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 for centuries, and the adoption of new names was limited to some Jewish citizens and some people in rural communities in the north east of the country. There is a persistent myth that some Dutch citizens, as a way of protest, chose humorous names during the forced registration. Examples often given are "Naaktgeboren" ("born naked") or "Zondervan" ("without surname"). However these names are in fact far older; "Naaktgeboren" for example is from the German "Nachgeboren" (born after the father was deceased, also one of the origins of the name "Posthumus"). Many Dutch surnames originated from different personal qualities, geographical locations,