Dutch Empire lost a number of its colonial possessions and trade monopolies to the British Empire. Nevertheless, major portions of the empire survived until the advent of global decolonisation following World War II (1939–1945), namely the East Indies (Indonesia) and Dutch Guiana (Surinam). Three former colonial territories in the West Indies islands around the Caribbean Sea—Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten—remain as constituent countries represented within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The territories that would later form the Dutch Republic began as a loose federation known as the Seventeen Provinces, which Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and (as "Carlos I") King of Spain,
Dutch name addition of "von" to a name often indicates that a person belongs to the nobility or royalty, "van" is too common in The Netherlands to make such a connection. This usage does exist in Flemish names, though its nobility usually obtained the French prefix 'de', specifically without capitalization. Dutch name Dutch names consist of one or more given names and a surname. The given name, as in English, is usually gender-specific. A Dutch child's birth and given name(s) must be officially registered by the parents within 3 days after birth. It is not uncommon to give a child several given