Editing North Holland (section)

==History==
[[File:DeHors-Texel-SjoerdMartens.jpg|left|[[Duinen van Texel National Park|National Park Duinen van Texel]]|thumb]]
[[File:Amsterdam, Netherlands (Unsplash 2Hs8zbwOLDA).jpg|thumb|left|[[Damrak]], [[Amsterdam]]]]
[[File:Hartekamp-2011.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hartekamp]], [[Heemstede]]]]
[[File:Binnenstad Hoorn, 1621 Hoorn, Netherlands - panoramio (71).jpg|left|thumb|[[Hoorn]]]]
[[File:Boulevard zandvoort.JPG|thumb|left|[[Zandvoort]]]]
[[File:Paviljoen Welgelegen.tif|thumb|250px|Government house of North Holland province, [[Villa Welgelegen]], in [[Haarlem]]]]

===Emergence of a new province (1795 to 1840)===
The province of North Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813. This was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795, the old order was swept away and the [[Batavian Republic]] was established. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments (''département'') with roughly equal populations. Holland was split up into five departments named "[[Texel]]", "[[Amstel]]", "[[Delft|Delf]]", "[[Scheldt|Schelde]] en [[Meuse|Maas]]", and "[[Rhine|Rijn]]". The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland; the latter two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. This reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province.

In 1807, Holland was reorganised. This time the two departments were called "Amstelland" (corresponding to the modern province of North Holland) and "Maasland" (corresponding to the modern province of [[South Holland]]). This also did not last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into the French Empire. Amstelland and Utrecht were amalgamated as the department of "Zuiderzee" ([[Zuyderzée]] in French) and Maasland was renamed "Monden van de Maas" ([[Bouches-de-la-Meuse]] in French).

After the defeat of the French in 1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, the country was reorganised as provinces and regions (''landschappen''). Zuiderzee and Monden van de Maas were reunited as the province of "Holland". One of the ministers on the constitutional committee (van Maanen) suggested that the old name "Holland and West Friesland" be reintroduced to respect the feelings of the people of that region. This proposal was rejected.

However, the division was not totally reversed. When the province of Holland was re-established in 1814, it was given two governors, one for the former department of Amstelland (area that is now North Holland) and one for the former department of Maasland (now South Holland). Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still being treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive. During this reorganisation the islands of [[Vlieland]] and [[Terschelling]] were returned to Holland and parts of "Hollands Brabant" (including "Land of Altena") went to [[North Brabant]]. The borders with Utrecht and [[Gelderland]] were definitively set in 1820.

When the constitutional amendments were introduced in 1840, it was decided to split Holland once again, this time into two provinces called "North Holland" and "South Holland". The need for this was not felt in South Holland or in West Friesland (which feared the dominance of [[Amsterdam]]). The impetus came largely from Amsterdam, which still resented the 1838 relocation of the court of appeal to [[The Hague]] in South Holland.

===Urbanisation and economic growth (1840 to today)===
[[File:Broek in waterland 077.JPG|thumb|left|[[Broek in Waterland]]]]
After the [[Haarlemmermeer]] was drained in 1855 and turned into arable land, it was made part of North Holland. In exchange, South Holland received the greater part of the municipality of [[Leimuiden]] in 1864. In 1942, the islands [[Vlieland]] and [[Terschelling]] went back to the province of [[Friesland]]. In 1950, the former island [[Urk]] was ceded to the province of [[Overijssel]].

In February 2011, North Holland, together with the provinces of [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]] and [[Flevoland]], showed a desire to investigate the feasibility of a merger between the three provinces.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} "[http://nos.nl/artikel/216649-drie-provincies-denken-over-fusie.html Drie provincies denken over fusie]", ''[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]]'', 2011.</ref> This has been positively received by the [[First Rutte cabinet]], for the desire to create one [[Randstad]] province has already been mentioned in the [[coalition agreement]].<ref>{{in lang|nl}} "[http://www.rtl.nl/(/actueel/rtlnieuws/)/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2011/02_februari/04/binnenland/provincies-willen-fusie.xml Randstadprovincies bekijken fusie]", ''[[RTL Nieuws]]'', 2011.</ref> The province of South Holland, part of the Randstad urban area, visioned to be part of the Randstad province,<ref>{{in lang|nl}} Marije Willems, "[http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/02/04/randstadprovincies-onderzoeken-fusie/ Randstadprovincies onderzoeken fusie]", ''[[NRC Handelsblad]]'', 2011.</ref> and very much supportive of the idea of a merger into one province.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.zuid-holland.nl/contentpagina.htm?id=74163 "Echte Randstadprovincie is robuuste oplossing"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724173855/http://www.zuid-holland.nl/contentpagina.htm?id=74163 |date=24 July 2011}}, [[South Holland|Provincie Zuid-Holland]], 2011.</ref> With or without South Holland, if created, the new province would be the largest in the Netherlands in both [[Ranked list of Dutch provinces|area and population]].