Holland, The Netherlands, and the Dutch...

I've was never quite sure of the use of Holland vs the Netherlands. Here is what I've come up with...

I know that it is the Kingdom of the Netherlands and that in English the people and the language are Dutch.

I live in Leiden, which is in the Province of Zuid-Holland or South Holland. Amsterdam is in Noord-Holland or North Holland. North Holland & South Holland are both in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Amsterdam and Haarlem are in North Holland. The Hague and Rotterdam are in South Holland and Utrecht is in the Province of Utrecht. Together the largest cities Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht form the Randstad. Culturally the Randstad largest cities have the most in common. The regions further out culturally have more in common with the countries with which they share borders, Germany and Belgium.

Whenever I've asked for clarification about Holland vs the Netherlands, they start talking about the Randstad...I think they don't get the subtleties of what's clearly an issue only in the English language. The language, the country, and the individuals are all "nederlands" to the nederlands.