The coalition of seven Dutch provinces that is today called the Netherlands. Though often referred to as Holland, Holland was in fact only one of the provinces, though the biggest, the richest, and by far the most economically advanced. Ruled over by a Stadtholder, a president of sorts, presiding over a States-General which, however, cannot rule on anything of importance without the unanimous approval of all the provinces, which were themselves highly autonomous, with different economies, legislatures and priorities. The most famous of these Stadtholders were the princes from the house of Orange.
As a whole the United Provinces was Protestant in confession, but also intellectually the most tolerant and enjoyed press freedom well in advance of all the other European polities in the 17th Cent. This made it a favourite refuge for religious dissenters living in exile and a center for the publication of books deemed heretical elsewhere. It was also one of the richest and most advanced trading nations in Europe until eclipsed by the British in the late 18th Cent.
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