Albeit seeming a nuisance nation to those playing as Germany, the Netherlands (despite being small in size) have an incredible amount of natural resources in the game that come from the Dutch East Indies – this actually proved vital to the Allied forces during the Second World War. While most nations start to recover from the Great Depression in the game, the Netherlands is beginning to suffer due to their refusal to drop the Gold Standard so the “years of crisis” is still in full effect for them. Furthermore, the government has undergone hardship due to political instability, seeing a rise in pacifism thereby creating dramatic reductions in military growth. Due to this political instability, there is a wide variety of political paths you can go down.
When starting the game, the Netherlands have the following traits:
- Wilhelmina: 15% Stability
- De Crisisjaren: -50% construction speed (for everything)
- Aloof Neutrality: Currently identical to normal Neutrality spirit (higher tension limits to joining factions, guaranteeing, and sending volunteers)
- Shell-shocked Spectator of the Great War: -50% recruitable population factor, 25% reduced factory output, 10% reduced dockyard output.
- Weak Government: -0.5 Political Power gain, and -10% stability.
Due to the Netherlands starting the game in a very weak position, it essential you get rid of these negative traits as soon as possible. Additionally, the focus tree allows you to grow your colonies, which can give you a massive advantage over your rivals. If you want to see further details (including the politcal pathways), you can check out the official developer diary. Alternatively, be sure to check out our guides on the Soviet Union, France, and Germany.