Basic HTML Version
1HE NETHERLANDS
_
Lake Lau;;s
_ ;~
A HISTORY OF LAN9t-
~~
RECLAMATION
L1
w:e~den
D
land reclaimed
(?
1200-1600
D
Land reclaimed
1600-1900
•
Land reclaimed
190()-1970
ITTITiiTill
Possible land
Ullllillll
reclamation
North Sea
LAND AECLAIMED PEA CENTURY
140
1
~
140
1
170
1
285
1
450
200
1
'"
1200- 1300
1300-1400
1400-1500
1500-1600
1600-1700
1700-1800
1800-1900
470
1900-2000
1
'
1
1
1
SOUARE MILES
O
200
400
600
800
1000
property. Th e sea leve! an d
weather factors are continually
monitored and fresh id eas and
efforts to defend the reclaimed
lands are part of an ongoing plan
of survival.
But creating and protecting a
polder is not an end in itself. New
lands must produce abundant
crops and support herds of healthy
livestock. New towns and villages
must be constructed to serve and
shelter the people who come to
liv e in the new polder area.
Remember that the Netherlands
is one of the most densely popu–
lated countries in the world, with
14 1/.¡
million human beings–
including 537,000 unnationalized
foreigners, 133,000 Dutch nation–
als of Surinamese extraction and
30,000 Dutch nationals of Moluc–
can extraction. They live in an
area one-seventh the size of Great
Britain and one-third the size of
thc state of South Carolina.
This the Dutch have done. A
number of new towns were planned
and built in the polder areas. How–
ever imperfectly, the Dutch peoples
have followed some vital biblical
principies in their overall planning
and co nstruction. For instance,
barns are almost always built
befare farmhouses. What does Sol–
omon say in the book of Proverbs?
"Prepare thy work without, and
make it fit for thyself in the field;
and
afterwards
build thine house"
(Prov. 24:27).
Monocultures are not allowed .
Trees are planted to attract benefi–
cia! birds and insects . Scientifically
discovered ecological principies and
§
a sense of balance in nature are
~
encouraged. Farmhouses are usual–
!
ly built in twos so neighbori ng
ª
farmers can help each other.
~
Knowledge for the Future
1.:;¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡~~
Of course conditions in Holland are
polder wi 11 graduall y emerge.
Wheat fields can actually be found
in bloom in the third year after
reclamation.
As an ongoing process , a vast
network of dunes and dikes has
been built to promote and protect
the west and north of the Nether–
lands. Continually at risk are the
densely populated areas encompass–
ing Amsterdam, Rotterdam and
24
The Hague. Thc danger is never
altogether past. A dike can never
be too strong.
Dutch engineers have not for–
gotten their land level is gradual–
ly sinking (one twenty-fifth of an
inch a year) and the sea level is
rising. On rare occasions in the
pas t the sea has swept over the
dikes to penctrate the polders and
do untold damage to land and
far from perfect. Much of Dutch
culture is st ill not what it should
be. Amsterdam has become a mee–
ca for dangerous drugs and illicit
sex. Crimes of all description are
on the increase in the Nether–
lands.
For such immorality and law
breaking, the wise among the
Dutch are aware that retribution
cannot be far behind. The nation
will have to be punished to one
The
PLAIN TRUTH