Which Way to The Hague?

Radovan Karadzic, a.k.a. "the Butcher of Bosnia," was arrested Monday on genocide charges after more than a decade on the lam in Serbia. Though accused of overseeing some of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II, the former Bosnian Serb president was hiding in plain sight--under an assumed name, glasses, and a long white beard.

Karadzic now faces extradition to The Hague and trial by a UN war crimes tribunal. (To learn more about the case against him, click here.) That means the world will now be keeping a much closer watch on his whereabouts. But it may not give you any better sense of where in the world he actually is. So today, we're asking, which way to The Hague? And how did it come to be seen as a neutral place?

Holland vs. the Netherlands

The Hague is the Dutch seat of government and the city Queen Beatrix calls home, but it's not the Dutch capital (Amsterdam is). And no matter what anyone tells you, it's not in a country called Holland. Rather, The Hague is in South Holland, one of the 12 provinces that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

"Holland" actually refers to two provinces, North Holland and South Holland, which were one before 1840. That region has been the economic and political heart of the Netherlands for centuries, but "Holland" and "the Netherlands" are not the same. In fact, the distinction is key if you want to understand the importance of The Hague.

Planting the Hedge

During the Middle Ages, today's Netherlands were officially part of the Holy Roman Empire. In practice, however, Low Country locals remained loyal mainly to their cities and counties, including the county of Holland. Back then, "county" was still something ruled by a count, and the counts of Holland were among the region's most powerful men.

In 1248, one of them, Count William II, built a castle in a woodland area where he and his noble pals hunted that came to be called 's-Gravenhage ("the count's hedge"). Thanks to the local elite's regular presence there, a community grew up around the castle. Soon, 's-Gravenhage became the count's permanent administrative center, and 's-Gravenhage got shortened to "Den Haag," or, in English, "The Hague."

Reaping the Revolution

In the 16th century, Spain's King Charles V became Holy Roman Emperor and nominal ruler of the Netherlands. Charles was basically hands-off, but in 1555, he passed control over the Netherlands to his son, Phillip II, who sought to centralize power and re-Catholicize his Low Country subjects.

By that time, the Protestant Reformation (primarily in Calvinist form) was spreading rapidly through the Netherlands. In 1566, Protestant groups rioted, smashing images in Catholic churches and generally decrying their monarch's faith. In response, Philip sent Spanish troops to suppress the Calvinists and curb local leaders. Soon much of the Low Countries was in open revolt.

Meeting at a Neutral Site

At first the war went poorly for the Protestants. In 1579, however, five Dutch cities and counties--Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Zutphen--formed the Union of Utrecht, an anti-Spanish alliance. The following year, several other Dutch cities and counties joined up. A new nation had begun to emerge.

That new nation located its government (which came to be called the States General) in The Hague--not only because The Hague was already an established administrative center, but also because it wasn't a chartered city. Most of the major Dutch cities were parties to the union. Naturally, none of them wanted to see the government located in any of the others. The Hague was still basically a village, and not entitled to a seat in the States General--which, of course, made it the ideal seat for the States General.

In 1648, after years of intermittent war, the Spanish finally recognized the independence of "the republic of the United Provinces"--or, more simply, the Dutch Republic--and the Dutch enjoyed a golden age of art, culture, and commerce. "The Count's Hedge" has been an important city--and seen as something of a "neutral" place--ever since.