Zeeland is a province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium - hence its name 'Sea-land'. Its capital is Middelburg.
A list of the gemeente (local government councils in Zeeland):
- Axel
- Borsele
- Goes
- Hontenisse
- Hulst
- Kapelle
- Middelburg
- Noord-Beveland
- Oostburg
- Reimerswaal
- Sas van Gent
- Schouwen-Duiveland
- Sluis-Aardenburg
- Terneuzen
- Tholen
- Veere
- Vlissingen
The country of New Zealand was originally named Nieuw-Zeeland after this province by the Dutch. The country is at least one order of magnitude larger than the province, but probably has about the same population. The name "New Zealand" is only one letter away from the literal translation to English: New Sealand. The Z was possibly retained to partially preserve the Dutch pronouncation.
Note. Not to be confused with Zealand.
Sources and external links
Basic information: http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/scdata/prov/zeeland.htm