The History of the Netherlands is a history of seafaring people thriving on a lowland river delta on the North Sea in northwestern Europe. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarized border zone of the Roman Empire; this came under increasing pressure from Germanic peoples moving westwards. As Roman power collapsed and the Middle Ages began, three dominant Germanic peoples coalesced in the area, Frisians in the north and coastal areas, Low Saxons in the northeast, the Franks in the south. During the Middle Ages, the descendants of the Carolingian dynasty came to dominate the area and extended their rule to a large part of Western Europe; the region of the Netherlands therefore became part of Lower Lotharingia within the Frankish Holy Roman Empire. For several centuries, lordships such as Brabant, Zeeland, Friesland and others held a changing patchwork of territories. There was no unified equivalent of the modern Netherlands. By 1433, the Duke of Burgundy had assumed control over most of the lowlands territories in Lower Lotharingia.

The Catholic kings of Spain took strong measures against Protestantism, which polarised the peoples of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands. The subsequent Dutch revolt led to splitting the Burgundian Netherlands into a Catholic French and Dutch-speaking "Spanish Netherlands", a northern "United Provinces", which spoke Dutch and were predominantly Protestant with a Catholic minority, it became the modern Netherlands. In the Dutch Golden Age, which had its zenith around 1667, there was a flowering of trade, the arts and the sciences. A rich worldwide Dutch empire developed and the Dutch East India Company became one of the earliest and most important of national mercantile companies based on entrepreneurship and trade. During the eighteenth century, the power and influence of the Netherlands declined. A series of wars with the more powerful British and French neighbours weakened it; the UK seized the North American colony of New Amsterdam, renamed it "New York". There was growing conflict between the Orangists and the Patriots.

The French Revolution spilled over after 1789, a pro-French Batavian Republic was established in 1795–1806. Napoleon made it a satellite state, the Kingdom of Holland, simply a French imperial province. After the collapse of Napoleon in 1813–15, an expanded "United Kingdom of the Netherlands" was created with the House of Orange as monarchs ruling Belgium and Luxembourg; the King imposed unpopular Protestant reforms on Belgium, which revolted in 1830 and became independent in 1839. After an conservative period, following the introduction of the 1848 constitution. Modern-day Luxembourg became independent from the Netherlands in 1839, but a personal union remained until 1890. Since 1890, it is ruled by another branch of the House of Nassau; the Netherlands was neutral during the First World War, but during the Second World War, it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. The Nazis, including many collaborators, rounded up and killed all of the country's Jewish population; when the Dutch resistance increased, the Nazis cut off food supplies to much of the country, causing severe starvation in 1944–45.

In 1942, the Dutch East Indies were conquered by Japan, but prior to this the Dutch destroyed the oil wells for which Japan was desperate. Indonesia proclaimed its independence from the Netherlands in 1945, followed by Suriname in 1975; the post-war years saw rapid economic recovery, followed by the introduction of a welfare state during an era of peace and prosperity. The Netherlands formed a new economic alliance with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Benelux, all three became founding members of the European Union and NATO. In recent decades, the Dutch economy has been linked to that of Germany and is prosperous; the four countries adopted the Euro on 1 January 2002, along with eight other EU member states. The prehistory of the area, now the Netherlands was shaped by its shifting, low-lying geography; the area, now the Netherlands was inhabited by early humans at least 37,000 years ago, as attested by flint tools discovered in Woerden in 2010. In 2009 a fragment of a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal skull was found in sand dredged from the North Sea floor off the coast of Zeeland.

During the last ice age, the Netherlands had a tundra climate with scarce vegetation and the inhabitants survived as hunter-gatherers. After the end of the ice age, various Paleolithic groups inhabited the area, it is known. Another group residing elsewhere is known to have made canoes; the oldest recovered. According to C14 dating analysis it was constructed somewhere between 8200 BC and 7600 BC; this canoe is exhibited in the Drents Museum in Assen. Autochthonous hunter-gatherers from the Swifterbant culture are attested from around 5600 BC onwards, they are linked to rivers and open water and were related to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture. To the west, the same tribes might have built hunting camps including seals. Agriculture arrived in the Netherlands somewhere around 5000 BC with the Linear Pottery culture, who were central European farmers. Agriculture was practiced only on the loess plateau in the south, but there it was not established permanently. Farms

Kenya–Malaysia relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between Kenya and Malaysia. Kenya has maintained a resident Mission in Kuala Lumpur since in 1996. Malaysia opened a diplomatic Mission in Nairobi in 2005. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations; as early as 1964, Malaysia dispatched Lee Kuan Yew on a diplomatic mission to Kenya in a successful effort to boost relations. High level visits have continued into the 21st century. In 2007, the Malaysian prime minister at the time, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, met with Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki. Two memoranda of understanding were signed at the meeting, setting out an agreement for Malaysia to assist Kenya with infrastructure projects including road building. Levels of trade between the two countries are only moderate, with Malaysia exporting more to Kenya than the African nation exports in return. In 2011, Kenyan Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka stated that his country was keen learn from Malaysia about ICT and infrastructure development.

In 2014, bilateral trade was worth KES. 75.096 billion RM. 3.143 billion. Kenya exported goods worth KES. 556 million RM. 23.7 million to Malaysia. Malaysia exported goods worth KES. 74.54 billion RM 3.18 billion in the same year. Kenya's main exports to Malaysia were: tea, textile articles, tobacco products, vegetables and nuts. Malaysia's main exports to Kenya were: palm oil, petroleum oils, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, telecommunications equipment and electrical goods, industrial machinery, steam boilers, rubber tyres. On 26 November 2006, Port Klang Authority signed a sister-port agreement with Kenya Ports Authority. Malaysia and Kenya Strengthen Ties Joint Communiqué, 19 April 2007

Scott Reid is a political analyst and commentator working for CTV News, Newstalk 1010AM and writing columns for a variety of news organizations including the Ottawa Citizen, CBC.ca, Macleans and others. He is a former political advisor to a number of Canadian politicians, having served as Advisor and Director of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Along with Macleans columnist Scott Feschuk, he owns and operates Feschuk. Reid a strategic communications and speechwriting consultancy. Scott Reid is a communications and speechwriting professional at Feschuk. Reid who has advised many of Canada's leading political leaders, he works as a political analyst and commentator on television and print. Reid has a B. A. in history and politics from Queen's University. In the early 1990s he worked in the national office of the Liberal Party of Canada in support of the party’s 1993 election sweep, his background includes work for Liberal Premier of Ontario David Peterson.

He went on to work for Earnscliffe Strategy Group, a political consulting firm tied to Paul Martin. From 1997 to 2001 he worked as Senior Advisor and Communications Director to Finance Minister Paul Martin – a position he maintained during Martin’s time as Prime Minister from 2003-2006. Reid has been an advisor to many federal and provincial leaders and has served in senior communication capacities on national and municipal election campaigns. In 2006, Reid teamed up with Maclean’s award-winning magazine columnist Scott Feschuk to found Feschuk. Reid, a communications consultancy dedicated to strategic and corporate communications and executive counsel. Feschuk. Reid has served a wide number of high-profile clients including Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, BlackRock, Caisse de dépôt, FedEx, Microsoft, TELUS, Greyhound, Maple Leaf Foods, Hydro One and other private and not-for-profit clients. In 2011, Reid joined CTV as a co-anchor for the National Affairs business and politics program on CTV News Channel.

Reid appears as a commentator on CTV, CBC and TSN, in addition to writing for the Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen and Macleans.ca. Reid is a Fellow at Carleton University’s School of Political Management and serves as a frequent guest lecturer. Feschuk Reid