How the Dutch Created The Netherlands

This video is about How the Dutch Created The Netherlands. Topics include polders, Delta Works, and the Zuiderzee Works.
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Mistakes, Corrections, & Clarifications
---
- At least one image of the 1953 flood is in the UK, not the Netherlands. However, it is the same event. 307 people in England were killed by the flood.
- At 1:03 the graphic says "1 meter above sea level" it should say "at least 1 meter above sea level"
- At 7:00 the map is missing at least one project from the Delta Works.
- The source I used that stated that about 50% of the Netherlands was reclaimed land was inaccurate. The number is closer to 17%. However, 21% of the country's population lives in the 26% of the land located below mean sea level and about 65% of the country would be underwater at high tide if it were not for the existence and the country's use of dikes, dunes, and pumps.

[@GeographyGeek]

Every Monday, I send out an email with new videos. This way, I can reach people even if the KZbin algorithm isn't working for my videos. If that's for you, click here and put in your email address - eepurl.com/hSeKpj

[@gijskramer1702]

Another saying is;if a video is about the netherlands, 90% of the viewers are dutch

[@stonks9278]

And another variation of this saying: If the video is remotely linked to the Dutch, G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@bram8731]

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

[@digitalgloop12]

Yup. We’re a very self-obsessed people.

[@thechien6193]

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

[@alanrompelman2179]

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

[@justmike-yt]

We donated the water to England. They now sell it as beer.

[@GeographyGeek]

😂

[@51WCDodge]

Hey! The Dutch did pretty well out of England after the Restoration of the Monarchy! You built a fair bit of it! :-) By the way Did you know the Royal and Dutch Navies Church Pennant is a joing of both flags ?

[@ernardvaartjes9796]

lauw bier ook nog..

[@justmike-yt]

@@51WCDodge Oh yes. Did you know out king is technically still in line for the throne in the UK?

[@daanholtke6520]

I feel like you meant to type the word ''Heineken'' instead of ''England'', didn't you?

[@vincenzodigrande2070]

We flooded our own land to our own advantage during the 80 year war against the Spanish. Their troops couldn't enter when certain lands were flooded to half a meter, as horses would then refuse to continue. After their retreat we just pumped it all out again.

[@GeographyGeek]

That’s awesome

[@DenUitvreter]

If I remember correctly Leiden was liberated from the Spanish siege by low draught warships after the area was flooded. The Spanish siege of Alkmaar was ended by changing the soil under their tents into a swamp, and if I remember correctly there was also a successfull skating regiment fighting that siege. For the siege of 's-Hertogenbosch the river was rerouted to build a circumvallation. In 1672 the Hollandic waterline was inundated to stop the French troops of Louis XIV from ending the Dutch Republic. The New Hollandic Waterline was an improvement on that and remained relevant until aircraft changed warfare. You could take a lot of the Netherlands by marching in with a superior army but Holland with the seat of government and it's naval bases was a different matter and could always fight back with the rest of the country taken. There were large fortifications to cover the inundated lands, too deep for armies, too shallow for ships, and in some area's the houses could only be made out of wood so they could be burned down in case of an invasion to clear shooting lines. Napoleon invaded the Netherlands successfully but he got lucky with an exceptionally harsh winter. The Dutch simply couldn't keep up with breaking the ice, who knows what would have happened otherwise. So it's not just the Dutch who had to fight the water and for the Dutch not just fighting against it but also fighting together with it.

[@remaks3929]

The same thing happened in WW2, England or a other country flooded the coast

[@erwingoud3237]

@@patrickvanliere8690 the Dutch cooperated with the Nazis just like WW1? I don't know a lot about history, but the German Nazi party was only founded after WW1.

[@MowjiSukisyo-TheOneAndOnly]

The north, especially Friesland, had a lot of water. So with all of that frozen, the Spanish had troble moving forward on the ice. People of Friesland attacked the Spanish and before they were able to respond, the Friezen skated away, out of reach of the Spanish, laughing at the Spanish.

[@NLJeffEU]

There are 3 things that can change the tides. The Moon, the Wind and the Dutch 😂👍🇳🇱

[@Lillith.]

Hier gaan over het tij de maan de wind en wij.

[@wkelly4963]

Die ken ik!

[@brozius]

Actually there are 4 🙄 The sun is also causing tides. Neill Degrass Tyson explains it in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnPaf5Sap95girc

[@geertwilders8231]

@@brozius no one cares

[@brozius]

@@geertwilders8231 Whatever man, if you don't want to learn something it's your choice or maybe you are unable too then I feel sorry for you.

[@_TheMousies_]

Me who’s Dutch and knows damn well how it happened: *Interesting*

[@_TheMousies_]

@@cum123 Zeer interessant inderdaad

[@_TheMousies_]

@@cum123 Absoluut

[@giornogiovanna1930]

Yup same, or should i say : ja hetzelfde

[@giornogiovanna1930]

Gelukkig woon ik in Maastricht

[@_TheMousies_]

@@giornogiovanna1930 Gelukkig

[@xSTONYTARKx]

The life of a Dutchmen: - dealing with weather - dealing with the sea -dealing with people calling our country Holland instead of The Netherlands

[@divinenonbinary]

In my experience only Dutch ppl call it Holland lmao

[@xSTONYTARKx]

@@divinenonbinary when i was in italy before this stuff started everyone there called it holland, and i made it my mission to teach as many italians as possible to explain that holland is a region and the country is the Netherlands

[@divinenonbinary]

@@xSTONYTARKx ah okay maybe outside of the Netherlands it’s a thing, true!

[@ibahasj7510]

And dealing drugs

[@badlama1412]

@@xSTONYTARKx latin speaking people call The Netherlands: Holanda and never "pais bajo" (lowlands) thats why spain portugal italy and so on say holland

[@thesteph8344]

Zeeland: *exists * ocean: “and I took that personally”

[@ced-forgot-name]

It's fun to hear people talk about where you live

[@nasr-eddineelmarraki4404]

hahaha leuk voor zo een klein landje waar we in wonen

[@ced-forgot-name]

@@nasr-eddineelmarraki4404 jep

[@allaboutperspective650]

I used to live there 35 years ago .

[@fennex0185]

Yeah

[@ernardvaartjes9796]

indeed. and what we see as normal the rest of the world call it a world wonder.. We zijn blijkbaar best goed..

[@vlissinger]

Shame our secret is out , we din't want to tell the rest of the world about our new project yet. most people call it the "united Kingdoms" we call it the first part of our new dijk

[@51WCDodge]

It's already got a name Dogger land! :-)

[@51WCDodge]

@Joran van Olphen Maybe Dredger Land? :-)

[@chrisdecarpentier]

Ey, Vlissingen!!!

[@rasenche4562]

Lets also rebuild Doggerland that used to be there in the middle of the North Sea

[@Latios-zl4co]

Bende gij een vlissinger joh

[@robvoncken2565]

Saying we are winning the war against the sea is something a Dutchman would never say. Its an eternal struggle. your pronunciation is pretty good don't worry

[@MarcelPolman]

true. he Americanised the hell out of it by calling it a ''war against water''. It has more to do with respecting and living smart with water.

[@Elliott2001]

@@MarcelPolman zeur niet zo man.

[@bahumut5876]

I always say: "Meh, you win some, you lose some", and I usually hear other Dutch people say the same. You can't "win" against mother nature, you can only compromise.

[@cathykelder4413]

0

[@channelG.B.]

AGREE...he must be brain shit to say that

[@GeographyNuts]

Very interesting topic, great visuals. I knew Dutch re-claimed lands, didn't know to what extent. I watched twice.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you! It’s impressive how much land they’ve reclaimed.

[@dutchman7623]

If you would look at a map of 0 AD you would see the northern islands still attached to the mainland and the estuaries were only rivers flowing to the sea. A lot of land was lost to floods. The map of 1300 shows the situation before the war against the sea turned in our favor.

[@GeographyNuts]

@@dutchman7623 Thanks, yes lot more land was lost then reclaimed.

[@LindaEll89]

We are litterly on the bottom of the see, when sealevel will rise we have a huge problem. 🌞🇳🇱

[@GeographyNuts]

@@LindaEll89 Your government is proactive in planning for the sea level rise. Hope all human understand the impact and take action to reduce global worming. Previous generation didn't know what the impact they have on their environment. Now we know and the good news is that we can reduce or even reverse the impact if we all act responsibly.

[@toprob20]

The 1953 flood mostly hit the Zeeland province. But if not for one captain who ran his boat into a breach in a dijk near Niewerkerk aan de IJssel large parts of the most densely populated parts of the country would have flooded and many more thousands of people would have died...

[@GeographyGeek]

I did not know that. I’ll have to look into that story. Thank you for sharing!

[@bywd]

His name was Arie Evegroen (1905-1988) and though reportedly reluctant to ram his ship into the dijk at first, became a hero when he did find the courage and thus saved almost the entire province of zuid-holland from flooding too. Saving thousands from drowning in the flood.

[@remyslavenburg]

@@GeographyGeek “de watersnoodramp”

[@Didymus69]

@@bywd Didn't he also get knighted by the queen because of his actions that saved thousands of lives?

[@bywd]

@@Didymus69 I do not know, I just relayed what I remembered my grandfather telling me. I was born in Lelystad and my Grandpa worked for waterstaat, always had great and terrible stories of the war and the Watersnoodramp.

[@GlentusYT]

Me as a dutch person seeing dutch in a title: *So anyway, i started watching*

[@panimalos5720]

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

[@somerandomdude8887]

DEZE COMMENT SECTION IS G E K O L I N I S E E R D

[@Twak08]

@@somerandomdude8887 *_G E K O L I N I S E E R D_*

[@joellevinga9278]

Gekoloniseerd

[@Weslowizz]

Jup

[@ellaeisenberg7428]

0:47 "the dutch doesn't even have a single mountain" The Dutch people: that hurts...

[@kevinfromspace2]

Instead the dutch people became the mountains, as in we are the tallest people in the world (on average)

[@corien1980]

Why would that hurt..?

[@irisvanhaarlem2247]

@@corien1980 bcs mountains are awesome and we don't have them

[@jetfusion1532]

We do in Limburg and there is also the Grebbeberg in the province Utrecht

[@iwantiedema33]

Just wait until we decide to build one. We will build it in the north sea after we polder it

[@EmperorNefarious1]

I'm sure I've seen a map somewhere with the oceans colored orange and labeled "the Netherlands."

[@emmyhendrickx1183]

I think I know the book. What if? From randall munroe. Drain the oceans (page 208). He draws comics with the name xkcd.

[@Evitaschannel]

The "Watersnoodramp" a giant flooding of mainly the province Zeeland, hit my mothers side of the family particularly. In the death certificates of my great grandparents it said: "Passed away february first, found on the tenth of march". This means that they got flushed out of their homes and were only found weeks after the flood. Through the years the trauma got less and less. Dutch kids are educated about the relationship the country has with the water, but I think it's really important to remember how dangerous water is.

[@RedOrm68]

And it's not just the sea our engineers have to contend with; people tend to forget that the Netherlands are essentially an estuary for two main rivers flowing through Europe: Maas and Rijn. Heavy rain or snow in Germany and France / Belgium means a lot of water making its way to the North Sea through the Netherlands. There is a third, less well known Delta works project: river water management.

[@henkvandenbos9769]

That's correct, and I think mr. Geek mentioned it and briefly showed a picture of De Ooipolder near Nijmegen.

[@psymetric3684]

Small correction. We Dutch didn't win the war with the water. We found a a way to cooperate with the water . It's not about fighting it, but knowing how to controle & guide it. You can't fight nature.

[@Buildbeautiful]

Well said

[@FlorentPlacide]

And your expertise is well-known ! I remember that in the aftermath of Katrina (2005) Dutch engineers went to the New Orleans area to advise water management plans and to teach how to live with water instead of fighting it, and failing.

[@ex6tenze259]

@@FlorentPlacide There was a documentary I saw, not sure if it was related to Katrina, which involved Dutch engineers and a US company/government representative. When told the costs of the new water defense project, which were 5 billion USD, the American suit-figure scoffed, saying it’d only cost 1 billion to repair. “You can pay 5 billion once, and then some maintenance here and there, or you keep paying billions to rebuild again and again.”

[@HansvanderVeen]

There will always be somebody who dos not agree with something written, must be a complainer on Facebook too

[@HansvanderVeen]

So we stopped the water from Coming in, but we didn't win.... Small correction on you Psycho

[@Robin-vv5nb]

Fun fact actually, we do have a mountain! It’s located on Saba ;)

[@ironqueen_osrs]

5:35 the Flevo polder is not the reason why the Dutch are exporting so much food. They grow that more south in state of the art greenhouses

[@GeographyGeek]

You are right. I’m working on a video that addresses this.

[@awellner3285]

Its even worse, the 2nd largest food exporter refers to high value, not to high volume. Theres many countries who export more food. But the Dutch export lots of high value products such as cheese and meat. Also agriculture tools are also included, so the greenhouses sold to other countries are also counted. Canada is one of the countries that imported a lot of greenhouse tech since they legalized marijuana.

[@JuDo-013]

@@awellner3285 We are also number 1 in exporting capsicums, I wouldnt be surprised its the same with other vegetables.

[@henkspenk74]

and a big part of the food that is exported is not grown in the Netherlands, but imported.

[@inferiorinferno8859]

About the jokes that we're real life waterbenders, yes we are. We're a lot like those swamp waterbenders; dealing with a lot of frogs, plenty of canals and building things on poles to protect from the floods.

[@pixel3042]

ah yes, 'we', like we are doing anything

[@orrangetv5553]

But your Engineering wonders are like fire nations

[@reinier660]

As a Dutch, I can say this is an excellent video and very accurate explanation of how my country came to be 👍

[@GeographyGeek]

I’m happy I was able to make it so accurate and I appreciate the complement! Thank you for watching!

[@amandalynch8329]

Just wish they had mentioned my favorite flower, tulips. Are they part of the reclamation process? Regards from Tennessee USA.

[@GeographyGeek]

@@amandalynch8329 they are more of a product of Dutch commerce, climate, great farmland, and culture and not really part of the reclamation process. The Tulips will get a video on their own. In the summer I want to make a video on Dutch exports of decorative plants. One of my favorite plants was introduced to the west by the Netherlands, the Hosta.

[@jortfeijten590]

@@GeographyGeek To be honest, flowers were one of the greatest markets we had here. There were even special auctions for entire flower productions! Even now it’s still a booming business. I know that for a fact, because I live close to a gigantic commemorative flower giant.

[@darkknight8139]

This is a good explanation of how the Dutch defend themselves against water. The picture at 8:40 says that around 1600 (on the left) wooden poles were used to rest the building on the first layer of sand (1e laag zand). The building on the right (2000, so around now), concrete poles are used and drilled through two layers of peat (veen) with a layer of sand in between, thus resting the building on the second layer of sand. During the last two decades, the Amsterdam central train station (built in 1889) underwent a major reconstruction of its foundation: all wooden poles were replaced with concrete, deeper ones to prevent sinking of the building. That is something all Dutch people are still amazed about.

[@Ozymandias1]

“Amsterdam, die groote stad, Die staat op honderd palen, En als die stad eens ommevalt, Wie zal dat betalen? Ik niet, jij niet en een ander ook niet. Rien, tien, twintig, dertig, veertig, vijftig, zestig, zeventig, tachtig, negentig, honderd.”

[@fcassmann]

The first big houses in Amsterdam were build on animal skins, instead of poles.

[@jortfeijten590]

The funny thing we have here in the Netherlands: When you are at the Waddeneilanden at low tide, you can actually walk over the seabed because there will be almost no water during that time. It’s actually very attractive to tourists, but it’s only save with a guide. You can even see seals!

[@taunteratwill1787]

Fuck the seals, are there naked woman? NO? Ok piss off then. 😂

[@jortfeijten590]

@Your local memes dealer je bedoelt zeker de rosse buurt 😏

[@jbird4478]

There is a poem on one of the delta works (translated): "Here control the tide: the moon, the wind, and us."

[@GeographyGeek]

I like it!

[@somerandomdude8887]

We are fucking water gods XD

[@joppecaron8898]

@@somerandomdude8887 Move aside Poseidon

[@somerandomdude8887]

@@joppecaron8898 we made the water our bitch, the melting ice caps won't do shit to us

[@cobrakill4636]

@@somerandomdude8887 roep dat niet te luid...

[@jeanneensing508]

The best thing I think is that because of our centuries of experience in keeping our feet dry and, if possible, not submerging, we are asked worldwide to save people after major floods, how to prevent them in the future and bridge construction . Thank you for this wonderful contribution to the history of my country. Thumb up from me ;)

[@GeographyGeek]

I’m happy I was able to! And thank you for the kind words

[@ericjohnsavage]

Yeah, like the Swiss go around the world helping with tunnel building

[@TimDaOne]

The palmtree islands and 'the world' in Dubai were made by Dutch engineers

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

Water: We flow high to low. Netherlands: LMAO

[@MultiCombo1]

The Dutch will be the judge of that

[@armygetic2509]

First we fought for our own land! Second we concurred the see! Tgirt and forth.. We have build the largest harber in the entire world and we have the most sustainable and efficient food production! For outsiders: We like people that work hard and like cheese!

[@MultiCombo1]

@@armygetic2509 I'm not sold on sustainable, but it is efficient.

[@51WCDodge]

Try landing at Schipol Airport . Elevation Minus 3 meters :-)

[@51WCDodge]

@@armygetic2509 Can we mention that French Cavalary captured your Naval Fleet , whilist it was at sea? :-)

[@henkvandenbos9769]

Thank you Geography Geek for this interesting video! I can add one thing to it: 'droogmakerijen' (droog = dry, maken = to make, so read 'land made dry'). Areals like Beemster, Purmer and Schermer: land claimed from the water even older than the polders. The main difference is that a polder has a 'ringvaart', a canal surrounding the polder, like 'ringvaart Haarlemmermeer', and the water not only has to be pumped out of the polder into the ringvaart, but also has to be guided out of the ringvaart by pumps and/or sluices/locks.

[@barend415]

Land claimed from water... That water was lakes, created by the Dutch themselves! By harvesting peat (turf) for fuel. Basically those amazing Dutch ‘creating their own land’ did nothing more than repair the environmental disaster they themselves caused.

[@chris210352]

Well done, Sir! I remember when the Delta Werken were under construction. Many school trips went there, including my school when I was a youngster.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you! Very cool!

[@pietergreveling]

Great job! 👌🏼 It's accurate and all the footage is from the Netherlands, that's not always the case in other videos! 👍🏻 Thanks from The Netherlands! 🧀⚘🇳🇱✌🏼

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you that means a lot! And thank you for watching! Netherlands is a really interesting country. I have a few other video ideas about the Netherlands I’d like to make.

[@pietergreveling]

@@GeographyGeek Oh really, that would be great! 👍🏻 I'm already curious, about the subject you gonna choose. 😁✌🏼

[@rutgerb]

At 6:04 the sign in English fascinates me

[@GeographyGeek]

@@rutgerb Whoops, must be an image in England from 1953 flooding. 307 people were killed there. Sorry, I did not notice the sign until you pointed it out.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@GeographyGeek A nice angle might be that it's not just about defence against the water for much longer than the afsluitdijk. It's a prime example of turning a disadvantage into an advantage. Because of 'if you make it dry, you own it' there were a lot of land owning farmers in the Netherlands and there was a lot of cooperation necessary to keep it dry. On the other hand the many waterways were essential to trade and by the 17th century the whole country was connected by canals. This had huge poltical impact since it did not match with the feudal system that reigned Europe and the authoritarian monarchs, who had difficulty enforcing their power with horsemen in armour in wet lands anyway. So it's no coincidence it was in The Netherlands (then still including Flanders) that the power of kings and nobility faded and a merchant class and free farmers rose, that they didn't believe in the divine right of a king to tell them how to believe in god, and modern capitalism, social mobility and freedom emerged from the wet lands, as well as capable sailors to spread it over Europe of course. A bottom so soggy that sheep herding was it's only use, resulted in a flourishing cloth trade by boat only centuries later. The first really big polders were financed by stock, the herring fishers in the 15th century had insurance schemes and trade created exchanges and speculation, modern finance was just a next step. The windmill technology for pumping evolved to proto-industrialization with standardization, specialization and mass production.

[@saraloosman9980]

I actually need to learn for my geography but this is way more interesting and my excuse is that this is also about geopgraphy

[@stanpines9011]

Ever notice how us dutchies seem to be pretty partiotic? Seriously, on any video where the netherlands is even mentioned you'll see the comment section filled with dutchies. Also, G E K O L O N I S E E R D Nice video man

[@GeographyGeek]

I did know know that until this week! It’s great! And thank you!

[@wkelly4963]

G E K OL O N I S E E R D!

[@darkpyronl]

gebeurd wel vaker zo als nu :P

[@wkelly4963]

Als je er om vraagt...😅

[@HENGHENG-dr7oo]

@PeterBergen ik, als buitenlander die wel in Nederland is opgegroeid, vind het best wel ziek hoe Nederland met dit soort dingen omgaat. Wie zou er bv ooit bedenken om een provincie uit een zee te halen? Daarom zou ik t niet 'stroking of ego' noemen. Meer gewoon trots zijn op wat de bevolking van dit land heeft gedaan om het bewoonbaar te houden.

[@OTRGeo]

Love this episode Geo bro. Lots of good information.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thanks man!

[@JR-bj3uf]

What they didn't tell you is that besides their engineering prowess the Dutch were the first to build a global empire based on nothing more than shrewd trade deals and versatile ships. The Dutch are not to be taken lightly. Full disclaimer: I am not Dutch.

[@DanAndHoe]

On Dutch trade and shipbuilding: The trade with the Baltic Sea area was the most important for the country, because it allowed the Dutch to import tons of wood and food, allowing Holland, Zeeland etc. to specialise its agriculture and focus more on trade. This made cities incredibly powerful, as they were economic powerhouses that didn't have to rely on the local lords ruling the more rural areas. When the Danish (or Swedish?) demanded ships passing the Sont to pay toll based on the width of the ship's deck, the Dutch made the fluyt, a new ship-type which had a thin deck but broad cargo space beneath it. It could hold a lot of cargo, required less crew members, and made the toll a lot cheaper. This made trade with the Baltics more profitable.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@DanAndHoe Don't forget the windmills used to saw wood making shipbuilding into almost standardized mass production. This together with being more efficient and cheaper allowed the Dutch Republic to have a bigger merchant fleet than all of the big monarchies combined and doing more than half of Europe's trade.

[@roshie187]

Yeah don't glorify that. Don't glorify the colonial past. That shouldn't be taken lightly... Full disclaimer: I am Dutch.

[@JR-bj3uf]

@@roshie187 I didn't think I was "glorifying the colonial past." Give credit where credit is due. The Dutch built an empire on trade using small, maneuverable ships that more often than not delivered their cargo for a profit. The Dutch were known for their good negating and sharp trading acumen as well as their understanding of insurance and finance. As a colonial power the Dutch were quite a poor one.

[@garankebah2082]

@@roshie187 you should brush up on your history where the French, British germans and other European powers focused on Africa the Dutch was a superpower in Indonesia for example and that entire region it's where they made their money ever heard of the Dutch indies.?! the Dutch East and West indies company brought them immense wealth and made them the foremost maritime and economy power.And that's not counting latin america countries like Suriname Aruba St martin curaçao the Antilles in Africa they held sway over South Africa etc geographically speaking the territory wasn't big like that of the French or British but they were a major player some would even argue that they were the biggest with they maritime prowess alone

[@kinskifilms]

I moved to Amsterdam from the States in March of 2020 (covid eve) and this video was profoundly enlightening.

[@esportswomen]

Well put together piece. Congratulations.

[@selikaseven4662]

The 1953 flood also badly affected Canvey Island in Essex, England. There are some photos of the Canvey floods in this video. It was also the Dutch who started to reclaim and protect Canvey from the sea, and we have 2 Dutch cottages on the island to this day.

[@judithvandijk7257]

I was wondering why there’s a sign in English at 6:01. Thanks for clearing that up!

[@51WCDodge]

@@judithvandijk7257 The Dutch also came to England after the Restoration of the Monarchy. They were responsible for a lot of drainage works around the country. Duttch surnames are quite usual in some parts of Norfolk and South Yorkshire around the Isle of Axholme.

[@GeographyGeek]

I’m going to go ahead and apologize for mispronunciations.

[@pietergreveling]

Wasn't so bad! 😉👍🏻

[@rubentullenaar2934]

No need to apologize.

[@tielemobiel]

Your pronunciation was very accurate for a non dutch speaking person. No need to apologize

[@SuperPassionflower]

no need to apologise at all!! the story, also, very well and accurately summarised.

[@StephenOKane]

And don't lose your accent!

[@thestewpot2590]

It'd be great if you made a video going more in depth on the polders, there are a lot of super intresting systems at play, they are also defense systems against invasion, where they can be flooded to slow down armies.

[@drew-shourd]

Amazing video, great job, thank you for making and sharing it….

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!

[@SuperNetwork60]

This incredible aspect of Dutch history has always baffled me, now I appreciate their history more completely.

[@robertYTB78g]

Opened my eyes! Dutch people are not going to give up, that much is certain! Good on them.

[@rexyjp1237]

Just like rick astley

[@somerandomdude8887]

@@rexyjp1237 lol

[@gerdame4424]

The Dutch Dredgingworkers should be awarded with the Nobel Prize because their way of working is being copied and used all over the world. For example my father grew up on the dredger on which his family lived. So he and his two brothers learned about dredging as a child and later on he worked as a dredger in the Dutch Antilles, Northern Ireland, Germany, Iran, Tunesia and Tanzania. I therefore can say he knows his wat around in the business...

[@awellner3285]

The ships stuck in the Suez canal was removed by dutch dredgers.

[@ike1660]

Actually, the first land reclaiming happened around 500 BC, and in the 10th century AD took on a more industrial scale. Bog land and salt water marshes were dug through with ditches and canals to get rid of excess water.

[@noraschoots3167]

One fact about our country that I find hilarious is that the guy who pioneered the technology for creating polders was called Leeghwater, which is old dutch for empty water.

[@maartenvandijken822]

Thanks for uploading this neat and interesting video about my country. Now I know a little bit more; it was pleasant to watch.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@weertangel7231]

A great video! A history lesson like this is never bad to watch in my opinion and its fun to boot :)

[@joanshuggingtour5992]

Thank you for this clear explanation.

[@peggywoods4327]

To the non-Dutch viewers: if you ever get to go to the Netherlands, make time to go to the water works museum and see how the gates operate. I was married to a Dutch man and he took me to all those places as I just seen a documentary about them. I found it all very fascinating as I love seeing how things work.

[@Jul1n]

As a Dutch person, I would give the Netherlands a 7,8/10 It's a great country but there is just way too much water

[@Mello-td6vt]

I see what you did there

[@wansper9297]

Eeeyyyyyyyy nice reference

[@OscarYLB]

explain pls? I feel like it’s a good joke just don’t get it yet. shameful iknow)

[@wansper9297]

@@OscarYLB its a reference to a game review IGN made about the Pokémon game Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, within the pokemon community it is well known though from outside its probably pretty obscure... basically they gave the game a 7.8/10 with one of the main points against the game being stated as "too much water" which is just a funny thing to rate a game on

[@princesidon]

HAHAHAHA

[@barti0806bb]

Lol, the modern pumps you show at 2:06 are 2 streets away from me.... Those pumps have recently been altered to be more efficient, both in amounts of water moved and amounts of electricity used to pump it all. Most current pumps are not active daily, but when there's been a lot of rain, or there is an imbalance in the water level on either side they get turned on.

[@royvandernoordaa4686]

Im from the Netherlands, and i just learned more about my country than i did in school 😂 thank you for this video! It was very interesting, i learned a lot of new things

[@GeographyGeek]

No problem! I’m happy you enjoyed it!

[@cherrydragon3120]

School only teaches the basics. Nothing more.

[@GeographyWorld]

Great video. I recently made a similar video focusing on Flevoland but I still learned stuff here.

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you! I’ll have to check that video out.

[@claytoneskes9519]

Nice video! Maybe you can make also one video about: De Loosdrechtse plassen ? Thats realy amazing to see

[@GeographyGeek]

I just looked it up. Very interesting! I’ll keep in the back on my mind. I have some more Netherlands videos in the works.

[@claytoneskes9519]

@@GeographyGeekCant wait to see them, as we say in Dutch: kan niet wachten om ze te zien. :)

[@CharleyCheno]

@@claytoneskes9519 ik ook kan niet wachten

[@petefarrell234]

Awesome. Thanks for this 💪🏼👌🏼👍🏼

[@GeographyGeek]

No problem. Thank you for watching!

[@gillianbucklitsch4718]

Hi, loved this video...very informative...l have worked on river cruises since 2014 and always spent April in the Netherlands cruising the Dutch waterways..l always said that saying to my passengers ....l loved it...So yr video is wonderful...Thank you...🇪🇸

[@kenvandevoort7820]

There is a children's book written about the 1953 flood called Stand By, Boys!. It was written by K. Norel and translated into English by Marian M. Schoolland. I still have the copy I was given back then. Even though I was born and live in Iowa, there was nobody in my elementary school class that did not have a Dutch surname. Our principal was from Holland and many of the teachers were bilingual which was important as we would get immigrants from Holland. Four of us in my class had the same great-grandfather who had been a horse trader in Noord-Brabant. Another great-grandfather from Gelderland was a wooden shoe maker and he made a pair that was given to another Dutch-American who visited our town and his name was Teddy Roosevelt.

[@derkbuiter6828]

K.norel is een goede schrijver

[@hppnq]

K. Norel, brings back memories! Thanks for sharing Ken.

[@wastedspam385]

The Dutch fought the water so hard they turned a sea into a lake 😂

[@BEstudent]

We make the sea our bitch.

[@somerandomdude8887]

@@BEstudent ikr

[@faymcbella7294]

And the water isn’t even salty anymore 😎

[@cherrydragon3120]

@@faymcbella7294 😂😂😂😂

[@essejd]

Excellent thanks that was very informative👍

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@richardsimms251]

Great video. Thank you

[@marcelmoulin3335]

Impeccably presented. Thank you. "Wat een plezier! Hartelijk dank."

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate the kind words. Thank you for watching!

[@user-uv5ib9mj6b]

The ingenuity, resilience and determination of this small but mighty land never ceases to amaze me

[@Swalkerfilm]

The Oosterscheldekering is a typical Dutch solution where the government listened to both protest groups and experts. The open dam construction was a much greater technical challenge (and much more expensive) than a traditional solid dam but leaves the tidal flows in the estuary mostly intact while providing safety when closed during a flooding threat.

[@bertoverweel6588]

You forgot the first barier of the Deltaworks in Krimpen aan den IJssel build in 1958 .

[@GeographyGeek]

Oh wow I guess I did

[@pepijnhuvenaars]

The most important barrier to avoid flooding due to water from the maas. It's also the lowest part of the country.

[@faramund9865]

I learned something about my own country from an American. Didn't know they sow reed, then burned it for the soil the set. Also never seen that 13th century image.

[@tenkloosterherman]

Excellent report.

[@HT-rq6om]

Dutch ingenuity and resilience, impressive! Also, the Dutch are some of the nicest people I have ever met💜

[@eelcodehaan3994]

2:06 is my old hang out spot! wasted a lot time chilling with friends at that watermill location hahaha

[@GeographyGeek]

Haha that’s pretty cool

[@ralfbuma1977]

Zoetermeer?

[@eelcodehaan3994]

@@ralfbuma1977 yup de leyens, begin noord aa

[@Pasunsoprano]

Our king even specialised in Water Management and is president of the Watermanagement Advisory Group of the United Nations.

[@rowiek7668]

3:24 this picture is taken in this street: Conijnstraat volendam ,(volendam is the village). :)

[@OTCR96]

I can point out my neighborhood in this vid lol crazy detail

[@GeographyGeek]

That’s pretty cool! Thanks for watching

[@MultiCombo1]

2:50 is de Biesbosch, it's one of our national parks now, I believe it depicts the Saint Elizabeth's flood in 1421

[@CharleyCheno]

what is Bieschbosch

[@MultiCombo1]

@@CharleyCheno It's one of the national parks in the Netherlands

[@Acid_8501]

The Dutch: Are faced with flooding Architects: But we can't keep on making the dams higher! The Dutch: Yo Brittain, France, Norway. We are building a dam

[@nickdentoom1173]

The Dutch to the British: We are making a dam (But forget to mention the British are the dam).

[@mihneameulenberg7492]

In the province of Flevoland (the province that once was the zuyderzee) there are still shipwrecks that are being found. There's even one that's like 500 meters from my house.

[@GeographyGeek]

That’s pretty cool

[@sebnemgunaydnguler5051]

Thank you! Finally I got it!

[@HariSC]

One Ne country Netherlands below the sea level with no Mountain and another Ne country above the sky with lots of mountains. Also, have the same tricolour flags 🇳🇱 🇳🇵 respect both countries,

[@TalkativeHour]

We got all of this in school here but this video made our history just a lot more interesting

[@Arnaud58]

On the chart at 7:00 there are 2 mistakes. The "Veerse Gat dam" (at the seaside of the Veerse Meer") is not marked as a dam, , it, together with the "Zandkreekdam" closed the now named "Veerse Meer", being the first closure of the "Deltawerken" in the province Zeeland. And the "Zeelandbrug" (a bridge) in the middle of the Oosterschelde is marked as a dam.

[@miy-kal_]

Nice to see a vide whith correct footage and info, don't forget 1995 that's the year we learned that the Rijn was still there, and posed a major problem. I remeber we where send home early from school and had to leave in less then 24 hours. we got lucky that year

[@sucukboy9960]

Y’know, we dutch will never invade land. If we want more, we just make it

[@Dihyyy]

yup lets pretend colonialism never happend

[@bakastarz5150]

@@Dihyyy eventually we still own some so its not like anything is stopping us from that anyways, were just showing were so OP we dont need to invade we can just make it ourselves

[@Dihyyy]

@@bakastarz5150 explain yourself to the victims not me bro

[@162savage6]

@@Dihyyy I think the most victims are dead.

[@Dihyyy]

@@162savage6 ah yes, WW2 victims are dead too so it's not a thing to think about, history isn't important, right?

[@bart6753]

Nice video! You might have noticed the Dutch love to watch videos about themselves so its a good way to boost your channel!😂 Did you know a hot topic here is to move Schiphol airport to a new island in sea? This creates space for houses while allowing the airport to keep growing

[@simonscott5104]

Bart you guys should create a new island called Doggerland for the airport Then us Brit's & Dutchies could unite again.✌️😍 ...gezellig

[@henriklarsson5221]

It is not only the Dutch that like to watch videos of their own country, everyone does... We are all alike in that way ^)^

[@lobiesoso]

Very informative

[@paulam.593]

i am dutch, and travelled alot, every time i come home, the green fields amaze me, Nederland is beuatiful

[@huiba1]

I live in a polder, it has been a polder for 400 years without trouble

[@tristanhorsten4997]

Never really learned the history of my country. Every time I see a video about the Netherlands, I watch it because I love my country. Too bad they didn't teach us good history in school. Your pronunciation of the Dutch words are pretty good! Compared to people living here for 10 years, yours is way better. Thanks for teaching us stuff about our country while our school didn't. ❤️

[@MrAdriancooke]

You should be proud of your country: I am a Brit and would move there tomorrow if not for Brexit 😡

[@TjeerdMeere]

leuk gemaakt. Informatief.

[@buzzysalesqq5263]

9:55 heel mooi plaatje van nijmegen. je ziet hier de oude kolencentrale nog in gebruik en tevens ook de aanleg van de spiegelwaal. Weet jij ongeveer uit welk jaar dit beeld komt?

[@cocojombo7975]

Well i am from Holland and even i find this video very interesting. Good job 👍🏻

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!!

[@liesbethdevries4986]

I grew up in the Noordoostpolder, the northern polder of Flevoland. It is a great place for children to grow up.

[@Frank-so1uo]

Flevoland is a soulless place. Rip if you grow up there xD

[@casper6405]

I grew up in down town Arnhem A hard place to grow up

[@trinir5156]

Thankyou!

[@armygetic2509]

Nice video!

[@GeographyGeek]

Thank you!

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

With skill, grace and sheer unmovable Dutchness. Known to others as 'willpower and being awesome'.

[@Johan-van-wezel]

The reason we dutch people are so tall is so that if the netherlands ever gets flooded we wont drown (Yes im dutch and im also 5,9 at 13 years old)

[@GeographyGeek]

😂

[@dvb8637]

Who cares what your height is... 😂

[@Johan-van-wezel]

@@dvb8637 joe cares

[@tijmenbakker1470]

Gebruik gwn centimeters man

[@Johan-van-wezel]

@jojes hojjes joe mama

[@kosalagarusinghe2488]

Excellent

[@MhaeSans]

This is very informative video. Thank you.. I am living here in the Netherlands and I didn't This story. Thank you for sharing..

[@GeographyGeek]

No problem! Thank you for watching!

[@Didymus69]

Can you do a video about the dutch influence to the other countries. Since our water specialist are being hired all around the world and people from other countries study here to learn our techniques to fight the water.

[@GeographyGeek]

Possibly! I like that idea. I’ll add it to my list. I have a couple more videos like this one planned. Something around how the Dutch are leading the world with climate change adaptations and how the Netherlands exports so much agricultural products.

[@51WCDodge]

1660 England would be a place to start. A lot of Dutch enginners came over with Charles and drained large areas.

[@GeographyGeek]

How the Netherlands Helped America Gain Independence - kzbin.info/www/bejne/apK7mmaihNJ8eas

[@b1t0k01]

god created the world, but the dutch created the Netherlands.

[@chargedinsavinghumanity]

The chronology goes.. God Created the Earth, Dutch created Netherlands, Netherlands create America. It's means, Dutch create all the *LIES & Fool-the-Masses Agenda* about all things about science of fake moon landing, globe shape and hiding the secret society agenda. I can't see *CURVATURE* in this video! Are we on globe or what..?!! *Geography Geek* have a major explanation to do.

[@robloxlujogi10luigi14]

I am from Netherlands

[@mr.alpaca6352]

Iam from the Netherlands. Thx for this vid. BTW it really hept with my last history test.

[@jesperhaafkes3635]

9:00 if you look at the dijkrings whe will keep wining

[@metalspoon69]

I grew up in the Noordoostpolder, which is the northern part of flevoland. It's fascinating how the previous generations literally created a whole fucking province for people to live and farm in. If you're ever in the area, visit it sometimes, the landscapes are very unique because everything is so flat. A few recommendations: - Check out the Waterloopbos (Tom Scott has an excellent video on this), it used to be a testing site for water related projects, now it's like an open air museum in a forest, good if you like taking walks. You can park on site, there's a busline that stops near it too, it's near Vollenhove and Kraggenburg. - Check out Schokland. This used to be an island in the Zuyderzee, they rebuilt the village and made it a museum. It's near Ens and Nagele. It's a UNESCO world heritage site these days. - If you want a day on the beach, Schokkerhaven is pretty nice, although it can be crowded in the summer. It's closeby Schokland so you could combine the two, its south of Nagele. - If you like old lighthouses, oud Kraggenburg is nice to check out, although it isn't much. It's a nice place to cycle to. Everything in the polder is pretty close together, you could cycle it all if you want, almost all major roads have explicit bikelanes or bikepaths running parallel to it. Not so much on the backroads but there isn't a lot of traffic there anyway. Also, if you plan on visiting during the time when the tulips are blossoming and want to take pictures, please don't go into the fields without explicit permission. Farmers have long complained about tourists trampling their flowers, i get that you want to take pictures but please be respectful.

[@GeographyGeek]

I appreciate the recommendations! I’m hoping to visit next summer.

[@Ehralur]

Great video and well done on the pronunciation of Dutch names! Pretty much as close as you can get as an English native speaker!