`  ::The BBC doesn't appear to be consistent on this matter: it talks about ``colonial rule in Gambia`` on another page for example, and while it has a country profile on Gambia as ``The Gambia``, it also has a country profile on ``The Netherlands``. If anything, I would argue that if anything in English people actually almost always use ``the Netherlands`` or ``Holland`` in common speech (``England face the Netherlands in a bronze medal play-off``), but mostly use ``Gambia`` without the definite article (``while Gambia is viewed as stable, it is regularly criticised for human rights abuses``. I can produce more evidence if required.   `