebel' state. Before the institution of the Batavian Republic of 1795 the Netherlands were not a unitary state, but more of a confederation in which the independent provinces and the larger cities and towns were very much politically autonomous. During the seventeenth century, the Prince Stadtholder as official of the States of Holland clashed several times with the city government of Amsterdam about policy, up to the point that the city was beleaguered by the army. Up
Second city of the United Kingdom claims have been made on behalf of Cardiff and Belfast due to their status as the respective capital cities of Wales and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, a number of opinion polls have been conducted since 2000 and complicate the issue further, with public response showing a consistent view amongst the British population that Manchester is the second city. Birmingham is technically the United Kingdom's most populous city; the City of London has fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, and Greater London is not recognized as a city. Since the formation of the United Kingdom, several places have been described as the "second city".