How The Dutch Conquer Land That Doesn’t Exist

How The Dutch Conquer Land That Doesn’t Exist
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[@OBFYT]

I'm sorry for the audio in this video, especially the P's and B's, I had to record it while on vacation so I had no mic screen nor a pop filter with me. I tried to safe it as much as I could in post.

[@brodytaylor6632]

I didn't even realize that until you said you had issues. It sounds good. You did a great job with editing the audio. I quite enjoyed learning about this, all very fascinating. Thank you for making the video!

[@jirehla-ab1671]

Is there an experiment in a smaller scale that i can try this at home?

[@kentonbenoit9629]

Fuckin let it slide this time 😤

[@hithere1435]

could you make a dollar tier on your patreon im only 16 dont have the money to give 5 dollars a month

[@1258-Eckhart]

@@baskoning9896 if the Dutch are so clever (which comes out of your post), when are they going to start providing drinkingwater FREE to the world? The Dutch HAVE (largely) tamed the sea but NOT the WEATHER in the Alps, western Germany and northeastern France, which is where the RIJN, the MAAS and I now learn even the Ijssel come from. So the Netherlands gets an excess of fresh water when others are fighting for it. Get those bottling plants and/or blue pipelines built. Be less selfish (and tall). Don't be so smug.

[@tesseract3966]

Laughs in Dutch. Be like us, dont fight people, fight water. Every morning I slap around a glass of water just to show who's boss.

[@kesaya3806]

LOL nice

[@freekashmir754]

Whats Dutch soldiers doing worldwide? Fighting water I guess 😂

[@StatusQuonald]

@@freekashmir754 our navy's constantly sailing the north sea, and firing at it.

[@Reiger1984]

@@StatusQuonald with losse flodders ofcourse

[@Official_Ecto]

@@StatusQuonald Can confirm. Just saw a marine (or whatever the navy soldiers are called, I'm not into that stuff) mag dump into the sea.

[@kennethye4374]

The people of Atlantis get told horror stories of the Dutch when they go out camping.

[@oliviervanderaa8525]

Lol

[@roellemaire1979]

If the Dutch existed at the time of Atlantis, it would still be here

[@sunlitoaster49]

Sst 🤫🤐😅

[@Slice.media.Agency]

Hahah nice one

[@timvanrijn8239]

Evil orange laughting

[@1estel1ch.42]

Q: Why are the Dutch so tall? A: So they don't drown.

[@AwoudeX]

or to be able to see over all the dikes around them?

[@joeffreycardenal8980]

Witty answer, hehehe😉👍

[@dutchman7623]

Natural selection, the short Dutch died a thousand years ago, the remaining kept their head above water.

[@samueltrusik3251]

Others call it "apocalyptic rising sea levels" The dutch call it a "mild annoyance.

[@Koowluh]

In the bible it rained for fourty days and nights, they called it a disaster. The Dutch call it summer.

[@nienke7713]

nah, summer isn't all that rainy, lately summers have been plagued with heat waves even, fall/autumn (or as we call it in Dutch: herfst) is the rain season, althpugh winter nowadays also can be quite rainy as temperatures often don't drop low enough to turn into snow anymore.

[@Jbrouwer810]

Others call it “almost drowning” The Dutch call it “just another thursday”

[@AwoudeX]

@@Koowluh false, the Dutch experience 2 seasons: 3 weeks of summer and the rest is windy wet autumn conditions.

[@TheResistance8969]

@@AwoudeX facts

[@af5377]

We are going to build a wall and the Sea is going to pay for it -The Dutch

[@crankykong1198]

🤣🤣🤣

[@colincopland3665]

Windmills that do all the work: *shocked Pikachu face*

[@adrienpolo2255]

😂🤭

[@pranayrathan1892]

Lol

[@PleegWat]

The sea did pay for it. The Afsluitdijk enabled the construction of Flevoland - the whole thing turned a profit.

[@prvtthd401]

Poseidon: "I am the ruler of the sea!" The Dutch: "How cute..."

[@JCGver]

"Britannia rules the waves!" The dutch: "Thats a nice sea you got there, would be a shame if something happened to it"

[@ELB20499]

🤣

[@michaelfranks2844]

Dutch: I'm the remover of the sea!

[@DanAndHoe]

Fun fact: Roman emperor Caligula was said to have declared war on Neptune, the god of the sea, and ordered his legion stationed on the Dutch coast to fight this war.

[@ikkezegtie]

hold my heini

[@gergelyritter9599]

During the Cold war, my fathers grandfather managed to steal tulips from the Nethetlands and bring it back to Hungary. He then planted them here near Budapest. We still have some of them growing in our garden. Most of these were actually either red or yellow, but over the years, some with both colours have grown. And back when my father was still a kid, those red and yellow tulips were a really characteristic part of our town and the german ethnic group which lived in this town.

[@ThePersianMilad]

Awesome, can we have our tulips now back?

[@Kubra409]

@@ThePersianMilad gierige nederlander

[@ThePersianMilad]

@@Kubra409 haha is goed vrijgevige Turk 🤭

[@metalvideos1961]

He could have gone to Turkey. That's where we got them from as well

[@prabhroop1972]

that garden is Dutch now

[@torvurd]

As someone living in Flevoland my house is about 3.8m below sea level, which is fine. I don't really think about it a whole lot. That being said I guess it does work as an incentive for me to care about the environment. Just because I trust our expertise on dam building, that doesn't mean I wanna see where it's limits are.

[@LegendNinja41]

didn't he make a mistake in the video about the size of the area? he said the Island of Flevoland is the size of Luxembourg but Wiki says that is only for the whole Province, including the Island next to it, Noordoostpolder.

[@thijsssstoer332]

@@LegendNinja41 that part of the province is also fully claimed from the see. There is a tiny town called urk what what a fisherman’s island before

[@Peter_Scheen]

Ik woon 90 meter boven zeeniveau. Je raadt het al, ik woon in Zuid Limburg. Zelfs hier zijn we zeer begaan met waterhuishouding, we bouwen overal water opvangbekkens, rivieren worden gedekalaniseerd (meandering die er weer in wordt gebracht) en alles om te zorgen dat niemand in Nederland meer natte voeten krijgt. Ik ben trots om in Nederland te wonen.

[@ch5rry240]

beter kom jij niet uit urk

[@PeterJavi]

@@Peter_Scheen Dat bleek dus wel heel slim te zijn vorig jaar. Door al die voorzorgsmaatregelen niet weet een herhaling van 95 in Venlo gehad, terwijl er in Duitsland hele dorpen zijn weggevaagd

[@KootFloris]

I once walked in a polder with an American as he starts to point at something flabbergasted. I look around and try to guess what he is amazed at. "That ship", he shouts, "it's above our heads!" We look at a big sea ship passing us on the North Sea channel, about 4 meters above our heads. It took a tourist for me to see how rare this view is, in the world.

[@KootFloris]

@Tobias Helmus Ha, that moment happened with me over 35, so you win. ;)

[@buenaventuralosgrandes9266]

Ngl bro that'd be a sick view to see a ship hull higher than your head

[@aintyours7470]

@Tobias Helmus marry me handsome ❤️

[@KootFloris]

@@buenaventuralosgrandes9266 Haha, I'm Dutch. I didn't realize, until that moment, this was a globally rare moment. If you like you can see it daily near Amsterdam.

[@eefneleman9564]

I hope you took the opportunity to really scare him. For me the moment was many years ago, on a boat in a lock, descending 6 meters into Flevoland.

[@Sk0lzky]

World's central banks: *print money* Dutch central bank: *prints land*

[@mimzy6067]

loll

[@royslapped4463]

Or tulip notes. Just look up The Dutch East Indian company no wonder they love Tulips

[@hackman669]

China makes islands. Mean while Florida sinks along with many islands in the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

[@cheezyboy5752]

what a beast, give this man a comedic prize

[@davidmckendry7684]

Great job, audio was fine. My daughter and husband band live in Haarlem so we visit every year. I'm constantly amazed by some of their engineering feats. The entire traffic system in itself is amazing. The cities are built for humans, not cars and it helps to provide a great quality of life.

[@iedzjee]

Hi, interesting video, but most of the windmills you showed are for sawing wood, milling pigments for paint or pressing oil. The other thing that is not quite right is that bulbflowers are traditionaly grown on the soil behind the dunes on the zavel grounds, but not in newly reclaimed polders. The clay in the polders is too heavy for bulb cultivation and has to be mixed with sand , a combination that is naturally present in the area behind the dunes in the western part of the country.

[@arminhanik4207]

Hardly any of the 'facts' in this video hold up to scrutiny.

[@burkiwa]

Tell that to the tulip farmers in Flevoland.

[@bosseursem9123]

if newyork was still a dutch colony it wouldn't flood everytime

[@nikedoesthings]

You meant New Amsterdam? XD

[@bosseursem9123]

@@nikedoesthings exactly

[@wessel_0385]

😂😂

[@michel7339]

Yep.

[@shifty5689]

Well yes we thought spices were worth more 🤣

[@kyosev942]

These guys are playing minecraft IRL

[@affidrop8013]

Yes we are (coming from a Dutch person)

[@thepyroneer6295]

Luckily we don't have creepers that blow them up

[@NeedANewName]

😂😂

[@WeckoGecko]

@@thepyroneer6295 That's logical, ever seen creepers in the nether? Bet you didn't. This is the Nether-lands for you.

[@daan5935]

@@WeckoGecko lots of pigmen here

[@davidt6849]

It should be said that even though it is true that fresh polders are not suited for a lot of crops, this changes after a few years of grass, flowers etc. Older polders (clay soil) are usually used to grow potatoes, grains, onions and sprouts/kale. Reclaimed land powers the Dutch food export business, in which we are an unexpectedly big player. The Dutch are not at war with the ocean, the Dutch manage water like a boss, it's a game that never stops in which we take and give back all the time.

[@CallofWessel]

I love how whenever a video explains something Dutch, the comment section floods with Dutch people explaining it further 😂😂 We're a proud people I guess.

[@poetsrear]

Hey, I feel you, because it's the same with Finns. People become very important about it! 😄 It's adorable

[@cyrilio]

Gekoloniseerd!

[@therealdutchidiot]

Given how we don't get flooded anymore we decided to flood comment sections I guess

[@Nevir202]

It's like any video about Brazil or Brazilian stuff, the comments are full of Portuguese LOL

[@thierryparte2506]

Annoying

[@sluerl3542]

how to get more land: America: go to war The Netherlands: **turns on creative mode** **grabs sponge and sucks the sea dry**

[@rexyjp1237]

The us buyed their own land

[@pascaletje9]

@@rexyjp1237 its bought and no. They wage wars. Oil wars.

[@CaptainLuuk]

LOL

[@YouriHL]

@@rexyjp1237 Let me guess, you support Trump.

[@siemweda6681]

Nah we just use world edit

[@choonbox]

"Here, three rule over the sea, : the wind, the tide and we." - saying on the Deltaworks.

[@stefannesic2421]

You translate dit very goed.

[@codex4046]

I had to translate this back to Dutch to make sense of what it said xD

[@choonbox]

Edited.

[@nove2394]

@@choonbox rule = rules we = us

[@choonbox]

You can not translate literally and protect poetic intent at the same time. I agree it sounds archaic but the "corrections" are worse.

[@mitchtavio]

Canadian here but my Grandparents were from the Netherlands. It's super interesting to learn about this stuff and I would love to visit someday.

[@marschadownium]

You’re always welcome here in the Netherlands. I’m doing dutch btw

[@stijnvroegop1876]

0:40 We actually border France as well. But not in Europe. We border it on Sint Maartem/ Saint Martin, which is an island all the way in the Carribean 😂

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

Doesn't the kingdom also border France via Suriname and French Guiana?

[@larssalembier7790]

@@DomenBremecXCVI suriname isnt part of the kingdom, its fully independent (since several decades I think), so no

[@stijnvroegop1876]

@@DomenBremecXCVI When Suriname gained its independence, it decided also not to be a part of the Kingdom, so actually no! This is different of course with the UK, as their Royals are still monarchs of many different other countries

[@RepublikRakyatNusantara]

Ye

[@jjhj_]

Dude, I'm Dutch myself and knew all of this but watching this made me appreciate the Dutch land reclamation even more. You've done an amazing job with the video!

[@nickvanderven3373]

Inderdaad 😂

[@Marlon_D]

Zeker! Mooie video

[@milan_lo3326]

Limburg

[@mitchel4332]

G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@ninjahentai-tmx964]

gelukkig dat ze nog steeds goeie dingen over nederland zeggen ook al is het steeds minder nederland aan het worden :(

[@thijsvandalsen2989]

I'm not sure we're "at war" with the sea. Some historians say we've learned to live with it. It's a fickle friend. One mistake some countries make (esp those prone to war rhetorics) is to "fight" and "battle" with nature, but sometimes you can't fight such forces and you need to give a little. The Dutch have dedicated areas that they allow to flood to minimise impact.

[@DanAndHoe]

Yeah, I guess you can say we stopped fighting the water and instead found ways to cooperate with water, with projects like “ruimte voor de rivier.” Rivers will flood, you can’t stop that, so do everything you can to minimise the damage.

[@blockbuilder20k8]

We have also let water fight for us

[@vunsam7551]

Interessant

[@tpsam]

@@blockbuilder20k8 you guys are easily the most badass epic country on earth Australia fight some birds that can't fly and lost to them! Everything is so cool and advanced about the Netherlands Football Cruijff and the others played the football that still today is influencing Guardiola Van Gogh Easily top 5 painter of all time Bicycles Cities perfectly suited to be green

[@Kasgaatvaaknaarbuiten]

Even that is questionable in the west where the land is predicted to decline by 50ish cm before 2050, and where the soil gets salter because of salt seepage. The proof that you have to live with it, not fight it is seen when comparing the Waal to the Meuse this summer. The Waal wasn't close to causing problems when it flooded, because it has the space to flood.

[@mkthom1791]

This is just the beginning of water management & engineering in the NL. For example, in Katwijk they build a dike along the coast that doubles as a parking garage that can also be used to hold water if there is a huge storm. One engineering project that serves 3 purposes. The Dutch never cease to amaze me + they are all-around nice, pleasant people. I love living here.

[@rickaudio3993]

Urk used to be an island in the Zuiderzee. Since the reclamation in 1942, the place has been located in the Noordoostpolder, but the inhabitants still form a distinctly closed community. Centuries of isolation have left their mark, also in the genes. Because there has been almost exclusively intermarriage for a long time, the Urks have a number of hereditary characteristics in common. This increases the risk of certain hereditary disorders. Van Buchem's disease. This one only occurs on Urk. yes indeed on Urk, because those guys still think they live on an island :-)

[@BobWitlox]

We're not just big on tulips and cheese, we're the second largest exporter of agricultural products in general, worldwide. Second after the US. For such a tiny country, that's pretty crazy. And btw, it looks weird when you rotate the map of our country :)

[@orlaoto5794]

Ah, but he's obviously standing to the southeast.

[@AverageCommenter2023]

Lekker man

[@AverageCommenter2023]

@@michaelkevinmirasol8256 what do you mean with upside down? I guess you ment watch it from the downside (criminality and all the negative things)

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

For the people pulling a doubt on that figure. It's in value, not weight or so in goods. We sell quality products with higher prices.

[@okidoki878]

Haha I wanted to rotate it back

[@Barxxo]

"Climate change is causing sea levels to rise" The Dutch: Yawn..

[@fallyn2920]

We Dutch are a cause of lowering sealevels.

[@fallyn2920]

@Tobias Helmus to defeat water we drink water

[@JohnSmith-rk6jy]

@Tom Walsh funny. If the ocean level was actually rising like the hippies have been claiming fir the past 40 years. (Which it hasn’t) if it has risen an inch. All the reclaimed land around the planet (especially the Netherlands) would definitely explain an inch or two. Also? If it was definitely rising at an alarming rate. Why don’t the Dutch clearly give a f@€k about it? And why are governments all over the planet still selling beachfront properties everywhere?

[@fallyn2920]

@Tobias Helmus hahaha ik ben zelf meer van de oud bruin, tripels en affligem blond. Verzot op limburgs bier!

[@LordGingerBerry]

@@JohnSmith-rk6jy whoooosh

[@ro1994bin]

"Here, the tides are ruled by the moon, the wind and us."

[@lovetheearth6135]

Love Netherlands. Worked & stayed there not so long ago. Best times, what a amazing country & people

[@philipmolina1114]

This has got to be the millionth time I watched a video about this topic but still gonna watch it cause his voice is soothing for me.

[@OBFYT]

This has to be the funniest thing I've seen in a while

[@philipmolina1114]

Just saw your pinned comment didn’t even realized that your mic was off lol. Anyways keep grinding my dude once you get past 100 k you’ll reach 1 mil in no time based on what I’ve seen from other content creators.

[@OBFYT]

I actually had my mic with me on vacation, I just didn't have the pop filter or the mic screen. And I will, thank you!

[@jeostone5255]

IKR

[@7REDEMIR6]

Same here 😂

[@gijsdebruin2770]

As a Dutchie I'm always amazed by how "weird, strange, innovative and amazing etc." people on yt see our waterworks, it's so everyday for me and millions with me

[@raukevanbelle4501]

Same

[@blinking_dodo]

same.

[@compulsivecommenter990]

Because most of us have painfully incompetent people in our goverments

[@OverRule2]

I think it's absolutely brilliant! Marvelous work in fighting Poseidon for centuries now, even if they lose the battle, they are clearly winning the war!

[@jovis7275]

Im accely very proud of our little as a dot country =)

[@TheDragonBloom]

My hats off to the Dutch! You are an amazing people for coming up with such ideas! Most humans would accept the ocean rising and move further inland, not the Dutch.

[@HyruleGamer]

Very educational, loved this video. Thanks a lot!

[@OverRule2]

I love it when someone can teach information in a way that is so entertaining that you want to learn. That is a skill very few can do. Could count on one hand how many of my teachers were capable of doing this

[@Jorge-zr4zb]

I'm so proud of me, finally I could understand a whole video in english without subtitles and this video is perfect for be the first. Thank you so much and good video, still doing thing like this. Greetings from Spain

[@rikvandenoever9425]

Thx Jorge!

[@chilldown]

Good job amigo/a

[@HyruleGamer]

Congratulations! That is awesome!!

[@lohikaarme8064]

Happy 4 u 💓

[@sandstorm17]

Congrats!

[@Theturtleowl]

The only fear I have is that one day, we will run out of ocean to conquer.

[@kaanjel]

😂

[@alexls1923]

Then the Dutch will go to space and find another ocean world to conquer

[@Boris82]

We can ask China to sink some more land

[@susanhonegger9987]

Hi Turtleowl, great comment! 😂

[@jaixzz]

Doggerland is ripe for conquest. You _have the technology_

[@wowgabber123]

few notes: the last section was completed in 1968 (53 year ago) not 35 as said around 8:25 also there was a second island planned called Markerwaard the dijk was already completed but it was never realised. the dijk remains as a great shortcut between the northen part of Noord-Holland and Flevoland

[@MR-hl4dn]

"Gouda" is a shape style of cheese, the round wheel. It doesnt say anything about the type or the taste of the cheese. For example, in this shape you can have soft cheese or years aged cheese. It's actually the name of a Dutch city. It used to have a cheese market, but now it's just a weekly tourist market.

[@casperklei123]

Someone: makes a video of The Netherlands Dutch people: G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@vincentvandenBergh1986]

Gekoloniseerd

[@sneezyfido]

Yes. We colonized the land we live on. Not going to pay reparations to fish though!

[@Wasbever_14]

Zeg makker zullen we onze specerijen uitwisselen?

[@casperklei123]

@@Wasbever_14 ik kan 500gram peper bieden voor een kammeraad uit de Nederlandse Republiek🇳🇱

[@Wasbever_14]

@@casperklei123 ik zou graag die 500 gram willen ruilen voor mijn tabak plant

[@jolotschka]

Greenhouses should be mentioned. Whole Germany gets his fresh cucumber and tomatoes from durch Dutch greenhouses

[@FrancisBehnen]

UK too

[@Pazaluz]

I was on a train from breda to amsterdam a week ago and was amazed with the massive amount of greenhouses !

[@chr0onomeister]

We should be more actively exporting those things tbh, they're incredibly water efficient and droughts are only going to get more common.

[@BasVossen]

@@chr0onomeister there's Dutchgreenhouses being built in states that have legalized cannabis. A market the Netherlands did not want to have, they prefer cocaine and xtc.

[@rodericksumaway5441]

All government in the world will be destroyed N killed very neAr in ARMAGEDON, JehOvAh GOd Said that in DANIEL 2:4-45,sO, WOrship JehOvAh GOd fAther Of Jesus b4 it's too late because d end is very neAr, Jeremiah 25:33, mAthew 4:10

[@candicezinnick3449]

Grateful for the beautiful Tulips sent to Canada each year, and used to beautify the grounds of our nation's capital, Ottawa and Parliament Hill; as Belgium thanks Canada, for our assistance in liberating their country, in WW2.

[@kaikdozer2112]

Great story. Some additional info: Many (if not most)mills were used to pump out water. Most of the mills in the video though, show industrial mills in the tourist attraction 'Zaanse schans' These mills were used to saw wood, press oil and grind grain a.o. . A water-windmill does not have a platform. This is typically for industrial mills so products can easily be loaded on and from carts. The industrial mills were also located along water, to make transport by boats easier.

[@TheOddVideoChannel]

Occasionally, like when there is an exceptional amount of rain, the historic windmills are still put into action. Every little bit helps. There are also steam powered pumps that are put back to work for the same reason.

[@Inc1neRyu]

You're obviously talking about what's happening in Limburg right now am I right

[@TheOddVideoChannel]

@@Inc1neRyu Indeed, although Limburg isn't really where you'll find most windmills for water management. At least, it reminded me of other times that all available pumps were used. Whether they were 16th century or 21th doesn't really matter ;)

[@barthuisman6076]

@@TheOddVideoChannel true, even the steam museum pumps are sometimes put into use to drain the water from our area into the ijselmeer (Gemaal van het stoommachine museum in medemblik)

[@plusfastvn]

There is only one steam engine that still gets used in case of heavy rain, and not any windmill any more.

[@thierryparte2506]

Limburger hier! Fok jou 😂😘

[@IljaWieselmann]

Actually, they started pumping dry the northern (now) Flevoland in 1939 and finished 1968 (with the south part). The province was only found in 1986, but the land was already dry and lived upon for 40 years, in some parts. It definitely "existed" more than 35 years ago. Contra what is said at 8:32.

[@Sanderos25]

The North East Polder was indeed already done before WW2, it's acronym NOP became to mean something else during the war, the Dutch Refuge Paradise. Altough not fully habitable, the first stones of "Dorp A" were placed in 1943, the name would later change to Emmeloord. If you look to the southern parts, construction of Almere didn't start until 1975. Still a decade earlier as mentioned in the video. I think he got thrown off by Flevoland as a province, originally one of the Northern Municipalities was part of Friesland the rest of northern part was part of Overijssel. The Southern part was originally meant to become part of North Holland as compensation of giving Urk away to Overijssel, but instead it never joined a province but remained part of OL ZIJP, the colonization overseer. Until in 1985 the municipalities were formed into the province of Flevoland, the northern part, under much protest from locals and Overijssel joined a year later. Now this was 35 years ago.

[@IljaWieselmann]

@@Sanderos25 right, the Province was put in to law in 1985. And on the first day of 1986, it started. But the idea to start new land here way older: 1891: Plan-Lely. And the law putting work into effect was from 1918: Zuiderzee wet: Which is more than a century ago. If the Dutch government did even half as much forward planning; the Netherlands would be a way better place, in 20 years.

[@Smauritsius]

But a lot of Dutch people wish Flevoland didn't exist...

[@eefneleman9564]

I saw a documentary about it in school (40 years ago). They actually dug all the canals in the polder while the whole thing was still submerged.

[@user-no9im9px6e]

@@Smauritsius Why?

[@marginatum5337]

One of the best, if not the best video I've seen in KZbin. Felt like 2 minutes short, that's how much I enjoyed it!

[@evadoornewaard6559]

Am I the only one who loves the sentence "Dutch dominance over the ocean"? Also I love the video, cuz they didn't teach me this at school even though it's really interesting.

[@sven253]

The entire world: you can't just make more land. Dutch: The entire world: right? Dutch: land go BRRRRRRRRRR

[@kohwenxu]

Singapore also does reclamation.

[@j.a.h.vandelaak3477]

Little known fact, during the Anglo Dutch wars (sea battles) in the 17th century, the Dutch could rebuild their fleets much quicker than the English after major battles. Why? They used their windmills to power giant saws to cut planks for their ships. While the English had to use watermills and such, which were less common.

[@XEinstein]

1:48 technically though a barrier with water on both sides is a dam (as in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, etc). A 'dijk' has water on one side and land on the other. Reclamation of land usually starts with putting up a dam which will eventually become a dike after water has been removed from one side. You are forgiven though, because us Dutchies say it wrongly ourselves. We name the Afsluitdijk as a dike, when it actually should be the Afsluitdam. Historically though when the Afsluitdijk was being build the intention was to drain the whole freaking IJsselmeer, making the Afsluitdijk indeed a dike, but eventually we didn't drain the lake. The name stuck though.

[@RideFeather]

It's local Lincolnshire dialect in England to call the ditches between fields "dikes" here, I am curious about the etymological origins of words and if they originated from the same place. The specifications between the Dutch terms are fascinating.

[@nicjansen230]

What's a 'dijk' with land on both sides? At some point, the land on one side may flood, so the dijk is protecting the rest of the land... but is it only a dijk when one side's flooded? Until then, is it just a wal or something? Looking out if my window here, there's a dijk (if you'd call it that) on the other side of the road, and some actual dikes a few hundred meters further. Whenever the dikes further away overflow with water from the Maas, we're still protected by the dike/dijk right in front of our house. Last year in july, the water level of the Maas rose like 5 meters, so a dike/dijk further away was overflowing. Imagine a small rapid stream on top of that dike/dijk releasing tons of water into a tiny lake 5 meters lower for a few days. The water level of that tiny lake had only risen a meter or so, and even then I couldn't see it from my window. In another direction, I could see a bit of farmland flooding like a normal winter. It's so normal to me, yet you can't imagine how much land can flood here before it becomes a problem... Anyway, what do we call that dike/dijk/.../wal right in front of my house?

[@XEinstein]

@@nicjansen230 that is a very good question indeed. I couldn't find anything on Internet answering that question. But since in the Netherlands we call those dykes either winterdijk and zomerdijk or binnendijk and buitendijk, I'd guess we'd still call it a dijk if it has land on both sides. And as you said for parts of the year the dike is dry while on other parts of the year it is most definitely holding back water on one side: I think dijk is appropriate.

[@paulkroon4931]

@Nic, Isn't that a separation dike? It may even be part of a military protection system to inundate sections of land.

[@paulkroon4931]

I was born in the bulb area. My grandfather grew hyacinths. The original land used for growing tulips and other flowers was not polder land. On the contract. It was dune landscape! Layers of sand were shipped away to build the city of Amsterdam. The groundwater being only 10cm under the landtop. That land was the perfect land to grow bulbs. Later on other pieces of land were brought under culture for bulbs. Quite often outside the original bulb area on clay lands in polders. And that is shown in the video. Not the original areas, but extended areas. As remarked elsewhere, the movie is imprecise about windmills, often showing other mills that pumping mills. There are some rood examples where I live. I.e. the tree stage windmills in Stompwijk. Yes, the large windmills were needed to overcome the height the water had to be pumped.

[@samplautz5586]

Kinda creepy how this video has never popped up, and yet it magically does right after we have a lecture in world history class on this exact thing

[@laurens678]

Actually France is also our neighbor, through Sint-Maarten in the Antilles.

[@badaap69]

To the Kingdom of the Netherlands right? Not "The Netherlands" since that is only the european part. I might be wrong.

[@DevSarman]

@@badaap69 the Kingdom of Netherlands is the sovereign entity, while "The Netherlands" is the constituent part of "Kingdom of Netherlands", on the same rank with Sint Maarten, Curacao, and Aruba

[@nickkuiper32]

Shhhhht.... we like to forget that fact.

[@jussayinmipeece1069]

me , a Canadian watching going, yep St Pierre and Miquelon. Those French love to set up on little islands off other peoples coasts.

[@marcbuisson2463]

We say Saint Martin amongst civilised people èwé (No, don't hurt me, it's just a bad jok, I'm sorry ;w;)

[@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107]

England: look, we colonized the West Indies(America) Netherlands: Haha. We colonized the bottom of the sea, noobs

[@MusicIsLegal]

The Dutch also colonized that...

[@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107]

@@MusicIsLegal I know. But we traded New Amsterdam(new york) for Suriname

[@apfel_taartje475]

It's one thing to fight another country, it's another to fight a sea

[@SheldonY14]

@@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107 Suriname was also the West Indies though...

[@pgetheelderscrollsturkiye68]

@@allfatherodin-officiallyun1107 thats a badass youtube name to have

[@onurbschrednei4569]

Much of this also applies to the North Sea region of Germany. Land reclamation has also been done for centuries, but in a much more natural way, without pumping out water with windmills. Theres usually three steps: First they build fences and small groynes to stop the water flow, which over time leads to the ocean depositing sediment in that area. Once theres enough sediment, small canals are carved, so that the water can more easily flow back into the ocean, with rainwater getting rid of the salt. When the new land is high enough that it doesnt go underwater at high tide anymore, a dike is built to prevent flooding. The new land is called Koog or Groden.

[@Aphorism89]

Just remember that this is something that happens in many areas of the world. In Denmark we also have channels but the harbors are expanded into the oean. Same in Spain and many other places. It really is an amazing thing, pure engineering and construction!

[@Centurion101B3C]

Hm, the earliest land-reclamations in NL stem from 7th and 8th century interconnected community-refuge mounds called 'Terpen'. The elevated connection-road became the dike. The windmills came later (around 11th and 12th century.) and used the so called Archemedian-screw type of water-transport from the polders, over the dike.

[@erwin887]

Wierden and terpen already existed when rome still was a village mate.

[@raimogeel9497]

From the reclaimed land we feed most of europe. 70% of the cabbages eaten in europe comes from the reclaimed land.

[@joyrider6456]

And yet now our government wants to put their stupid idea forward to buy out all the farmers and basicly "give" our export market away to Eastern-Europe so they can use the entire land to build real estate 🙄🤦🏻!

[@cyrilk3254]

Wow this topic should be on engineering marbles

[@BlueUncia]

@@joyrider6456 well, we do have a housing crisis, to be fair.

[@agentopaque3776]

@@joyrider6456 That actually sounds like a win-win situation, Eastern European countries that are a part of EU have vast fertile land and desperately need investment. Outsourcing to that region not only helps those countries but also helps fix the housing crisis.

[@joyrider6456]

@@agentopaque3776 The housing crisis has nothing to do with that. The only reason we have that "crisis" is because people with lots of money buy all the properties to create scarcity. It's a situation thats been going on for a number of years now and the government doesn't do a damn thing about it. There have been cases where people who wanted to buy a house and had everything ready, the downpayment etc. and then at the last moment some hotshot realtor came by and put like 50k or more above the asking price, basicly blowing them out of the water because they know they can never bid above that. Building more houses will only make them more richer because they will do the same thing again. The housing prices at the moment in the Netherlands are insane but it's basicly a giant bubble, just like the banking crisis back in 2008. The government needs to restrict this so the market can stabelize again.

[@miloudbouchefra200]

The Dutch must be proud of their country, I really wish I would visit it one day god willing.

[@nelismoll5147]

I am a farmer in South Africa from Dutch descent. Here we have allover a shortage of water. Farmers building dams to keep water on there land while in Holland the opposite happens. Now our legal system is Roman Dutch law. That difference regarding water have led to a lot of legal conundrums.

[@vasilyivchenko6004]

Bruh northern Belgium was once part of the Netherlands untill they decided they were done with our good system and decided to become monke

[@jornvanetten1889]

😂yeah I guess

[@solar7427]

reject the dutch, return to a chaotic 2 language system of goverance that nobody actually understands

[@limmyk4943]

Like in ww1 the General speaks Dutch the Officer speaks French The soldier speaks German

[@Vincrand]

Not only northern Belgium. Pretty much all of what is now the Benelux was part of the Netherlands.

[@keesbos4147]

@@solar7427 they got 3 languages deutch Dutch and French

[@Cheezcurdz-xx4rf]

Mother nature: I fear no man *Netherlands in the back round* Mother nature: But that thing, it scares me

[@ApeNutz]

What an amazing video. 👏 you should create more of these.

[@upsidedowndog1256]

The Dutch kaas is the best in the world! To go into an operational wooden windmill is a thrill, they aren't made of screws or nails but dowels and dovetail joints. They feel like a rocketship taking off!

[@thiagomoreno8761]

The dutch have also mastered the science (and art imo) of crop production in greenhouses

[@spacedoutorca4550]

No joke! They’re one of the top 10 global fruit exporters if I remember correctly, super amazing considering how comparatively small their country is.

[@pietervanderzwaan4295]

@@spacedoutorca4550 the second place after the US of America

[@arie8515]

@@spacedoutorca4550 Yeah for a small country the export rates are incredible. We're also the 3rd or 4th largest economy in europe, if I recall correctly. That's absolutely insane for the small country we are

[@Endrow78]

They invented streek latterns, the stock market, fire extinquisers, microscopes, total football, glasservice, WiFi, the cd rom and much more. Proud te be Dutch. Note: i haven't invented anything yet, except how to write attractive texts

[@Endrow78]

Cd's, wifi, microscope, Firefox extinquisors et cetera.street latterns

[@madladder2543]

"Okay people, we need more land, how we gonna do that?" Person 1 : "Go to war with Belgium!" Person 2 : "Go to war with Germany!" Person 3 : *"Sea"* Edit: Yo lads, thx for all the likes! Everybody deserves a free tulip 🌷

[@TSemasFl]

Better just to go to war with Belgium, it's about time those wankers become part of Holland.

[@sanderdeboer6034]

@@TSemasFl Again you mean? Perhaps we can use a rock concert to make them rejoin again. Like an opera made them leave almost 200 years ago. And it is not Holland, but the Netherlands. Holland is only two provinces on the coast.

[@EA_SKAAN]

@@TSemasFl liever bij frankrijk dan nederland

[@TSemasFl]

@@sanderdeboer6034 Just offer them a lifetime supply of Howda cheese and Tulips. You'll gain a bigger country and a better deal on Belgium waffles and chocolate

[@yd6655]

Person 3: haha, worterrr

[@travelvidscom]

Deeply Informative. Thanks!

[@seanmcmullen4274]

just found your channel today. really enjoying your stuff.

[@Quafley]

Oh boy, the timing to recommend this... youtube is a villain 😂

[@juliuspayne5805]

For people Who dont know like half of the country is flooding, in the east in particular due to a shit ton of Rain. Where i live everything is good

[@jbholland1987]

@@juliuspayne5805 oh comon its not half of the country lol.

[@treneussen308]

@@jbholland1987 the half of Limburg which is close enough

[@jbholland1987]

@@treneussen308 thats like 5 % haha. but oke, its atleast verry bad. thats true. but not fucking half of the netherlands xd

[@gogg875]

@@juliuspayne5805 me 2 Friesland is dry boyyys!

[@whomidity3953]

The dutch making land reminds me of gromit placing railroad tracks while riding a train

[@hackman669]

Same in New York city, South Africa, Dubai and many places around the world. The Dutch started the trend and the world copied it.

[@JeremyHansPatrick]

@@hackman669 yea but the islands in Dubai are already sinking. The Dutch water engineers were the ones working on it, as they were payed enough oil money, but they themselves knew this was gonna happen

[@vinnieg6161]

I love how much energy we put into gaining a little bit of land

[@tikkelbikkel]

Whenever I find these type of videos about The Netherlands they're more often than not made by Dutch creators, so I wondered if this guy was Dutch. But by the way he pronounced "Lake IJssel" it became clear that he wasn't, but it made the video better. It made it more authentic and less biased, since it's an outside view. It's also a bit of a compliment towards the people that built our country. Naturally, many modern day citizens forget the history of their country for the most part, so it's a great reminder that we have something to be proud and that we stand on the shoulders of giants. For those who are wondering how to pronounce it. Take the word "dike" which is "dijk" in Dutch and pronounced pretty much the same way. Now take that IJ sound in "dijk" and apply it to the IJ in "IJssel". Voila, just like. Also here's an interesting random fact: The Dutch for Squirrel is "eekhoorn" which is pronounced the exact same way as the English word "acorn". But the word we use for "acorn" is "eikel", and that word has a double meaning.

[@dikkiedik53]

Wow this is a totally diffrent story as what I learned and experienced. I still live next to the industrial windmills. My ancesters were windmill operators from 1605 till 1900. When I was 14 years old I was able to operate all the industrial windmills in the Zaanstreek., yes the ones you show on Zaanse Schans, that you portray as water pumping mills during your video. I only know 2 windmills in my region that pump water. All the other ones are what is left of app 1400 industrial windmills, that pressed oil, sawed wood, made paper ( the first printed edition of the US declaration of independance was printed on paper made in Zaandijk) , grinded flour, grinded spices, grinded pigments for paint, grinded cocoa etc. The bulb flours mostly are grown on sandy soil of dune areas. The large polders are mainly used for growing potatoes, grains, corn, vegetables, because the Dutch were able to "unsalt" the soil. The video was nice, but you need new comments.

[@blinkybillist]

Suppose you're talking about De Schoolmeester, which is in Westzaan (aka Centre of the Universe en de Zaanstreek). Living in Australia since 1985, but went to MAVO Zaandijk en voetballen met KFC. Here in Australia, they're brilliant with their water management, every few years large parts of Eastern Australia get flooded, last flood was only a little while ago and they just nod and are surprised when they get flooded again, now summer is coming it is waiting for the next bushfires because the environmental lobby has decided years ago not to clear the undergrowth anymore in the forests here - so they blame absolutely everything on global warming instead of using common sense

[@arminhanik4207]

He is generally VERY imprecise. Not much use as source. Thanks for the clarification.

[@luukh5229]

ok that is unfortunate. But I think stock photo websites are expensive as it is and not very picky about what dutch mill they film. On the other hand: I bet this young guy told most people something new, when he made his free video about the dutch milling water.

[@dikkiedik53]

@@blinkybillist Nope not "De Schoolmeester", it was a paper windmill in the "Guisveld" just a few hundred meters from "De Schoolmeester".

[@apveening]

There wasn't much need to "unsalt" the soil. With the exception of some polders in Zeeland and the Wieringermeerpolder, most polders are reclaimed from fresh water. Even the Noord Oost Polder was fresh water when the dikes were closed as the Afsluitdijk had been completed several years before.

[@c.han.b_]

Here I am, a proud Dutch person watching this video about my country and saying thank you after every compliment that you are giving us, whahaha. I just can't help it. Btw; I live in Flevoland and sometimes it actually crosses our minds that we live on a made island connected to the land, but we don't think about it that long or deep. Ohw and I loved the part were you said 'only Dutch people are crazy enough to place sheeps on the 'dijks'' GO US!!! hahaha.

[@xJeFreeY]

Lelystad here 😜

[@Margojtfergfsdtsg]

We are dutch

[@Reauneth]

Flevolander! Drontenaar hier

[@mienamie4448]

Hahaa en ik uit DORDRECHT😍❤🐑🐏

[@pyroglyphics]

Almere represent! 😂😂😂 Always cool te see the NAP markers when you travel around under them😅

[@MrAdriancooke]

I first visited The Netherlands with my Mum and Dad shortly before my eighth birthday and have been a huge admirer of that country ever since

[@dimitricoopman3548]

nice documentary.. i am from west flanders belgium and overhere is the same the coast was at brugge we have very good ground because of that the polders.. no flowers overhere lol

[@raf6029]

"So not only we make clogs and tulips, we also *make our own land*." - Vincent from Geography Now

[@brozius]

yea that's a funny video.

[@nellekeglansdorp1595]

Ok, a couple of things here. Most of the polders are not former seabed but former swampland. The Netherlands is one huge river delta like eg. Louisiana. Although there are polders with a lot of sand from old sand dunes, that are excellent for growing flowers. Or heavy sea clay, which is hard to work on, but very fertile and can grow a lot of crops like potatoes and vegetables. Most polders are made of peat. Peat consists of the remains of swamp plants that are kept from rotting by lack of oxygen and a high pH under water. Therefore the groundwater levels in most polders are kept very high, because to much exposure to air and oxygen will allow the ground to rot away. The only thing that can grow on ground like that is grass. It also needs lots and lots of water filled ditches called sloten, to manage ground water levels. Using big and heavy tractors are problematic, because they will ruin the ground and literally sink. Houses are built on long poles that are rammed into the ground until they hid something more solid like sand. New houses use concrete poles, but old houses are often built on wood poles or are floating on cow hides. When ground water levels get to low, this is a big problem, because everything starts to rot. Big parts of the Netherlands are made up of river deposits like sand, river clay and gravel, but those iconic grassy polders are mostly peat.

[@VicharB]

Wow, some facts I wasn't aware of at all. Thanks for the video.

[@ottovrizo5693]

Australia : Loses to overgrown chickens Netherlands: Defeats with the ocean

[@pachecers10]

Mind blown. Also never knew how beautiful the Netherlands is. Will have to visit some day.

[@M.e.d1]

Tip dont go the the hague/den haag i live there its a place where alot of crime h0append

[@etoinedevries7583]

@@M.e.d1 oh lol I would have said to skip Amsterdam and actually go to the Hague because it's so much more pretty there

[@KomaEU]

Yeah don't visit Amsterdam and you're good. Dutch people don't recognise Amsterdam as part of the country lol

[@kjelltersteeg5140]

@@KomaEU true we don´t XD

[@rvd4856]

welcome in the netherlands

[@Snowwie88]

Flevoland is not only made for agriculture but also to relieve the capital city of Amsterdam and have a proximity city nearby (Almere) where people can live while they work in Amsterdam.

[@chantel414495]

As someone born and raised in Flevoland it's always fun to watch these type of videos

[@cjvcastillo2661]

Oh... I love you people. Look like i whas born in The Netherlands, i never love a country so much. Great wisdom,love and understanding nature a lot. You know every m.m. of this heart, that is amazing. The world need to learn from The Netherlands, great country, good administration of everything, not perfect but almost. so long, good work.

[@RorusBass]

The windmills aren't just symbols, they are kept operational in a lot of cases so they could be used as a backup if needed.

[@Tim_van_de_Leur]

I think if you buy a windmill you have to do just that. Buying one can be very cheap (symbolic because free isn't allowed), but you're obliged to keep it in working order.

[@cymen1]

Windmills haven't been operational for pumping out for centuries now... First steam and later electric pumps replaced their functions. Some old steam pumps can still be used for backup, but I doubt if they are really necessary. Most windmills left in Holland are used for grinding, mostly grain for bread.

[@khawarkhurshidahmedmalik9445]

This video is pure delight. A nine minutes and 20 seconds long journey into a people's sheer ingenuity, inventiveness and indomitable spirit to turn a calamity of nature, that was a given in the circumstance of their existence, into their vehicle of a brighter future. It can easily be titled as 'Triumph Of Humanity', or something like that, and shown to children around the world for inspiration. I kept hearing their delighted giggles in my head as I watched this video. I love you Netherlands for this and they would too. 😀😃😄😁😆😅😋🥲😝🤑😅😂🤣😇❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🦉💐🌸💮🏵🌹🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

[@Niels-3]

8:22 _'More fascinating though is the fact that it didn't exist 35 years ago'_ This is completely incorrect. The first land was reclaimed in 1942 and the last parts by 1968.

[@FactsInto]

wow, i'm just shocked to see how good quality content you make,and in it there was not a single ad,not even from youtube,you truly are legend bro,honestly your content quality is comparable to giants like Wendover and real life lore,but you don't constantly spam us with ads like them, keep up the good work bro,i hope you succeed in this ,thankyou for the video :)

[@florianpollard3460]

One rarely sees a positive comment like this.

[@jezusbloodie]

The way the Dutch war with the sea formed Dutch and global culture goes deep. Just one example for the latter: all companies still use the architecture of that of the VOC invented by the dutch. And it goes waaaaay back. I strongly suggest the History of the Netherlands Podcast, from Amsterdam Republic Radio, narrated with a very soothing Aussie voice and with impressive levels of research

[@DavidE95959]

Dutch windmills are not only used for grinding wheat or pumping water. they were also used for many other purpose like being a sawmill or a large mechanical weaving rack among other things

[@jandenijmegen5842]

At 1:12 I find Limburg an der Lahn with its great dome which is in Germany... There is a province in the Netherlands named Limburg. There is also such a province in Belgium. Maybe someone else already noticed, but at 1:12 you are looking at a nice part of Germany.

[@hendrikusscherphof7348]

The Oosterscheldekering is another engineering marvel. When it was finished, a stone was laid on top with the (loosely translated) engraving ''Here, controlling the sea, are the moon, the wind, and we''

[@CessMC]

I know someone who found cannonballs in the field he was working at. Part of the land got reclaimed in the 1600s.

[@Tim_van_de_Leur]

the battle of the haarlemmermeer polder?

[@CessMC]

​@@Tim_van_de_Leur Nope! I'm from Zeeland. A museum speculated that the cannonballs might have had something to do with Veere, which used to be a significant town for seafaring trade. Also the VOC had a nearby headquarter (Middelburg).

[@Jila_Tana]

I see a lot of comments flying around on how we, the Dutch, are the second exporter of agrarian products in the World. True, but it needs some elaboration. If we import cacao from say Columbia and export the refined product to other countries, that is counted within that figure of being the 2nd largest exporter. If we import John Deer tractors and export those to 25 countries in Europe, that is counted within that same figure. Not everything we export, is made in the Netherlands, in fact : the majority of our export comes from beyond our borders. The first reason why this situation exists, is the infrastructure. It starts at the harbor of Rotterdam, being a deep harbor able to have the largest ships that roam the World, to dock. Excellent quality trains (both passenger and freight), roads and inland shipping lanes, that last one possible due to 3 of Europe's great river basins and mouths, Rhine, Meuse and the Waal as well as extensive canals. (And I'm not talking about the touristic canals in Amsterdam) Would you believe that I didn't know what a 'pothole' was ? I actually had to look it up on the web. Roads and bridges are repaired or replaced long before it gets that bad. Look around the World for places with similar quality infrastructure and 1 thing will become apparent, 1 thing that goes for all of those places. High population density. 17 Million people on a 41.543 km² area, paying 40% of their income in taxes. That is what makes and keeps the Netherlands in the top 10 of Quality of Living indexes.

[@lamchekyeow]

From young I was amazed by the Dutch's Windmill and their early adoption of "green" energy to have many uses, recycling soil and stuff. It is an inspiration!

[@jitsecruys2576]

As a Dutchman, I completely agree with the thumbnail. Flevoland indeed should not exist.

[@Stab_N_cut]

and in particular Almere :))

[@iritantje4993]

@@Stab_N_cut nothing wrong with Almere it’s Lelystad that shouldn’t exist

[@BLUE-BEAN]

Ja klopt alleen mist er 1/3 van de provincie

[@AverageCommenter2023]

@@iritantje4993 wel jammer dat de volledige AWR squad is verdwenen uit Almere

[@geennaam8029]

Ik woon in Flevoland echt verschrikkelijk

[@jorisbuis4688]

Lely was a creationist, he was such a legend for making the idea of the Afsluitdijk!

[@smurfiennes]

You should visit The NL in springtime. Everywhere IS GORGEOUS because of the bulb flowers! And in the autunm for Indian summer in the countryside

[@markuslh]

Hi OBF :) great video! Love NL! One small comment: the city you show from the air at minute 1:13 is not in the Netherlands - it’s Limburg an der Lahn in Germany

[@AlejandroFlores-vi8tl]

Can you imagine if the Dutch held on to their North American colonies, I cant imagine what they would do to with the Outer Banks, Chesapeake Bay, or the Great Lakes

[@urbnctrl]

I believe several state governors are now actually contracting Dutch landscapers and water experts for exactly these reasons.

[@gijsvandeweerd509]

Hudson bay would be no more

[@jesse3391]

They wouldn't be the outer banks anymore, they wouldn't be a bay anymore or a lake......it would all be land

[@timvanrijn8239]

@@gijsvandeweerd509 it be one big harbour. More cranes less skyscrapers

[@begreater226]

well North America has so much land, not sure if they would bother

[@zachhoefs9543]

The subtle dig at China made me die. Thank you for that. Also, very good content.

[@demian821]

A few weeks back i was talking with a friend of mine and he told me that yhe Netherlands were mostly beneath sea level and i didnt belive him but he didnt know the details and couldn't explain why but today this video came up on my feed, thank you!

[@pepijnwarmerdam8784]

Quite a few shots of the flowerfields are actually showing hyacinths and daffodils and not tulips. Also not on reclaimed land, or at least not in the way meant in the video. In many parts of the west the marshy land behinds the dunes was covered in sand wich made ideal land for growing flowerbulbs.