The four subdivisions of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are constituent countries (landen in Dutch; singular: land) and participate on a basis of equality as partners in the Kingdom.

Consequently, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are dependent on the Netherlands for matters like foreign policy and defence, but are autonomous to a certain degree, with their own parliaments.

The great powers of Europe, united against Napoleonic France, had decided in the secret treaty of the London Protocol to establish a single state in the territories that were previously the Dutch Republic/Batavian Republic/Kingdom of Holland, the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, awarding rule over this to William, Prince of Orange and Nassau, although these southern territories remained under Prussian (German) rule until Napoleon's return from his first exile on Elba ("Hundred Days").

[14] In March 1815, amidst the turmoil of the Hundred Days, the Sovereign Prince William of Orange and Nassau adopted the style of "king of the Netherlands".

Following Napoleon's second defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the Vienna Congress supplied international recognition of William's unilateral move.

[15] The new king of the Netherlands was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, a part of the Kingdom that was, at the same time, a member state of the German Confederation.

[17] The Kingdom's 1954 administrative reform was sparked by the 1941 Atlantic Charter (stating "the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live, and the desire for a permanent system of general security"), which was signed by the Netherlands on 1 January 1942.

In this speech, the Queen, on behalf of the Dutch government in exile in London, expressed a desire to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies after the end of the war.

After liberation, the government would call a conference to agree on a settlement in which the overseas territories could participate in the administration of the Kingdom on the basis of equality.

[18] With Indonesia's independence, a temporary confederal constitution was established through the Linggadjati Agreement in 1946, which mandated the creation of a Netherlands-Indonesia Union.

The Netherlands advocated for a 'heavy union' led by the Dutch monarch,[20][21] while Indonesia favored a loose organization opting individual sovereignty.

[22] The union was virtually collapsed by 1954 over the West New Guinea dispute,[23] leaving the Dutch an opportunity to reorganize its colonial holdings.

Netherlands New Guinea was a dependent territory of the Kingdom until 1962, followed by seven-month transitional period when it was annexed by Indonesia.

[27] In 1969, an unorganised strike on the Antillean island of Curaçao resulted in serious disturbances and looting, during which a part of the historic city centre of Willemstad was destroyed by fire.

In the same year, Suriname saw serious political instability with the Surinamese prime minister, Jopie Pengel, threatening to request military support to break a teachers' strike.

[citation needed] In 1973, a new Dutch cabinet under Labour leader Joop den Uyl assumed power.

Suriname's 1973 elections brought the National Party Combination (Nationale Partij Kombinatie) to power, with Henck Arron as prime minister.

Despite vehement and emotional resistance by the Surinamese opposition, Den Uyl and Arron reached an agreement, and, on 25 November 1975, Suriname became independent.

[citation needed] Comparison table The Netherlands is a representative parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state.

[citation needed] Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten regulate the governance of their respective countries, but are subordinate to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In cases where affairs of the Kingdom do not affect Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, they are dealt with according to the provisions laid down in the Constitution.

It is (as all institutions of the Kingdom) regulated in the Constitution, but the Charter implies that at the request of Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, a member from each of these islands can be included in the Council of State.

[43] The Hoge Raad der Nederlanden is the supreme court of the Kingdom by virtue of the Cassation regulation for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

This was often deemed a democratic deficit of the Kingdom, leading to the adoption of an amendment to the Charter, which entered into force on 23 November 2010.

[42] Characteristics that point more or less to a federacy include the fact that the functioning of the institutions of the Kingdom is governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands where the Charter does not provide for them.

Although originally both Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles were explicitly excluded from association with the European Economic Community by means of a special protocol attached to the Treaty of Rome,[51] the status of Suriname as an overseas country (OCT) of the Community was established by a Supplementary Act completing the instrument of ratification of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 1 September 1962.

[citation needed] The BES islands (i.e., Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius) became direct parts of the Netherlands, which is itself the major constituent country of the Kingdom.

Nevertheless, some derogations exist: e.g., social security is not at the same level as in the European part of the Netherlands, and the islands' currency is the U.S. dollar, not the euro.

[citation needed] Talking about the negotiation tactics of then Minister for Kingdom Affairs Alexander Pechtold, ChristenUnie leader, and then demissionary Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands André Rouvoet illustrated the sensitivity in this matter by remarking in the House of Representatives that "[...] the old reproof that constantly characterised the relationship between the Netherlands and the Antilles immediately surfaced again.

"[56] In addition, the Werkgroep Bestuurlijke en Financiële Verhoudingen Nederlandse Antillen—the commission that explored the current constitutional reform of the Kingdom—recommended that the "identification of the Netherlands with the Kingdom needs to be eliminated".