The streets are filled with orange flags, stores are selling bright orange tompouce, and everyone is wearing what is undoubtedly one of the coolest-looking kits at the World Cup. Yes, we're talking about the Netherlands.
Orange and the Dutch are two sides of the same coin — they just love their color and what it represents. But as they continue to play on the football field, more and more people are wondering: why orange? Their flag is blue, white, and red, so surely one of those colors would be more appropriate, right? Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than that.
The Netherlands has proudly represented its country by wearing orange, but it's not even a color that's represented in its flag
Image credits: Francois Nel / Getty Images
But Houston streets have been painted orange through the Dutch's intense pride in representing their country in the American towns during FIFA World Cup
The colors of a flag typically represent a country’s past, values, and morals, highlighting history and accomplishments — but orange is nowhere to be found in the red, white, and blue Dutch flag. Yet the population, government, monarchy, and the nation have all adopted orange as part of the mix.
The reason this is happening is none other than a 16th-century conflict with Spain, historians explain. It turns out the Western European country had been at odds with Spain for over eighty years over religious differences (Protestants versus Catholics), tax reforms, and centralization. At the time, the Netherlands — then called the Low Countries — was under the rule of the Spanish Habsburg branch.
Essentially, a whole lot of monarchic shenanigans were going on. But William the Silent, also known as the Prince of Orange, was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish rulers. He led the troops into battle and laid the groundwork for the Dutch victory against King Philip II’s Catholic rule. It eventually led to the establishment of the independent Dutch Republic.
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Turns out, the reason lies in the 16th century, when the Dutch revolted against the sovereignty of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg
As you can imagine, the Dutch population saw William the Silent as their ruler and savior, and his title, "Prince of Orange," came from his inheritance of the sovereign Principality of Orange in southern France at the age of 11. After struggling for so long, the Dutch adopted the color as a symbol of their perseverance and resistance against the Spanish.
Image credits: Pieter Nason / Wikipedia
The troops rallied behind William of Orange, who got his name after inheriting the sovereign Principality of Orange in southern France
In fact, it was the color of the House of Orange, the dynasty that would later become the Dutch Royal family. But here's the deal: the Dutch flag actually did have orange in it — for a time, at least. Instead of a horizontal red stripe, the Netherlands' flag had an orange one to honor William, and it was known as the "Prince's Flag." However, in the 17th century, the orange stripe was replaced with red.
Experts generally point to three possible reasons for the change: the orange dye faded too easily, red was more visible at sea, and the Dutch Republic wanted to distance itself from the House of Orange in favor of a more republican identity in the future. But the change was gradual. And it wasn't until 1937 that Queen Wilhelmina officially declared the red, white, and blue as the national flag of the Netherlands.
Image credits: Mohamed Ishaq Villan / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The Dutch then adopted the color orange as a sign of their rebellion and a celebration of their independence, adding it to their flag temporarily
But here are a few fun facts: the Dutch are hardly the first ones to stray away from wearing their country's flag colors in their kit at the World Cup. Sports experts have long noted that Italy plays in blue — rather than the red, white, and green of its flag. And while we now associate Brazil exclusively with their iconic yellow and green, until 1954, they actually played in a white kit with blue trim.
Many other countries have been as steady as ever. Argentina has not once wavered from their blue and white stripes since the first World Cup in 1930, and Sweden has taken the pitch in their flag's stark yellow and blue since 1908. That said, no one has truly made their mark in the Houston streets quite like the Dutch, and we gotta say, orange is quite a striking color to see, don't you think?.
Image credits: Dar ius / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Over time, the flag changed back to its red stripe, but orange remained the color that best represents the Netherlands and the pride in its country's triumphs
