Lugares de interés (POIs) del Mapa
0: Ice Age Glaciers (Greenland)
| The Pleistocene (~2.5 million years ago - 10,000 years ago) was the geological period of the Ice Ages. Since approximately 600,000 years ago six major Ice Ages have occurred, in which sea level dropped 120 m, and much of the continental margins became exposed. In the Early Pleistocene, the Rhine followed a course to the northwest, through the present North Sea. During the so-called Elsterien glaciation (~420,000 yr BP, marine oxygen isotope stage 12) the northern part of the present North Sea was blocked by the ice, and a large lake developed that overflowed through the English Channel. This caused the Rhine's course to be diverted through the English Channel. Since then, during glacial times, the river mouth was located near Brest (France), and rivers like the Thames, and Seine became tributaries to the Rhine. During interglacials, when sea level rose to approximately the present level, the Rhine built a delta in what is now called The Netherlands.During the last Ice Age (~70,000-10,000 yr BP= Before Present), at the end of the Pleistocene, the lower Rhine flowed roughly west through the Netherlands and then to the southwest, through the English Channel, and finally to the Atlantic Ocean. The English and Irish Channels, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea were still dry land, mainly because sea level was approximately 120 m lower than today. At about 5000 BC, flooding and erosion began to open the English Channel. Most of the Rhine's current course was not under the ice during the last Ice Age, although its source must then have been a glacier. A tundra with Ice Age flora and fauna stretched across middle Europe from Asia to the Atlantic Ocean. Such was the case during the Last Glacial Maximum, ca. 22,000-14,000 yr BP, when ice covered Scandinavia and the Baltic, Britain and the Alps, but left the space between as open tundra. The loess, or wind-blown dust over that tundra settled in and around the Rhine Valley, contributing to its current agricultural usefulness.These events were well within the residence of man. Meltwater adding to the ocean and land subsidence drowned the former coasts of Europe. The water is still rising, at the rate of about 1-3 mm per year. Further drowning is to come.Rapid warming and change of vegetation to open forest began about 13,000 BP. By 9000 BP, Europe was fully forested. About 7000-5000 BP a general warming encouraged migration up the Danube and down the Rhine by peoples to the east, who may also have been encouraged by the sudden massive expansion of the Black Sea as the Mediterranean burst into it through the Bosphorus about 7500 BP. At least one unsuccessful search for remains of villages on the floor of the Black Sea has been conducted. Ice Age - Rhine |  |
Más sobre Ice Age Glaciers (Greenland)
1: De Hoge Veluwe
| The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe is the largest lateral moraine in the Netherlands, stretching 60 km from north to south, and reaching heights of over 100 m (the peak height is 110 meters). The Veluwe was formed by the Saalian glacial during the Pleistocene epoch. In the center of the Veluwe lies the Netherlands' biggest national park, "Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe", best translated as "upper Veluwe" because of its elevation. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, lakes and sand drifts. The western boundary of the Veluwe is formed by several lakes linked together, the biggest being the Veluwemeer. Veluwe |  |
Más sobre De Hoge Veluwe
2: Hunebed
| Megalithic tombs are found from the Baltic Sea and North Sea coasts, south to Spain and Portugal. Hunebedden are chamber tombs similar to dolmens and date to the middle Neolithic (Funnelbeaker culture, 4th millennium BC). They consist of a kerb surrounding an oval mound which covered a rectangular chamber of stones with the entrance on one of the long sides. Some have a more complex layout and include an entrance passage giving them a T-shape. It has been suggested that this means they are related to the Passage graves found in Denmark and elsewhere. Hunebed |  |
Más sobre Hunebed
3: Borger Hunebeds
| Megalithic tombs are found from the Baltic Sea and North Sea coasts, south to Spain and Portugal. Hunebedden are chamber tombs similar to dolmens and date to the middle Neolithic (Funnelbeaker culture, 4th millennium BC). They consist of a kerb surrounding an oval mound which covered a rectangular chamber of stones with the entrance on one of the long sides. Some have a more complex layout and include an entrance passage giving them a T-shape. It has been suggested that this means they are related to the Passage graves found in Denmark and elsewhere. Borger Hunebeds |  |
Más sobre Borger Hunebeds
4: Hogheintum Terp
| Terp (plural terpen) is a term for a hillock, mound or knoll used for refuge from high tide and floods. Terp means "village" in Frisian: compare English "-thorpe" in placenames. Historical Frisian settlements were built on artificial terpen measuring up to 15 m in height to be safe from the floods in periods of rising sea levels. The first terp-building period dates from 500 BC, the second from 200 BC to 50 BC. In the mid 3rd century, the rise of sea level was so dramatic that the clay district was deserted, and settlers returned only around AD 400. A third terp-building period dates from AD 700 (Old Frisian times). This ended with the coming of the dike somewhere around 1200. During the 18th and 19th centuries many terps were destroyed to use the fertile soil they contained to fertilize farm fields. The largest terp, seen on the picture to the right, is still preserved.Another Dutch word for "terp" is wierde.Many villages in the Dutch province of Friesland still have names which are related to these words, showing that the village was built on a terp. Terp |  |
Más sobre Hogheintum Terp
5: Archeon Roman Reenact
| Archeon is an Archaeological Theme Park, located in Alphen a/d Rijn, the Netherlands. There are reconstructions of houses and other buildings from three major time periods: Prehistory, Roman Age, and Middle Ages. But it's not just a museum where you can look at stuff behind ropes and glass panels. People in period dress are working in these reconstructions and can tell you everything about it. There are also many activities you can participate in. Depending on the weather and on who's working that particular day, you can try out one of the canoes made out of a tree trunk, make felt bracelets, shoot with bow & arrow, march with the Roman army, help move a large rock used to build a dolmen, etc, etc. Name |  |
Más sobre Archeon Roman Reenact
6: Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD)
| The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in the year 9 when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius (Irmin, since the 16th century known in German as Hermann), the son of Segimer of the Cherusci, ambushed and wiped out three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.The outcome of the battle established the Rhine as the boundary of the Roman Empire for the next few hundred years, until the decline of the Roman influence in the West. The Roman Empire never was able to conquer Germania, although many attempts were made. Teutoburg Forest |  |
Más sobre Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD)
7: Valkhof, Nijmegen (69)
| The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the 1st century BC, when the Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which gave (and give) a good view over the Waal and Rhine valley.By 69, when the Batavians, the original inhabitants of the Rhine and Maas valley, revolted, a village called Oppidum Batavorum had formed near the Roman camp. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when the revolt had ended, the Romans built another, bigger camp, where the Legio X Gemina was stationed. Soon after, another village formed around this camp. Valkhof |  |
Más sobre Valkhof, Nijmegen (69)
8: Xanten, Germany (Roman Town on Rhine)
| The history of the town Xanten didn´t start in the early Middle Ages as it almost happened but much earlier. About A.D. 98 the Romans founded the civilian settlement Colonia Ulpia Traiana, that was elaborately constructed in accordance to the high level of administration and architecture in Roman towns. The Archaeological Park Xanten revives Roman history and broaches the issue of archaeology itself. In 13/12, the Roman general Drusus, the stepson of the emperor Augustus, ordered the construction of Castra Vetera, a military base that offered accommodation to at least one Roman legion. During the following years, he and his brother Tiberius (the future emperor) campaigned on the east bank of the Rhine. In 8 BCE, the tribe of the Sugambri was forced to migrate to the west bank, where they settled near Castra Vetera. This Germanic tribe, now known as Cugerni, founded the town that was later known as Colonia Ulpia Traiana.http://www.livius.org/x/xanten/CUT.html Xanten Panorama |  |
Más sobre Xanten, Germany (Roman Town on Rhine)
9: Servatius (Maastricht) (370)
| Saint Servatius ((Dutch) Sint Servaas; (French) Saint Servais) (traditionally died 384) was bishop of Tongerenâ??Roman Atuatuca Tungrorum the capital of the Tungriâ??one of the earliest dioceses in the Low Countries. Later in his life he fled to Maastricht, Roman Mosae Trajectum, where he became the first bishop of this city. He introduced Christianity to the Netherlands when he built a church over the Roman temple of Fortuna and Jupiter, the Church of Our Dear Lady. This church, one of the oldest buildings in The Netherlands, is still intact and a very important spiritual and religious site in Maastricht as it is the mother church of Christianity in The Netherlands.A widely-travelled diplomat, Servatius is recorded as being present at several synods and church councils, and a determined prosecutor of Arianism. Servatius died in Maastricht in 384. Servatius |  |
Más sobre Servatius (Maastricht) (370)
10: Abbey of Rathmelsigi
| Willibrord spent the years between the ages of 20 and 32 in the Abbey of Rathmelsigi (identified by some as Mellifont in County Louth) Ireland, which was a center of European learning in the 7th century.During this time he studied under Saint Egbert, who sent him and twelve companions to Christianize the pagan North Germanic tribes of Frisia, at the request of Pepin, Christian king of the Franks and nominal suzerain over that region.Willibrord tried this while on a Carolingian-sponsored mission into Frisia with the express purpose of trying to convert the pagan Frisians living there in the hope that, once they had converted to Christianity, the Franks could gain control of the important trade port Dorestad, which they had up to that point been unable to do.In 716 the pagan Radbod, king of the Frisians, retook possession of Frisia, burning churches and killing many missionaries. |  |
Más sobre Abbey of Rathmelsigi
11: Dorestad
| While King Radboud's father, Duke Aldegisel (or Eadgils, Aldgisl which can be translated as 'Old Whip'), had welcomed Christianity into his realm, Radbod attempted to extirpate the religion and free the Frisians from subjugation to the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks. In 689, Radbod was, however, defeated by Pippin of Herstal in the battle of Dorestad and compelled to cede West Frisia (Frisia Citerior, meaning Nearer Frisia, from the Scheldt to the Vlie) to the Franks. King Radbod of the Frisians |  |
Más sobre Dorestad
12: Domtoren, Utrecht (700)
| During the Middle Ages Utrecht was the most important city of the Northern Netherlands. Willibrordus is usually considered to be its first bishop. In 695 he was appointed archbishop of the Frisians and in 703 or 704 Pepin II of Herstal gave him Utrecht as see for his missionary activities further north. Utrecht received city rights in 1122.Later the bishops of Utrecht exercised worldly power as prince-bishops not only in the province of Utrecht (Nedersticht, 'lower Sticht') but also further to the northeast. The Veluwe soon became part of Gelre but Overijssel remained the Oversticht. In 1528 the wordly power over both Neder- and Oversticht was transferred to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who became the Lord of the 17 Netherlands (the current Benelux and the Northern parts of France). This transition was not an easy one and Charles V had to build castle Vredenburg to maintain order in the city. Dom Tower |  |
Más sobre Domtoren, Utrecht (700)
13: Fritzlar, Germany - St. Boniface
| In 716 he set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia, intending to convert the Frisians by preaching to them in their own language, his own Anglo-Saxon language being similar to Frisian, but his efforts were frustrated by the war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, king of the Frisians. He returned to Nursling.In 723, Boniface felled the holy oak tree dedicated to Thor near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse. He built a chapel from its wood at the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar. St. Boniface |  |
Más sobre Fritzlar, Germany - St. Boniface
14: Castle Radboud near Medemblik (8C and 1280)
| The name Radboud has been derived from the popular assumption that the castle was build on the place where in the 8th century a castle from the Frisian king Radboud had been standing. It is also known as Medemblik Castle.In the 14th and 15th century the counts of Holland installed guardians at the castle. Radboud Castle has never been connected to nobility but has been primarily used as a prison. The people of Medemblik used it as a refuge. Frisians Castles |  |
Más sobre Castle Radboud near Medemblik (8C and 1280)
15: Charlemagne, Aachen
| In the year of his coronation, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He liked the place, and twenty years later, he began to build a palace. The sole surviving remnant of the palace, its magnificent chapel constructed in 796, later became Aachen Cathedral. Charlemagne spent most winters between 800 and his death in 814 in Aachen in order to enjoy the hot springs. Afterwards, the king was buried in the chapel, where his tomb can still be found Name |  |
Más sobre Charlemagne, Aachen
16: Ribe Viking Center
| Whether you know a lot or a little, are local or a tourist, a teacher or a student, young or old â?? a visit to Ribe Viking Centre will provide you with a unique experience and new knowledge about the Viking Age. You can wander round the reconstructed life-size Viking estate, peopled with Vikings with whom you can work and talk. They wear Viking clothes and work with reconstructed tools and techniques that were used back then. You can sniff the smoke and the smell from the pots on the fire, where delicious meals are prepared; you can meet the animals and see them at work. You can go into the houses and sit down, close your eyes and let your thoughts wander; and when you open them again, you have gone more than a thousand years back in time. Ribe Viking Center |  |
Más sobre Ribe Viking Center
17: Deventer
| Deventer was probably founded by the English missionary Lebuinus around 768, who built a wooden church on the border of the IJssel. This was not the first human settlement at the location: in Roman age there probably was a stronghold called Daventria in place. The favorable location has probably seen habitation ever since.Deventer received city rights in 956. From this date fortifications were built around the city for defense. Between 1000 and 1500, Deventer grew to be a flourishing trade city because of its harbour on the river IJssel, which was reachable for large ships. The city was a member of the Hanseatic League.Deventer is the place of birth of Geert Groote and home to his Brethren of the Common Life, a school of religious thought that was of great influence on Thomas a Kempis and Erasmus in later times Deventer |  |
Más sobre Deventer
18: De Burcht, Leiden (12C)
| De Burcht is a 12th-century castle in the form of a circular tower built on an earthe mound. It has never been used for its military function. In the 18th century it became a formal garden with fountain. De Burcht |  |
Más sobre De Burcht, Leiden (12C)
19: Bodrum Turkey- Windmills & Crusades 1200
Más sobre Bodrum Turkey- Windmills & Crusades 1200
20: Huis Bergh, 's-Heerenberg (13th c)
| Huis Bergh is one of the most important castles in the Netherlands. Once a county was ruled from this castle. This is what the official website says about its history: "Huis Bergh is one of The Netherlands' major castles. Its history dates back to the 13th century. The most important parts of the castle still existing today date from the 14th, 15th and 17th century. At the onset of the Eighty Years' War Huis Bergh was severely damaged. In 1735 the castle burnt down completely Huis Bergh |  |
Más sobre Huis Bergh, 's-Heerenberg (13th c)
21: Muiderslot Castle - Count Floris V (1280)
| The history of the Muiderslot (Castle Muiden, where muiden means rivermouth) begins with Count Floris V who built a stone castle at the mouth of the river back in 1280, when he gained command over an area that used to be part of the See of Utrecht. The River Vecht was the trade route to Utrecht, one of the most important tradetowns of that age. The castle was used to enforce a toll on the traders. It is a relatively small castle, measuring 32 by 35 metres with brick walls well over 1.5 metres thick. A large moat surrounded the castle.A hundred years later, in 1370, the castle was rebuilt on the same spot according to the same plan, by Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, who at that time was also the Count of Holland and Zeeland. Muiderslot Castle Count |  |
Más sobre Muiderslot Castle - Count Floris V (1280)
22: Caffa, Crimea- Black Death (1349)
| The plague disease, caused by Yersinia pestis, is endemic in populations of ground rodents in central Asia, but it is not entirely clear where the fourteenth-century pandemic started. The most popular theory places the first cases in the steppes of Central Asia, though some speculate that it originated around northern India. From there, supposedly, it was carried east and west by traders and Mongol armies along the Silk Road, and was first exposed to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea from which it spread to Sicily and on to the rest of Europe.In the years 1315 to 1322 a catastrophic famine, known as the Great Famine, struck all of Northern Europe. Food shortages and sky-rocketing prices were a fact of life for as much as a century before the plague. Wheat, oats, hay and consequently livestock were all in short supply; and their scarcity resulted in hunger and malnutrition. The result was a mounting human vulnerability to disease due to weakened immune systems. The European economy entered a vicious circle in which hunger and chronic, low-level debilitating disease reduced the productivity of labourers, and so the grain output suffered, causing the grain prices to increase. The famine was self-perpetuating, impacting life in places like Flanders and Burgundy as much as the Black Death was later to impact all of Europe.The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a devastating pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid-late-14th century (1347â??1351), killing between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. Almost simultaneous epidemics occurred across large portions of Asia and the Middle East during the same period, indicating that the European outbreak was actually part of a multi-regional pandemic. Including Middle Eastern lands, India and China, the Black Death killed at least 75 million people Black Death |  |
Más sobre Caffa, Crimea- Black Death (1349)
23: Hook and Cod Wars (Vlaardingen 1351)
| The Hook and Cod wars (Dutch: Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten) comprise a series of wars and battles in Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but the underlying reason was the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against the ruling nobility.The Cod faction generally consisted of the more progressive cities of Holland. The Hook faction consisted for a large part of the conservative noblemen.The origin of the name is uncertain; perhaps it derives from the arms of Bavaria, that look like the scales of a fish.Another possible explanation is that the name Cod refers to the fish of the same name. As a cod grows it tends to eat more thus it grows even bigger and eats even more thus encapsulating how the noblemen perhaps saw the expanding middle classes of the time. To that end, the Hook refers to the hooked stick that is used to catch a cod and represents the noblemen.[edit] Margaret of Bavaria vs William VAfter count William IV, Count of Holland was killed in 1345, his sister Margaret inherited the county. She was married to emperor Louis IV of Bavaria, and resided in Bavaria. She appointed their second son William (the later count William V) as ruler of Holland, which meant that he ruled as her representative.In 1350, the nobles of Holland asked Margaret to return to Holland. As a reaction, the Cod league was formed in May 23, 1350 by a number of supporters of William. On September 5 of the same year, the Hook league was formed. Soon afterward, these factions clashed, and a civil war began.Edward III of England, Margaret's brother in law through her sister Philippa of Hainault, came to her aid, winning a naval engagement off Veere in 1351; a few weeks later the Hooks and their English allies were defeated by William and the Cods at Vlaardingen, an overthrow which ruined Margaret's cause. Edward III shortly afterwards changed sides, and the empress saw herself compelled (1354) to come to an understanding with her son, he being recognized as count of Holland and Zeeland, she of Hainaut. Margaret died two years later, leaving William, in possession of the entire Holland-Hainaut inheritance (July 1356). William was married to Matilda ("Maud" in the English style) of Lancaster, sister to Blanche of Lancaster. Name | .jpg) |
Más sobre Hook and Cod Wars (Vlaardingen 1351)
24: Brethern of the Common Life (14th C)
Más sobre Brethern of the Common Life (14th C)
25: Legend of Laurens Koster Printing (1420)
| Laurens Janszoon Coster (b. ca. 1370, Haarlem, the Netherlands â?? d. ca. 1440), or Laurens Jansz Koster, was one of the early European printers. He was an important citizen of Haarlem and held the position of sexton (Koster) of Sint-Bavokerk. He is mentioned in contemporary documents as an assessor (scabinus), and as the city treasurer. He probably perished in the plague that visited Haarlem in 1439-1440; his widow is mentioned in the latter year.There are no works certainly printed by Laurens, however there is a tradition that, sometime in the 1420s, he was carving letters from bark for the amusement of his grandchildren, and observed that the letters left impressions on the sand. He is said to have printed several books including Speculum Humanæ Salvationis with several assistants including Johann Fust, and it was Fust who, when Laurens was nearing death, stole his presses and type and took them to Mainz where he entered partnership with Johann Gutenberg.The earliest description of this story dates from 1568 in a history by Hadrianus Junius, a Dutch intellectual. If true, he would have been the first European to invent the movable type printing press, a feat generally ascribed to Gutenberg about a decade after Coster's death. Either way, he is somewhat of a local "hero", and next to a statue on the Grote Markt his name can be found in many places in the city. Koster |  |
Más sobre Legend of Laurens Koster Printing (1420)
26: Binnenhof, Den Haag (1446)
| The Binnenhof (Dutch, lit. "inner court"), is a collection of buildings in The Hague. It has been the location of meetings of the Staten-Generaal (the Dutch parliament) since 1446, and has been the centre of Dutch politics for centuries. Binnenhof |  |
Más sobre Binnenhof, Den Haag (1446)
27: Burgundian Captial- DIjon (1477)
| During the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and monasteries, among them Cluny, Citeaux, and Vézelay.During the Hundred Years' War, King Jean II of France gave the duchy to his younger son, rather than leaving it to his successor on the throne. The duchy soon became a major rival to the French throne, because the Dukes of Burgundy succeeded in assembling an empire stretching from Switzerland to the North Sea, mostly by marriage. The Burgundian Empire consisted of a number of fiefdoms on both sides of the (then largely symbolic) border between the French kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire . Its economic heartland was in the Low Countries, particularly Flanders and Brabant. The court in Dijon outshone the French court by far, both economically and culturally. In Belgium and The Netherlands, a 'Burgundian lifestyle' still means 'enjoyment of life, good food, and extravagant spectacle'.In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Burgundy provided a power base for the rise of the Habsburgs, after Maximilian of Austria had married into the ducal family. In 1477 the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle and Burgundy itself taken back by France. His daughter Mary and her husband Maximillian moved the court to the palace at Coudenberg, Brussels and ruled the remnants of the empire (the Low Countries (Burgundian Netherlands) and Franche-Comté, then still a German fief) from there Burgundy Duchy |  |
Más sobre Burgundian Captial- DIjon (1477)
28: Vienna- Hapsburgs (1549)
| In 1506, Charles inherited his father's Burgundian territories, most notably the Low Countries and Franche-Comté, although, as he was a minor, his aunt Margaret acted as regent until 1515.Charles extended the Burgundian territory with the annexation of Tournai, Artois, Utrecht, Groningen and Guelders. The Seventeen Provinces had been unified by Charles' Burgundian ancestors, but nominally were fiefs of either France or the Holy Roman Empire. In 1549, Charles issued a Pragmatic Sanction, declaring the Low Countries as a unified entity of which his family would be the heirs.[1].The Low Countries held an important place in the Empire. For Charles personally, they were the region where he spent his childhood. Because of trade and industry and the rich cities, they were also important for the treasury. Hapsburgs |  |
Más sobre Vienna- Hapsburgs (1549)
29: Giethoorn- Peat (1550)
| Several factors have contributed to the flowering of the arts and sciences during the Golden Age. A necessary condition was the supply of cheap energy from windmills and from peat, easily transported by canal to the cities. These peat reserves did begin to become exhausted and grow more expensive with time. Name |  |
Más sobre Giethoorn- Peat (1550)
30: Dutch Proverbs (Breughel 1559)
| Al te goed is buurmans gek. Literal Translation: "All too good is neighbor's fool." Meaning: "If you are always helping everyone, someone will abuse it." Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen (op tafel). Literal Translation: "When the cat is away from home, the mice dance (on the table)" Meaning: "Grabbing the opportunity when nobody watches". Better English: "While the cat's away, the mice will play". Dutch Proverbs Brueghel |  |
Más sobre Dutch Proverbs (Breughel 1559)
31: Children's Games (Breughel 1560)
| Bruegel specialized in landscapes populated by peasants. He is often credited as being the first Western painter to paint landscapes for their own sake, rather than as a backdrop to a religious allegory.Attention to the life and manners of peasants was rare in the arts in Breughel's time. His earthy, unsentimental but vivid depiction of the rituals of village lifeâ??including agriculture, hunts, meals, festivals, dances, and gamesâ??are unique windows on a vanished folk culture and a prime source of iconographic evidence about both physical and social aspects of 16th century life. For example, the painting Netherlandish Proverbs illustrates dozens of then-contemporary aphorisms, while Children's Games shows the variety of amusements enjoyed by young people. His winter landscapes of 1565 are taken as corroborative evidence of the severity of winters during the Little Ice Age. Name |  |
Más sobre Children's Games (Breughel 1560)
32: Royal Palace of Madrid (1561)
| The site of the palace dates from a 10th-century fortress, called mayrit, constructed as an outpost by Mohammed I, Emir of Córdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Kingdom of Toledo. After Madrid fell to Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085, the edifice was only rarely used by the kings of Castile. In 1329, King Ferdinand V of Castile convoked the cortes of Madrid for the first time. Philip II moved his court to Madrid in 1561.The Antiguo Alcázar ("Old Castle") was built on the location in the 16th century. It burned on December 24, 1734; King Philip V ordered a new palace built on the same location. Construction spanned from 1738 to 1755, according to the designs of Juan Bautista Sachetti in cooperation with Ventura RodrÃguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Scirmento. The new palace was occupied by Carlos III in 1764 Philip II of Spain, Madrid |  |
Más sobre Royal Palace of Madrid (1561)
33: Battle of Jemmingen (1568)
| The Battle of Heiligerlee (Heiligerlee, Groningen, 23 May 1568) was fought between Dutch rebels and the Spanish army of Friesland. This was the first Dutch victory during the Eighty Years' War.The Groningen province was invaded by an army consisting of 3,900 infantry led by Louis of Nassau and 200 cavalry led by Adolf of Nassau. Both were brothers of William I of Orange.The Stadtholder of Friesland and also Duke of Aremberg, Johan de Ligne, had an army of 3,200 infantry and 20 cavalry.Aremberg initially avoided confrontation, awaiting reinforcements. However on 23 May, Adolf lured him to an ambush by Louis at the monastery of Heiligerlee. The ambush worked. The defending force lost 1,500â??2,000 men, while the invading force lost 50 men, including Adolf. The rebels captured seven cannons.The invading force did not capture any cities and was defeated at the Battle of Jemmingen.The death of Adolf of Nassau is mentioned in the Dutch national anthem (4th verse): Beginning of Eighty Years War |  |
Más sobre Battle of Jemmingen (1568)
34: House of Orange-Nassau (Breda 1570)
| Breda was a fortified city of strategic significance in the Netherlands. Many events transpired in the city.In the 11th century Breda was a direct fief of the Holy Roman Emperor, its earliest known lord being Henry of Brunesheim (1080 - 1125). In 1327 Breda was sold by Adelheid of Gaveren to John III, Duke of Brabant. In 1350 the fief was resold to John II of Wassenaar (d. 1377). In 1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen (1392 - 1445), married Engelbert I of Nassau (1370 - 1442). Henceforth it remained in the house of Nassau, passing ultimately to William I of Orange (1533 - 1584), the first stadtholder of the Netherlands. Thus the baron of Breda was also count of Nassau, Germany, Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (from 1572-1650, 1672-1702, 1747-1795). Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was extinguished by French revolutionary forces in 1795. Surrender of Breda, by Diego VelázquezThe city of Breda obtained a municipal charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortififications with brick walls and romanstyle gates. In the 15th century the cities welfare grew rapidely. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with a galant 97m high tower, called Grote Kerk (main church) or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our Lady). In 1534 the modest medieval fortifications were impressively rebuilt by Henry III of Nassau-Breda and remained an impregnable stronghold of the line of fortresses in the Netherlands. In the same period Breda became a royal city with which attracted lots of noblemen who built big houses in the old city. The most impressive one, a palace, was built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna. The first renaissancestyle built palace north of the Alps. It became the place where the first dutch princes resided. In (1534) however, Breda also suffered a huge fire which destroyed about 1300 houses, churches and chapels along with the town hall. Only 150 houses were left after the fire along with the main church.During the Eighty Years' War Breda was captured by surprise by the Spaniards in 1581, but in 1590 it fell again into the hands of Maurice of Nassau, 68 picked men contriving to get into the town concealed under the turf in a peat-boat, a daring plan of Adriaen van Bergen. The surrender of Breda in 1625, after a ten months siege, to the Spaniards under Spinola was memorialized by Diego Velázquez. In 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four months siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia. Breda- Orange-Nassau |  |
Más sobre House of Orange-Nassau (Breda 1570)
35: Sea Beggars (Brielle, 1572)
Más sobre Sea Beggars (Brielle, 1572)
36: Huguenots- St Bartholomews' Day Massacre (1572)
| The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French) was a wave of Catholic mob violence against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), traditionally believed to have been instigated by Catherine de' Medici, the mother of Charles IX. Starting on August 24, 1572, with the murder of a prominent Huguenot, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, the massacres spread throughout Paris, and later to other cities and the countryside, lasting for several months. The exact number of fatalities will never be known, but several thousand, possibly tens of thousands, of Huguenots died in the violence. Though by no means unique, "it was the worst of the century's religious massacres." [1] The massacres marked a turning-point in the French Wars of Religion by radicalising the Huguenot faction. Huguenots from France |  |
Más sobre Huguenots- St Bartholomews' Day Massacre (1572)
37: Antwerp siege (1585)
| After the closing of the Zwyn and the consequent decline of Bruges, the city of Antwerp, then part of the Duchy of Brabant, became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp, and the building assigned to the English nation is specifically mentioned in 1510.Fernand Braudel states that Antwerp became "the center of the entire international economyâ??something Bruges had never been even at its height." (Braudel 1985 p. 143. Antwerp's "Golden Age" is tightly linked to the "Age of Exploration". Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second largest European city north of the Alps by 1560. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city. Guicciardini, the Venetian envoy, stated that hundreds of ships would pass in a day, and 2000 carts entered the city each week. Portuguese ships laden with pepper and cinnamon would unload their cargo.Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp was foreigner-controlled, which made the city very international, with merchants and traders from Venice, Ragusa, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large orthodox Jewish (hasidic) community. Antwerp was not a "free" city though, since it had been reabsorbed into the duchy of Brabant in 1406 and was controlled from Brussels. 16th-century Guildhouses at the Grote MarktAntwerp experienced three booms during its century, the first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), and a third boom, after the stabilising Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in 1559, based on the textiles industry. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers.The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Netherlands. The regent Margaret, duchess of Parma was swept aside when Philip II sent the Duke of Alva at the head of an army the following summer.When the Eighty Years' War broke out in 1572, commercial trading between Antwerp and the Spanish port of Bilbao was not possible. On November 4, 1576, the Spanish soldiers plundered the city. During the Spanish Fury 6000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down, and over two millions sterling of damage was done.Antwerp became the capital of the Dutch revolt. In 1585 Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza captured it after a long siege and sent its Protestant citizens into exile. Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by Genoa and Amsterdam became the new trading centre. Antwerp |  |
Más sobre Antwerp siege (1585)
38: Amterdam Bourse Exchange (1602)
| The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest in the world. It was established in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or "VOC") for dealings in its printed stocks and bonds. It was subsequently renamed the Amsterdam Bourse and was the first to formally begin trading in securities. Amsterdam Exhange |  |
Más sobre Amterdam Bourse Exchange (1602)
39: Beemster Polder (1610)
| Around 800 AD the area of the modern municipality of Beemster was covered in peat. The name "Beemster" has been derived from "Bamestra" (see Groenedijk, 2000), the name of a small river in the area. In the period 1150-1250 peat-digging by people, and storm floods, enlarged that small river into an inland sea, a lake in open connection with the Zuiderzee. Around 1605 private investors started to drain the Beemster lake. In 1610, this was almost complete, but the lake re-filled because of a break in the Zuiderzee dikes. It was decided to make the ring-dike a meter high above the surrounding country. In 1612 the polder was dry and the country was divided among the investors. In the earlier days of the polder, farmers occupied its lands for growing the crops necessary for long sea journeys by the VOC to the East Indies. It turned out that the farmland was so good that the project was considered then to be an economic success, in contrast to e.g. the Heerhugowaard. Since 1999 the entire Beemster polder has been on the UNESCO world heritage list. Beemster Polder |  |
Más sobre Beemster Polder (1610)
40: Pilgrims (1617)
| The success of the congregation in Leiden was mixed. Leiden was a thriving industrial center, [13] and many members were well able to support themselves working at Leiden University or in the textile, printing and brewing trades. Others were less able to bring in sufficient income, hampered by their rural backgrounds and the language barrier; for those, accommodations were made on an estate bought by Robinson and three partners. [14]Brewster had been teaching English at the university, and in 1615, Robinson enrolled to pursue his doctorate. There, he participated in a series of debates, particularly regarding the contentious issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism (siding with Calvin). Brewster, in a venture financed by Thomas Brewer, acquired typesetting equipment about 1616 and began publishing the debates through a local press. [15]By 1617, although the congregation was stable and relatively secure, there were ongoing issues that needed to be resolved.Bradford noted that the congregation was aging, compounding the difficulties some had in supporting themselves. Some, having spent through their savings, gave up and returned to England. It was feared that more would follow and that the congregation would become unsustainable. The employment issues made it unattractive for others to come to Leiden, and younger members had begun leaving to find employment and adventure elsewhere. Also compelling was the possibility of missionary work, an opportunity that rarely arose in a Protestant stronghold Pilgrims in Leiden |  |
Más sobre Pilgrims (1617)
41: Tulips (1637)
| The tulip, introduced to Europe in the middle of the 16th century from Ottoman Turkey, experienced a strong growth in popularity in the United Provinces (now the Netherlands), boosted by competition between members of the upper classes for possession of the rarest tulips. Competition escalated until prices reached very high levels.Tulip cultivation in the United Provinces is thought to have started in 1593, when Charles de L'Ecluse first bred tulips able to tolerate the harsher conditions of the Low Countries from bulbs sent to him from Turkey by Ogier de Busbecq. The flower rapidly became a coveted luxury item and a status symbol. Special breeds were given exotic names or named after Dutch naval admirals. The most spectacular and highly sought-after tulips had vivid colors, lines, and flames on the petals as a result of being infected with a tulip-specific virus known as the Tulip Breaking potyvirusThe term tulip mania (alternatively tulipomania) is used metaphorically to refer to any large economic bubble. The term originally came from the period in the history of the Netherlands during which demand for tulip bulbs reached such a peak that enormous prices were charged for a single bulb. It took place in the first part of the 17th century, especially in 1636-37. Tulip Mania |  |
Más sobre Tulips (1637)
42: Rembrandt House (1645)
| Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 or 1607â?? October 4, 1669) is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. He also made superb drawings. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age Rembrandt |  |
Más sobre Rembrandt House (1645)
43: Battle of Leghorn (First Anglo-Dutch War, 1653)
| The naval Battle of Leghorn (the Dutch call the encounter by the Italian name Livorno) took place on 14 March 1653, during the First Anglo-Dutch War, near Leghorn (Livorno), Italy. It was a victory of a Dutch fleet under Commodore Johan van Galen over an English squadron under Captain Henry Appleton. Afterward an English fleet under Richard Badiley, which Appleton had been trying to reach, came up but was outnumbered and fled.In 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of England, mistakenly believing that the Dutch had been defeated at the Battle of the Kentish Knock, split their fleet between the Mediterranean and home waters. This division of forces led to a defeat at the Battle of Dungeness in December 1652, and by early 1653 the situation in the Mediterranean was critical too. Appleton's squadron of six ships was trapped in Leghorn by a blockading Dutch fleet of 16 ships, while Richard Badiley's of eight was at Elba.The only hope for the English was to combine their forces, but Appleton sailed too soon and engaged with the Dutch before Badiley could come up to help. Three of his ships were captured and two destroyed and only Mary, sailing faster than the Dutch ships, escaped to join Badiley. Badiley engaged the Dutch, but was heavily outnumbered and retreated.The battle gave the Dutch command of the Mediterranean, placing the English trade with the Levant at their mercy, but Van Galen was mortally wounded, dying on 23 March.One of the Dutch captains at the battle was Cornelis Tromp, later a famous admiral. Battle of Leghorn |  |
Más sobre Battle of Leghorn (First Anglo-Dutch War, 1653)
44: Spinoza - Amsterdam (1656)
| Benedictus de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 â?? February 21, 1677), named Baruch Spinoza (Hebrew: ×?ר×?×? שפ×?× ×?×?×?) by his synagogue elders, known as Bento de Espinosa or Bento d'Espiñoza in his native Amsterdam, was a Jewish-Dutch philosopher. He is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy and, by virtue of his magnum opus the Ethics, one of the definitive ethicists. His writings, like those of his fellow rationalists, reveal considerable mathematical training and facility. Spinoza was a lens crafter by trade, an exciting engineering field at the time because of great discoveries being made by telescopes. The full impact of his work only took effect some time after his death, after publication of his Opera Posthuma. He is now recognized as having laid the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment, and as a founder of modern biblical criticism. 20th century philosopher Gilles Deleuze referred to Spinoza as "The absolute philosopher, whose Ethics is the foremost book on concepts" (Deleuze, 1990). Baruch Spinoza |  |
Más sobre Spinoza - Amsterdam (1656)
45: Raid on the Medway (Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1667)
| The Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of Medway or the Battle of Chatham, was a successful Dutch attack on English ships and dockyards that took place in June 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, under nominal command of Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, bombarded Sheerness, went up the River Thames to Gravesend, then up the River Medway to Chatham, where they burnt four capital ships, and towed away the Royal Charles, pride and normal flagship of the English fleet. Raid on the Medway- De Ruyter |  |
Más sobre Raid on the Medway (Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1667)
46: Country Estates along the Vecht (17c)
| If you take a trip on or alongside the Vecht, you will come across a great many country mansions, real palaces with magnificent gardens. This concentration along the river illustrates the immense wealth of Amsterdam in the Golden Age. Most of the mansions were built in the seventeenth century, some later. Wealthy merchants liked to escape the town in the summer months and enjoy the natural surroundings along the Vecht. Such escapes went hand in hand with large-scale relocations, usually by barge. The staff was moved as well as part of the household stocks â?? everyone and everything was brought along. The men visited occasionally as they had to spend a lot of time working in town even over the summer months. Goudestein is a textbook example of what happened to country mansions. In 1608, the Amsterdam merchant Jan Jacobszoon Huydekoper bought a large farmstead in Maarssen. His son Joan, a very important man in Amsterdam â?? he was, among other things, elected mayor on several occasions â?? subsequently had the Goudestein mansion built in 1628. In 1754 the seventeenth-century house was knocked down and replaced by the current palace. Up until the twentieth century the Huydekopers continued to live in the mansion. Then, in 1955, the municipality bought it and converted it into the town hall. The influential people from Amsterdam invited many guests to their country retreats: friends from their social circle, as well as artists and intellectuals. The famous poet and scholar Constantijn Huygens stayed at Goudestein in 1656 and apparently he enjoyed himself, for he wrote three spirited poems about the mansion. The gardens of the houses were lovely and often still are today. They were inspired by the formal French style of landscaping, with tight geometric patterns. From this starting point, a new Dutch style evolved: ordered and geometric but with baroque elements and playful additions like theekoepels (tea house gazebos), canals, water attractions and mazes. Needless to say, everyone wanted their garden to be a showpiece and each was more beautiful than the last. The summer life in the country mansions of the aristocracy continued in the eighteenth century, although the economy in the Netherlands was slowing down. The wealthy families, however, were still able to live off their capital. Today, most of the country mansions are no longer owned by individuals. Instead they have become tourist attractions, prestigious business premises and venues for parties. Country Estates along the Vecht |  |
Más sobre Country Estates along the Vecht (17c)
47: Christiaan Huygens (1670)
| Huygens, Christiaan (1629-1695) Dutch physicist who was the leading proponent of the wave theory of light. The wave theory, however, was supported by the observation that two intersecting beams of light did not bounce off each other as would be expected if they were composed of particles. In contradiction to Newton, Huygens correctly believed that light must travel more slowly when it is refracted towards the normal, although this was not proven until experiments by Foucault in the nineteenth century. Huygens also made important contributions to mechanics, stating that in a collision between bodies, neither loses nor gains "motion" (his term for momentum ). He stated that the center of gravity moves uniformly in a straight line, and gave the expression for centrifugal force as Additionally, he studied pendula. He discovered Titan and was the first to correctly identify the observed elongation of Saturn as the presence of Saturn's rings. Huygens was also the mentor of Leibniz in math and mechanics. Huygens |  |
Más sobre Christiaan Huygens (1670)
48: Gevengenpoort- DeWitt (1672)
| Johan de Witt (September 24, 1625, Dordrechtâ??August 20, 1672, The Hague) was a significant Dutch political figure.In 1650 he was appointed leader of the deputation of Dordrecht to the States of Holland, the same year stadtholder William II of Orange died. De Witt became, as raadpensionaris (Grand Pensionary), the factual leader of this governing body in 1653. Controlling Holland, the most powerful province, he ruled the Republic of the United Provinces as a whole. He applied his mathematical knowledge to the Republic's financial and budgetary problems.Johan de Witt brought about peace with England after the First Anglo-Dutch War with the Treaty of Westminster in the year 1654. The peace treaty had a secret annex, the Act of Seclusion, forbidding the Dutch ever to appoint William II's infant son as new stadtholder. He bolstered his policy by publicly endorsing the theory of republicanism. De Witt's power base was the wealthy merchant class. The people supporting him were called the "States faction", opposed by the "Orange faction" that was popular among the artisan class. This antagonism paralleled a division between moderate and intolerant Calvinists. In the period following the Treaty of Westminster the Republic increased in wealth and influence under De Witt's leadership. De Witt created a strong navy, appointing one of his political cronies, Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, as supreme commander of the confederate fleet. Later De Witt became a personal friend of Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The Second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665, lasting until 1667 when it ended with the Treaty of Breda, in which De Witt negotiated very favorable agreements for the Republic after the partial destruction of the British fleet in the Raid on the Medway, originally conceived by De Witt himself. At that moment The Republic was one of the Great Powers, dominating world trade and thereby the wealthiest nation in the world.His pro-French policy however would prove to be his undoing. In the Dutch rampjaar (disaster year) of 1672, when France and England during the Franco-Dutch War (Third Anglo-Dutch War) attacked the Republic, the orangists took power by force and expelled him. Recovering from an earlier attempt on his life in June, he was assassinated by a carefully organised lynch "mob" after visiting his brother Cornelis de Witt in prison. He was decoyed into this trap by a forged letter, victim of a conspiracy by the orangists Johan Kievit and Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp. He was killed by a shot in the neck; his naked body was hanged and mutilated and the heart was carved out to be exhibited. His brother was shot, stabbed, eviscerated alive, hanged naked, brained and partially eaten. The latter's heart was exhibited for many years next to his brother's by Dirck Verhoeff. Nowadays most historians assume that his adversary and successor as leader of the government stadtholder William III of Orange was involved. At the very least he protected and rewarded the killers. DeWitt |  |
Más sobre Gevengenpoort- DeWitt (1672)
49: Battle of Texel (Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1673)
| The naval Battle of Texel took place on 11 August 1673 (New Style) between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets and was the last major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), during which Louis XIV of France sought to establish control over the Spanish Netherlands and invaded the Republic. The English involvement came about because of treaty obligations (the secret Treaty of Dover) and was highly unpopular.The overall commanders of the English and Dutch military forces were Lord High Admiral James, Duke of York, afterwards King James II of England, and Admiral-General William III of Orange, James' son-in-law and also a future King of England. Neither of them took part in the fight. The Battle of Texel was joined when a Dutch fleet sought to oppose the landing of troops by a combined Anglo-French fleet. Battle of Texel |  |
Más sobre Battle of Texel (Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1673)
50: Van Leewenhoek Microscopy (Delft, 1674)
| Antony [1] (October 24, 1632 - August 30, 1723), full name Thonius Philips van Leeuwenhoek (pronounced 'vahn Laywenhook') was a Dutch tradesman and scientist from Delft, Netherlands. He is commonly known as "the Father of Microbiology". Born the son of a basket maker, at age 16 he secured an apprenticeship with a Scottish cloth merchant in Amsterdam. He is best known for his work on the improvement of the microscope and for his contributions towards the establishment of microbiology. Using his handcrafted microscopes he was the first to observe and describe single celled organisms, which he originally referred to as animalcules, and which we now refer to as microorganisms. He was also the first to record microscopic observations of muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries (small blood vessels).Van Leeuwenhoek's early discoveries in the field of microbiology can be likened to Galileo's early discoveries in the field of astronomy. Both men used the newly improved optical technologies of their day to make major discoveries that entirely overturned traditional beliefs and theories in their respective fields, and both men were initially met with strong skepticism and resistance to the inevitable conclusions that their discoveries led to. Ultimately van Leeuwenhoek was more fortunate than Galileo in that his discoveries were eventually widely accepted and applauded in his lifetime, whereas Galileo's were not Van Leewenhoek |  |
Más sobre Van Leewenhoek Microscopy (Delft, 1674)
51: William III, Glorious Revolution (1688)
| William III of England (The Hague,14 November 1650 â?? Hampton Court, 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, Stadtholder of the United Netherlands from 28 June 1672, King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11 April 1689, in each case until his death.Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish Crowns following the Glorious Revolution, during which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In England, Scotland and Ireland, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death on 28 December 1694. He reigned as 'William II' in Scotland, but 'William III' in all his other realms. Among Unionists in Northern Ireland, he is also informally known as King Billy.William III was appointed to the Dutch post of Stadtholder on 28 June 1672, and remained in office until he died. In that context, he is sometimes referred to as 'William Henry, Prince of Orange', as a translation of his Dutch title, Willem Hendrik, Prins van Oranje. A Protestant, William participated in many wars against the powerful King Louis XIV of France. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith; it was partly due to such a reputation that he was able to take the crown of England, many of whose people were intensely fearful of Catholicism and the papacy, although other reasons for his success might be his army and a fleet even larger than the famed Spanish Armada. His reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal control of government of the Stuarts to the Parliamentary type rule of the House of Hanover. William and Mary |  |
Más sobre William III, Glorious Revolution (1688)
52: Peter the Great- St. Petersburg (1700)
| Peter knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697, he traveled to Europe incognito with a large Russian delegationâ??the so-called "Grand Embassy"â??to seek the aid of the European monarchs. Peter's hopes were dashed; France was a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and Austria was eager to maintain peace in the east whilst conducting its own wars in the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen the most inopportune moment; the Europeans at the time were more concerned about who would succeed the childless Spanish King Charles II than about fighting the Ottoman Sultan.The "Grand Embassy", although failing to complete the mission of creating an anti-Ottoman alliance, still continued to travel across Europe. In visiting England, the Holy Roman Empire and France, Peter learned much about Western culture. He studied shipbuilding in Deptford seeing a Fleet Review, Royal Navy in 1700, Amsterdam and Zaandam, and artillery in Königsberg. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and expert on Russia par excellence, the Tsar was given the opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest private shipyard in the world, belonging to the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam, for a period of four months. The Tsar helped with the construction of an Eastindiaman especially laid down for him: Peter and Paul. During his stay in the Netherlands the tsar engaged, with the help of Russian and Dutch assistants, many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights and seamen. The best-known sailor who made the journey from the Netherlands to Russia was Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became the Tsar's most important advisor in maritime affairs. Peter the Great |  |
Más sobre Peter the Great- St. Petersburg (1700)
53: Marais Marsh (1598)
| The XIV and XV centuries will see these elaborated works almost completely destroyed during the "hundred years war" and the various religious wars that followed, bringing the monks efforts to almost nothing, first of all by lack of up keep of the dikes, then because of destruction by protestans fighting the catholic monks. Huguenot territory by choice, close by LA ROCHELLE, the Marais soon became a ugly battlefield where Henry IV troops often clashed with his catholic enemy.Towards the end of the conflict, the king, juging the extend of the desaster, and assured of a certain peace over the territory, looks for people capable of rebuilding the water systems of the Marais. The local Abbeys, the lords living in and nearby, the French kingdom itself have been all weakened by the bloody struggle and Dutch people, huguenot themselves, are seeked to move down and take over the monks'work. They bring along not only their skill (the consulting engineer Humphrey Bradley will be elevated to the rank of Dikes and Canals Master of France) but also provide the necessary money. Marais de Poitevin |  |
Más sobre Marais Marsh (1598)
54: Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia 1609)
| The Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC), chartered in 1602, concentrated Dutch trade efforts under one directorate with a unified policy. In 1605 armed Dutch merchantmen captured the Portuguese fort at Amboyna in the Moluccas, which was developed into the first secure base of the VOC. The Twelve Year's Truce signed in Antwerp in 1609 called a halt to formal hostilities between Spain (which controlled Portugal and its territories at the time) and the United Provinces. In the Indies, the foundation of Batavia formed the permanent center from which Dutch enterprises, more mercantile than colonial, could be coordinated. From it "the Dutch wove the immense web of traffic and exchange which would eventually make up their empire, a fragile and flexible one built, like the Portuguese empire, 'on the Phoenician model'." (Braudel 1984, p. 215)One after another the Dutch took the great trading ports of the East Indies: Malacca in 1641; Achem (Aceh) the native kingdom in Sumatra, 1667; Macassar, 1669; finally Bantam itself, 1682. At the same time connections in the ports of India provided the printed cottons that the Dutch traded for pepper, the staple of the spice trade.The greatest source of wealth in the East Indies, Fernand Braudel has noted, was the trade within the archipelago, what the Dutch called inlandse handel, where one commodity was exchanged for another, with profit at each turn, with silver from the Americas, more desirable in the East than in Europe.By concentrating on monopolies in the fine spices, Dutch policy encouraged monoculture: Amboyna for cloves, Timor for sandalwood, the Bandas for mace and nutmeg, Ceylon for cinnamon. Monoculture linked island economies to the mercantile system to provide the missing necessities of life. Dutch East Indies |  |
Más sobre Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia 1609)
55: Fort Orange- Albany (1624)
| Fort Orange (Dutch: Fort Oranje or Fort Oranije) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland. It was a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built in 1614 on nearby Castle Island in the Hudson River and which served as a trading post until 1617, when it was abandoned due to frequent flooding. Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau.Fort Orange was a small wooden structure, erected in 1624 by the Dutch West India Company as a fur trading post on the west bank of the Hudson River, just south of the where the city of Albany now stands. It became the company's official outpost in the upper Hudson Valley, similar to the company's many other headquarters throughout their worldwide trading empire. Fort Orange - Albany |  |
Más sobre Fort Orange- Albany (1624)
56: New Amsterdam (1624)
| New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) was the name of the 17th century town which grew outside of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island in the New Netherland territory (1614â??1674) which was situated between 38 and 42 degrees latitude as a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic since 1624. Provincial possession of the territory was accomplished with the first settlement which was established on Governors Island in 1624. A year later, in 1625, construction of a citadel comprising Fort Amsterdam was commenced. Earlier, the harbor and the river had been discovered, explored and charted by an expedition of the Dutch East India Company captained by Henry Hudson in 1609. From 1611 through 1614, the territory was surveyed and charted by various private commercial companies on behalf of the States General of the Dutch Republic and operated for the interests of private commercial entities prior to official possession as a North American extension of the Dutch Republic as an overseas province in 1624.The town of New Amsterdam became a city when it received municipal rights in 1653 and was unilaterally reincorporated as New York City in June 1665. The town was founded by New Netherland's second director, Willem Verhulst who, together with his council, selected Manhattan Island as the optimal place for permanent settlement in 1625. That year, military engineer and surveyor Cryn Fredericksz van Lobbrecht laid out a citadel with Fort Amsterdam as centerpiece. To secure the settlers' property and its surroundings according to Dutch law, the third director, Peter Minuit, created a deed with the Manhattan Indians in 1626 which offically authorized legal possession of Manhattan according to Dutch law.The city, situated on the strategic, fortifiable southern tip of the island of Manhattan was to maintain New Netherland's provincial integrity by defending river access to the company's fur trade operations in the North River, later named Hudson River. Furthermore, it was entrusted to safeguard the West India Company's exclusive access to New Netherland's other two estuaries; the Delaware River and the Connecticut River. New Amsterdam developed into the largest Dutch colonial settlement in the New Netherland province, now the New York Tri-State Region, and remained a Dutch possession until August 1664, when it fell provisionally into the hands of the English.The Dutch Republic regained it in August 1673 with a fleet of 21 ships, renaming the city "New Orange". New Netherland was ceded permanently to the English in November 1674 in the Treaty of Westminster. The 1625 date of the founding of New Amsterdam is now commemorated in the Official Seal of the City of New York (formerly, the year on the seal was 1664, the year of the provisional Articles of Transfer, ensuring New Netherlanders that they "shall keep and enjoy the liberty of their consciences in religion", negotiated with the English by Petrus Stuyvesant and his council) New Amsterdam |
Más sobre New Amsterdam (1624)
57: Recife- Prince Maurits (1627)
| John Maurice of Nassau , 1604-1679, was count and since 1674 prince of Nassau-Siegen, the oldest brother of Dutch stadtholder William "the Silent" of Orange.John Maurice joined the Dutch army in 1621, at a very early age. He distinguished himself in the campaigns of his cousin, the stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. In 1626 he became captain. He was involved in 1629 in the capture of Den Bosch. In 1636, he conquered a fortress at Schenkenschans.He was appointed as the governor of the Dutch possessions in Brazil in 1637 by the Dutch West India Company on recommendation of Frederick Henry. He landed at Recife, the port of Pernambuco and the chief stronghold of the Dutch, in January 1637. Prince Maurits |  |
Más sobre Recife- Prince Maurits (1627)
58: Batavia Ship (1628)
| The Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), built in 1628 in Amsterdam, which was struck by mutiny and shipwreck during her maiden voyage. It had 24 cast-iron cannons. Batavia is also the name of a replica of the same ship. Batavia Ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) |  |
Más sobre Batavia Ship (1628)
59: Fort Zeelandia, Formosa (Taiwan 1635)
| After the attempt to conquer Macao in 1622, the Dutch settled in the Pescadores islands (building a fort in Makung) between Formosa and China. In 1624 a Chinese attack compelled them to move on nearby Formosa. They founded the castle of Zeelandia in 1624 on an island near the southwest coast of Formosa.Soon, the Dutch settlements had a vast commercial success.In response to the Dutch, the Spaniards landed on the north side of the island and built, in 1626, a fort at Keelung called "La Sanctissima Trinidad" or "San Salvador" and another at Tamsui (Fort San Domingo). In 1629, they were garrisoned by 200 Spaniards and 400 Filipinos.In the year of 1637 the Dutch took possession of the village Favorolang and enlarged the VOC territory.The Spaniards evacuated Tamsui in 1635, but Keelung remained in Spanish hands until 1642. In that year, a Dutch expedition totaling 11 ships and 1000 men attacked the Spanish fort and forced them to surrender. At this time there were in the fort 115 Spaniards and the total population of the settlement was 446. Name |  |
Más sobre Fort Zeelandia, Formosa (Taiwan 1635)
60: Elmina Castle, Ghanna (1637)
| Elmina Castle (also St. George El Mina Castle; in Portuguese Castelo de São Jorge de Mina) was built in 1482 by the Portuguese as the first trading post in the Gulf of Guinea at present-day Elmina, Ghana.The construction was the result of an expedition commanded by the King Afonso V of Portugal and led by Diogo de Azambuja, who departed from Lisbon on December 12, 1481, with eleven ships and 700 men. Diogo de Azambuja remained as captain of the fort (controlling the area around it) until 1484. The main interest of the Portuguese was to gain control over the gold trade of Mina.With the rise of the Atlantic slave trade the fort gained importance as a depot where slaves were held captive before being transported to the New World.In 1637 the fort was taken over by the Dutch, who made it the capital (also called Fort Conraadsburg, Fort de Veer, Fort Java, Fort Scomarus, and Fort Naglas) of Dutch Guinea. In 1872 it was taken by the British.It is reported to be the oldest existent European building south of the Sahara. The present-day castle is a mixture of Portuguese and Dutch styles. The castle is recognized by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Monument. Other Slave Castles include Cape Coast Castle and Castle Saint Jago. Dutch and Slavery Elmina Castle |  |
Más sobre Elmina Castle, Ghanna (1637)
61: Cape Town (1652)
| The land around the cape was home to the Khoikhoi (Hottentot) people when the Dutch first settled there in 1652. The Khoikhoi had arrived in these parts about fifteen hundred years before.Dutch colonial administrator Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company some 50km north of the cape in Table Bay on April 6, 1652 and this eventually developed into Cape Town. Supplies of fresh food were vital on the long journey around Africa and Cape Town became known as "The Tavern of the Seas".On December 31, 1687 a band of Huguenots arrived at the Cape from the Netherlands. They had escaped to the Netherlands from France in order to flee religious persecution there, examples of these are Pierre Joubert who came from La Motte-d'Aigues for religious reasons. The Dutch East India Company needed skilled farmers at the Cape of Good Hope and the Dutch Government saw opportunities for the Huguenots at the Cape and sent them over. The colony gradually grew over the next 150 years or so until it stretched for hundreds of kilometres to the north and north-east. A triangular postage stamp from the Cape of Good Hope.The United Kingdom invaded and occupied the Cape Colony in 1795 ("The First Occupation") but relinquished control of the territory in 1803. However, British forces returned on January 19, 1806 and occupied the Cape once again ("The Second Occupation"). The territory was ceded to the UK in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 and was henceforth administered as the Cape Colony. It remained a British colony until incorporated into the independent Union of South Africa in 1910 (now known as the Republic of South Africa). Cape Town |  |
Más sobre Cape Town (1652)
62: Dutch Ceylon (1658)
| The Dutch first landed in Ceylon in 1602, then under Portuguese control, and by 1658 had completely ousted the Portuguese from the island. The Portuguese had ruled the coastline though not the interior of the island from 1505 to 1658. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims had all suffered religious persecution under Portuguese rule; the Dutch proved more interested in trade than in religious converts. Ceylon remained a very large Dutch trading post until it was seized by the British in 1796. Ceylon's importance came from it being a half-way point between their settlements in Indonesia and South Africa. Dutch Empire |  |
Más sobre Dutch Ceylon (1658)
63: Nagasaki, Japan (1720)
| The Shimabara rebellion also convinced many policy-makers that foreign influences were more trouble than they were worth. The Portuguese, who had been previously living on a specially-constructed island-prison in Nagasaki harbor called Deshima, were expelled from the archipelago altogether, and the Dutch were moved from their base at Hirado into the trading island. In 1720 the ban on Dutch books was lifted, causing hundreds of scholars to flood into Nagasaki to study European science and art. Consequently, Nagasaki became a major center of rangaku, or "Dutch Learning". During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate governed the city, appointing a hatamoto, the Nagasaki bugyÅ, as its chief administrator. Dutch East Indies- Japan |  |
Más sobre Nagasaki, Japan (1720)
64: Mohawk Valley (1730)
| The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York includes the industrialized cities of Utica and Rome, along with other smaller commercial centers. The 5,882 square mile (15,234 km²) area is an important agricultural center and encompasses the heavily forested wilderness areas just to the north that are part of New York's Adirondack Park.The Mohawk River is a natural passageway connecting the Atlantic Ocean, by way of the Hudson Valley with the interior of North America. Indian Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy lived in the region, and in the 1700s immigrants of German, Dutch and Scottish settled the area. During the 18th Century, the Mohawk Valley was a frontier of great political, military and economic importance. Colonists, such as Phillip Schuyler, Nicholas Herkimer, William Johnson, trading with the Iroquois set the stage for commercial and military competition between European nations, leading to the French and Indian Wars and the American Revolution. Almost 100 battles of the American Revolution were fought in New York State, including the Battle of Oriskany and defense of Fort Stanwix. A series of raids against valley residents took place during the war; led by John Johnson they were collectively known as the "Burning of the Valleys".The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 as the first commercial connection between the American East and West. Fort Klock Mohawk Valley |  |
Más sobre Mohawk Valley (1730)
65: Holland Michigan (1847)
| Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte, who were escaping from persecution in The Netherlands. Van Raalte chose the land due to its proximity to the Black River where it streamed to Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) which, in turn, led to Lake Michigan. The land was inhabited by the Ottawa, which after a cultural clash with the new Dutch settlers relocated to Northport, Michigan. In Holland's early history, Van Raalte was a spiritual leader, as well as overseeing political, educational and financial matters. In 1847 Van Raalte established a congregation of the Reformed Church in America, which would later be called the First Reformed Church of Holland. In 1867, Holland was incorporated as a city with Isaac Cappon being the city's first mayor. Holland Michigan |  |
Más sobre Holland Michigan (1847)
66: Orange City, Iowa (1870)
| Orange City can trace its roots to a second Dutch migration to the New World, this time to the Midwest in the 19th century. A religious revival, accompanied by a desire for freedom of religious expression and for a better life in general, led thousands of Dutch Reformed people to immigrate to the United States. Their best-known colonies were Holland, Mich., and Pella, Iowa, both begun in 1847. Most of these immigrants soon joined the Reformed Church in America (RCA). In the 1870s, some Pella residents, led by the enterprising Henry Hospers, moved to inexpensive, fertile lands in northwest Iowa, about 40 miles north of Sioux City, and established Orange City. Name |  |
Más sobre Orange City, Iowa (1870)
67: Hyde Park- FDR (1940)
| Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in what was then the second floor tower bedroom at the south end of the house. At the time, it functioned as the master bedroom; the bedroom which he and later his sons used during boyhood is nearby on the same floor. After marrying Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905, the young couple moved in with his mother. The estate remained the center of Roosevelt's life in all stages of his career. During his presidency alone, he came for almost 200 visits. The estate functioned as a "Summer White House", where the president hosted his political associates as well as other prominent national and international figures. In June 1939, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made the first visit of a reigning British monarch to the United States, they were hosted at Springwood. Franklin D. Roosevelt used the estate as a retreat for himself and his political associates on the eves of all elections in which he ran for president. When the incoming results indicated that he had won the election, he would go outside onto the front terrace to deliver his acceptance speech. Franklin D. Roosevelt made his last visit to Springwood in the last week of March 1945, about two weeks before his death. At his own wish, he was buried near the sundial in the Rose Garden on April 15, 1945. His wife was buried at his side after her death in 1962. Hyde Park FDR |  |
Más sobre Hyde Park- FDR (1940)
68: Catholic Church Vatican (1506)
| Michaelangelo's dome (St. Peter's Basilica) is also the dominant feature of the Roman skyline. Saint Peter's Basilica incidentally is also the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople whereas the Lateran Basilica is the patriarchal basilica of Rome. Possibly the largest church in Christianity (see Yamoussoukro), it covers an area of 23,000 m² (5.7 acres) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom in the Catholic tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of basilica namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome. Although the New Testament does not mention Peter either in Rome, or martyred there, ancient tradition holds that his tomb is below the baldachino and altar; for this reason, many Popes, starting with the first ones, have been buried there. Construction on the current basilica began on April 18, 1506 and was completed in 1626, and was built over the Constantinian basilica.[1] St. Peter's Basilica |  |
Más sobre Catholic Church Vatican (1506)
69: Martin Luther (Wittenberg, Germany 1517)
| On 31 October 1517 Luther wrote to Albert, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the sale of indulgences in his episcopal territories and inviting him to a disputation on the matter. He enclosed the 95 Theses, a copy of which, according to tradition, he posted the same day on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Martin Luther |  |
Más sobre Martin Luther (Wittenberg, Germany 1517)
70: Geneva-John Calvin (1541)
| John Calvin had been exiled from Geneva because he and his colleagues, namely William Farel and Antoine Froment, were accused of wanting to create a "new papacy." Thus, he went to Strasbourg during the time of the Ottoman wars and passed through the Cantons of Switzerland. While in Geneva, William Farel asked Calvin to help him with the cause of the Church. Calvin wrote of Farel's request, "I felt as if God from heaven had laid his mighty hand upon me to stop me in my course." Together with Farel, Calvin attempted to institute a number of changes to the city's governance and religious life. They drew up a catechism and a confession of faith, which they insisted all citizens must affirm. The city council refused to adopt Calvin and Farel's creed, and in January 1538 denied them the power to excommunicate, a power they saw as critical to their work. The pair responded with a blanket denial of the Lord's Supper to all Genevans at Easter services. For this the city council expelled them from the city. Farel travelled to Neuchâtel, Calvin to Strasbourg.For three years Calvin served as a lecturer and pastor to a church of French Huguenots in Strasbourg. It was during his exile that Calvin married Idelette de Bure. He also came under the influence of Martin Bucer, who advocated a system of political and ecclesiastical structure along New Testament lines. He continued to follow developments in Geneva, and when Jacopo Sadoleto, a Catholic cardinal, penned an open letter to the city council inviting Geneva to return to the mother church, Calvin's response on behalf of embattled Genevan Protestants helped him to regain the respect he had lost. After a number of Calvin's supporters won election to the Geneva city council, he was invited back to the city in 1540, and having negotiated concessions such as the formation of the Consistory, he returned in 1541.Upon his return, armed with the authority to craft the institutional form of the church, Calvin began his program of reform. John Calvin |  |
Más sobre Geneva-John Calvin (1541)
71: Iconoclastic Fury (Steenvoorde Belgium 1566)
| It was the iconoclasm of 1566 (the Beeldenstorm) â?? the demolition of statues and paintings depicting saints â?? that led to religious war between Catholics and Protestants. The Beeldenstorm started in what is now French Flanders with open-air sermons (hagepreken) in Dutch. The first took place on the Cloostervelt near Hondschoote. The first large sermon was held near Boeschepe on July 12, 1562. These open-air sermons, mostly of Anabaptist or Mennonite signature, spread through the country. On August 10, 1566 at the end of the pilgrimage from Hondschoote to Steenvoorde, the chapel of the Sint-Laurensklooster (Cloister of Saint Lawrence) was defaced by Protestants. The iconoclasm resulted not only in the destruction of Catholic art, but also cost the lives of many priests. It next spread to Antwerp, and on August 22, to Ghent. One cathedral, eight churches, twenty-five cloisters, ten hospitals and seven chapels were attacked. From there, it further spread east and north, but in total lasted not even a month. Iconoclastic Fury- Steenvoorde Flanders |  |
Más sobre Iconoclastic Fury (Steenvoorde Belgium 1566)
72: Edict of Nantes (1598)
| The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant French Calvinists (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. The main concern was civil unity, and the Edict separated civil from religious unity, treated some Protestants for the first time as more than mere schismatics and heretics, and opened a path for secularism and tolerance. In offering general freedom of conscience to individuals, the edict offered many specific concessions to the Protestants: amnesty, the reinstatement of their civil rights, including the right to work in any field or for the State and to bring grievances directly to the king.The Edict also granted the Protestants fifty military strongholds (places de sureté), such as La Rochelle which the king paid 180,000 écus a year for along with a further 150 emergency forts (places de refuges) to be maintained at the Huguenots own expense. Such an innovative act of toleration stood virtually alone in a Europe where standard practice involved forcing the subjects of a ruler to follow whatever religion that the ruler formally adopted â?? the application of the principle of cuius regio, eius religio.The Edict aimed primarily to end the long-running, disruptive French Wars of Religion. Henry IV also had personal reasons for supporting the Edict. Prior to assuming the throne in 1589 he himself had espoused Protestantism, and he remained sympathetic to the Protestant cause: he had converted only in 1593 in order to secure his position as king, famously allegedly saying "Paris is worth a Mass". The Edict succeeded in restoring peace and internal unity to France for many years. Edict of Nantes |  |
Más sobre Edict of Nantes (1598)
73: s'Hertogenbosch (Catholic City in Eighty Years War 1629)
| The city's official name is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch - "the Duke's forest". The duke in question was Henry I, Duke of Brabant, whose house then for at least four centuries had had a large estate at nearby Orthen. He founded a new town located on some afforested dunes in the middle of a marsh. At age 26, he granted 's-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is however the traditional date given by later chroniclers; the first mention in contemporaneous sources is in 1196. The original charter has been lost. His reason for doing so was to protect his own interest against Gelre and Holland: the city from the very beginning was conceived as fortress town. It was destroyed in 1203 by a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland but soon rebuilt. Of the original stone city walls still some remnants can be seen. Around 1475 a much larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat; through them the rivers Dommel and Aa were led. Townhall.Until 1520, the city flourished: it then was the second largest population centre at the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. It was also the birthplace and home of one of the greatest painters of the northern renaissance, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 â?? 1516). The wars of the reformation would soon change the course of the city. It became an independent bishopric. During the Eighty Years' War the city took the side of the Habsburg authorities. A calvinist coup was thwarted. It was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of Holland, who wanted to put 's-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. Afterwards the fortifications were greatly expanded. As the surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, the fortress was deemed impregnable and nicknamed the Marsh Dragon. The town was nevertheless finally conquered by Frederik Hendrik of Orange in 1629 in a typically Dutch way: he diverted the rivers Dommel and Aa, created a polder by constructing a forty kilometre dyke and then pumped out the water by mills. After a siege of three months the city had to surrender, an enormous blow to Habsburg strategy during the Thirty Years' War. This cut the town off from the rest of the duchy. The area was treated by the Republic as an occupation zone without political liberties. The fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV. In 1794, French revolutionary troops under command of Charles Pichegru took the city with hardly a fight Name |  |
Más sobre s'Hertogenbosch (Catholic City in Eighty Years War 1629)
74: Staphorst (2000)
| Staphorst is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. It is famous for people wearing traditional Dutch clothing. Furthermore it is one of the most religious villages of the Netherlands, with a lot of people going to a Protestant church. Staphorst is said to grind to a halt on sunday.A large proportion of the population hold fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and oppose technologies such as television and blood transfusions. This is in contrast to the permissive, libertarian tendency in Dutch law. Staphorst |  |
Más sobre Staphorst (2000)
75: Kinderdijk Windmills (1740)
| Kinderdijk is well known for its numerous windmills. In the Netherlands, the drainage system is an important matter. The Dutch need a large drainage system in order to keep the inhabitants from drowning, because 70% of the Netherlands is below sea level. In Alblasserwaard, problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. The Dutch dug large canals to get rid of the excess water in the polders. These canals are called "weteringen", and they can still be found all over the country. However, this method was sufficient only for a short period of time. The ground started to lower again because of its structure and the level of the river began to rise at the same time. An additional way of maintaining the level of the water in the polders was required. The Dutch decided to build a series of windmills. The windmills would pump water into a reservoir until the level of the river had reached a certain level, in which pumping water into the river was made possible again. Gaining full control over the water was never possible. In the past, the residents of the Netherlands suffered from many severe floods. Kinderdijk |  |
Más sobre Kinderdijk Windmills (1740)
76: Patriots (Elburg 1785)
| For two centuries, the Dutch exercised economic and military power all out of proportion to the nation's size. They sailed to every comer of the earth on a relentless search for commercial profit, making the nation proud, wealthy, and envied. These feats were accomplished mainly as a result of an attitude, derived from Calvinism, that is well expressed by the motto of Rotterdam: "It is necessary to sail, not to live." <1> By the later 18th century, however, this "golden age" of the Netherlands was rapidly tarnishing, as the emerging giants of England and France began to squeeze the United Netherlands down closer to its actual size. The Dutch were no more willing to accept their decline than any nation would be, especially since poverty and weakness were so visibly replacing the prosperity of earlier times. Predictably, the frustration and anger of many people became focused on a symbol of everything that no longer worked, of everything that had gone wrong -- the Stadholder. Indeed, the recognized qualities of William V made him an impeccable scapegoat. In 1781 he actually declared: "I wish I were dead, that my father had never been a Stadholder . . . I feel I have no ability to be at the head of so many affairs." <2> The way was clear for those determined to restore Dutch glory, the Patriots. The corrupt Stadholder would be removed and new leadership would be infused into the stifling regent class, making the nation vital and powerful again. The Patriots were prepared to do what many nations do when threatened with a fall: revolt. Of course, they did this in a uniquely Dutch way. However, the Stadholder soon reached the limit of this patience. After two small towns, Elburg and Hatten, in Gelderland -- a province firmly loyal to the Prince -- declared their independence from the Stadholder, William agreed to intervene militarily. The towns were taken and held against only meager resistance. the Stadholder had intended this operation to be a show of force that would intimidate the Patriots, <67> but naturally, the opposite happened. The unity and resolve of the burghers was strengthened. They set up a military cordon around Holland and Utrecht, raised funds for an army of 6,700, and Prepared the defenses of Utrecht for a siege. Amidst renewed patriotic fervor, the Amsterdam Regents gave their formal approval to the Act of Association. Perhaps daunted by all this, the Prince attempted to occupy another small Patriot town, Vreeswijk. He lost this time, decisively. The Patriots were now rather confident; after all, they had beaten the traditional commander of the only other military force in the country at the time Patriots- Elburg |  |
Más sobre Patriots (Elburg 1785)
77: Battle of Dogger Bank (4th Ango-Dutch War, 1781)
| The naval Battle of the Dogger Bank took place on 5 August 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, part of the American War of Independence, in the North Sea. It was a bloody encounter between a British squadron under Vice Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, Sr. and a Dutch squadron under Vice Admiral Zoutman, both of which were escorting convoys.The Netherlands having now joined the allies, the British government was compelled to withdraw part of its fleet from other purposes to protect the North Sea trade. A desperate battle was fought in which neither combatant gained any advantage, after which both sides drew off.The Dutch returned home with their convoy. Although the Dutch celebrated the battle like a victory, their fleet did not leave harbour again during the war and their merchant trade was swept from the seas by British cruisers. Name |  |
Más sobre Battle of Dogger Bank (4th Ango-Dutch War, 1781)
78: Huisduinen near Den Helder (1799)
| Den Helder acted as a naval base as early as the 18th century. An Anglo-Russian invasion force landed at Den Helder in August 1799 and captured the Batavian navy there (see Battle of Castricum). French emperor Napoleon, visiting Den Helder in 1811, was impressed with the town's strategic location and ordered the construction of a fort (Kijkduin) and naval dockyards (Willemsoord). The docks were built in the years 1813-1827. In 1947 it officially became the Royal Netherlands Navy's main centre of operations. Den Helder continues to be the navy's main base today. The Koninklijk Instituut Marine (Royal Naval Academy) is also located in the city. Den Helder- Gates of Hell |  |
Más sobre Huisduinen near Den Helder (1799)
79: Kingdom (Landing of William I at Scheveningen, 1813)
| After Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig (October, 1813), the French troops retreated to France. A provisional government was formed under the lead of some former Patriots who recalled William, in contrast to their 1785 rebellion. In their view, it was taken for granted that William would have to head any new regime, and it would be better in the long term for the Dutch to restore him themselves. The Dutch population was pleased with the departure of the French, who had ruined the Dutch economy, and this time welcomed the prince.On November 30, 1813 William landed at Scheveningen beach, only a few metres from the place where he had left the country with his father eighteen years previously, and on December 6 the provisional government offered him the title of King. William refused, instead proclaiming himself "sovereign prince." He also wanted the rights of the people to be guaranteed by "a wise constitution".The constitution offered William extensive (almost absolute) powers. Ministers were only responsible to him, while a two-chambered parliament (the States-General) exercised only limited power. He was inaugurated as sovereign prince in the New Church in Amsterdam. In 1814 he gained sovereignty over the whole of the Low Countries Name |  |
Más sobre Kingdom (Landing of William I at Scheveningen, 1813)
80: Waterloo (1815)
| The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. After his exile to Elba, he had reinstalled himself on the throne of France for a Hundred Days. During this time, the forces of the rest of Europe, the United Kingdom, Prussia and the Russian Empire converged on him, commanded by the United Kingdom's Duke of Wellington, and Prussia's Gebhard von Blücher. Battle of Waterloo |  |
Más sobre Waterloo (1815)
81: Sallandse Heuvelrug (1830)
| The last fire coincided with the start of the growth of Enschede into a large production center of textiles, originally as a cottage industry, but since the start of the 19th century on an industrial scale, especially the manufacture of bombazijn (a mixture of cotton and linen) proved an export hit.The industrialisation stimulated a large increase in population, which at first was rather chaotic. The names of the slums (like De Krim and Sebastolpol) are still notorious, although they have long since been torn down. In 1907 the laissez faire mentality was dropped and Enschede was the first city in the Netherlands to draw up an official expansion-plan, incorporating the (surrounding) municipality of Lonneker. Heather and Sheep |  |
Más sobre Sallandse Heuvelrug (1830)
82: Belgian Revolt (1831)
| When the Belgian Revolution began in August 1830, Dutch armies stationed in what is now Belgium suffered from extensive desertion by Southern Dutch troops, who were reluctant to fight the people among they themselves lived. In total, about two-thirds of the troops stationed in the Southern Netherlands deserted, and the morale of the remaining troops was severely damaged this together with the fact that the bulk (and often best trained part) of the Dutch military was stationed in its colonies, allowed the Belgian revolutionaries to quickly gain control over what is now Belgium.In the morning of August 2, 1831 the Dutch crossed the "border" near Poppel. The Belgian scouts had noticed the troops and a number of roads were blocked by cutting the trees around them. The first fights took place around Nieuwenkerk , the Dutch supreme commander the Prince of Orange arrived in the afternoon to support his troops and at the same time Zondereigen was taken by the Dutch and some 400 Belgians were repulsed. Around Ravel, the Belgian army is rapidly driven into the surrounding forests by the Dutch and later into a swamp. The Belgians later retreated to Turnhout allowing the Dutch to set up camp, but the sound of Dutch artillery scared the population of Turnhout and people started to flee towards Antwerp en mass. The next day some 11,000 Dutch soldiers prepared themselves to take Turnhout, while another Dutch army made it seem they were heading for Antwerp (in reality they would attack Turnhout from another direction). In the following battle the Dutch smashed the Belgian forces by breaking there morale early, and after a number of events (The Belgian banner was torn apart by Dutch artillery and a soldier lost a leg to a cannonball) caused the Belgians to flee. On the 4th of August Dutch troops took Antwerp, and the Brabantic flag was taken down and the Dutch flag was hoisted. The Prince of Orange however demanded that the flag be taken down again, because it would symbolise occupation rather than a restoration of the Dutch power. At the same time various Dutch armies split up and moved further into Belgium defeating numerous militias and 2 regular Belgian armies with ease.For the Belgians all seemed lost; however, on August 8, the Belgians decided to ask for French support, despite the request not being formally authorised by the government. A French army under Field Marshal Gérard crossed the border the very next day. The Dutch had taking a risk by invading Belgium without supporting allies (Russia wanted to assist but experienced trouble with suppressing the Polish revolution and Prussia would not risk sending troops without Russia being able to secure it's western borders) and now they faced a possible war with the French (who never hid their intention of annexing Belgium from the beginning) and after an intervention by the English the Dutch halted their advance and a cease fire was signed on August 12th. The last Dutch troops returned to the Netherlands around August 20th and Antwerp would remain occupied until 1832 Belgian Revolt |  |
Más sobre Belgian Revolt (1831)
83: Child Labor Laws (1874)
| Working conditions in factories were usually very poor. A well-known story is that of Petrus Regoutâ??s glass factory in Maastricht, where the kilns burned day and night. The factory had two shifts of workers, each working twelve hours at a stretch. Half-asleep, children aged between eight and ten years old would have to walk to work at about midnight to start their shift. Regout saw no problem in this. He believed that children could do with less sleep. In about 1860, criticism of child labour became more intense. Doctors and teachers explained that working was unhealthy and that the proper place for children was at school. Factory operators began to realise that children would be better off starting work once they had completed their primary education. Moreover, children aged twelve years and older who could read and write could be put to better use in the factories. At the same time, the need for child labour decreased as increasingly more work was done by machines. The attitude of parents too began to change with the times. As their wages began to rise and the need to supplement their income with their childrenâ??s wages became less pressing, parents started to send their children to school more often and for longer periods of time.Two Acts contributed to this development. The Kinderwet van Van Houten (the Child Labour Act of 1874) prohibited children under the age of twelve from working in workshops and factories. This did not mean, however, that child labour in factories was fully abolished with immediate effect. Furthermore, children were not prohibited from doing farm work. The Leerplichtwet (Compulsory Education Act of 1900) put an end to child labour once and for all. From that time onwards, parents were obliged to send children aged between seven and twelve years old to school. In practice, most parents were already doing so. By about 1900, ninety percent of all children were attending school. Name |  |
Más sobre Child Labor Laws (1874)
84: VanGogh (1883)
| Largely self-taught, Vincent Van Gogh's work was startlingly innovative from the very beginning. Neither his early realist work, though close to the Dutch tradition, nor his later impressionist phase met contemporary expectations. His depictions of everyday life showed a highly personal use of media, marked by a bold and distorted draughtsmanship, and visible dotted or dashed brush marks, sometimes in swirling or wave-like patterns, which are intensely yet subtly coloured. Since his death in 1890, van Gogh has been acknowledged as a pioneer of what came to be known as Expressionism and has had an enormous influence on 20th century art, especially on the Fauves and German Expressionists, and with a line that continues through to the Abstract Expressionism of Willem de Kooning and the British painter Francis Bacon.The central figure in Vincent van Gogh's life was his brother Theo, an art dealer with the firm of Goupil & Cie, who continually and selflessly provided financial support. VIncent Van Gogh |  |
Más sobre VanGogh (1883)
85: Zuiderzee Museum (19th C)
| The open air museum is a lively museum village which provides an image of life and work around the Zuiderzee some hundred years ago. The â??villageâ?? consists of 130 buildings, which come from 42 different Zuiderzee locations. Zuiderzee Museum |  |
Más sobre Zuiderzee Museum (19th C)
86: Emigration 1900
| The wave of Dutch emigration between 1847 and 1857 may be attributed to the failures of three consecutive potato and rye harvests in the mid-1840s. Again, the great agricultural crises of the 1880s and 1890s and the agricultural restructuring they entailed is mirrored in the wave of emigration that occurred between 1880 and 1893: common to all Dutch migrants was a need for land. A period of suppression by the Dutch State in the 19th century led many to flee to North America. The American domestic economy between 1840 and 1900 was of even greater importance: prospective Dutch emigrants responded directly to American conditions. â??Land boomsâ?? stimulated the immigration of the Dutch, while economic depression discouraged migration Emmigration |  |
Más sobre Emigration 1900
87: Philips Electronics- Eindhoven 1920
| The company was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Its first products were light bulbs 'and other electrotechnical equipment'. Its first factory remains as a museum. In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, and in 1939 its first electric razor, the Philishave, was introduced. Philips markets its shavers in the USA using the Norelco name. Philips introduced the compact audio cassette tape, which was wildly successful, though its attempt to set a standard for video cassette recorders, the V2000, was unsuccessful in the face of competition from the Betamax and especially VHS standards. Philips Electronics |  |
Más sobre Philips Electronics- Eindhoven 1920
88: Afsluitdijk (1933)
| The Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands , constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich, Netherlands (mun. Wûnseradiel ) in Friesland province, over a length of 32 kilometre and a width of 90 metre , at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level () . It is a fundamental part of the larger Zuiderzee Works , damming off the Zuiderzee , a salt water inlet of the North Sea and turning it into the fresh water lake of the IJsselmeer Afsluitdijk |  |
Más sobre Afsluitdijk (1933)
89: Reichstag/Brandenburg Gate (1940)
| On May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, ending the Phony War. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Army advanced into northern Belgium and planned to fight a mobile war in the north while maintaining a static continuous front along the Maginot Line further south. The Allied plans were immediately smashed by the most classic example in history of Blitzkrieg.In the first phase of the invasion, Fall Gelb (CACA), the Wehrmacht's Panzergruppe von Kleist raced through the Ardennes, a heavily forested region which the Allies had thought impenetrable for a modern, mechanized army. They broke the French line at Sedan, then drove west across northern France to the English Channel, splitting the Allies in two. Meanwhile Belgium (including the fortifications at Liege), Luxembourg, and the Netherlands fell quickly against the attack of German Army Group B. The BEF, encircled in the north, was evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo. The operation was one of the biggest military evacuations in history as hundreds of thousands of British and French troops were transported across the English Channel, not just on warships but also on civilan vessels including fishing and rowing boats. Invasion of the Netherlands |  |
Más sobre Reichstag/Brandenburg Gate (1940)
90: Anne Frank House (1943)
| The former hiding place, where Anne Frank wrote her diary, is now a well-known museum. The museum tells the history of the eight people in hiding and those who helped them during the war. Anne Frank's diary is among the original objects on display. More Anne Frank House |  |
Más sobre Anne Frank House (1943)
91: Bridge Too Far, Arnhem (1944)
| In World War II, during Operation Market Garden (September 1944), the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem. The units were parachuted and glider-landed into the area on September 17 and later. The bulk of the force was dropped rather far from the bridge and never met their objective. A small force of British 1st Airborne managed to make their way as far as the bridge but was unable to secure both sides. The Allied troops encountered stiff resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, which had been stationed in and around the city.The British force at the bridge eventually surrendered on September 21 and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on September 26. These events were dramatised in the movie A Bridge Too Far. Arnhem |  |
Más sobre Bridge Too Far, Arnhem (1944)
92: Willem Drees- Welfare State (1950)
| Willem Drees was one of the most popular Prime Ministers in Dutch history. He was known as â??Vadertjeâ? (Father Drees) a nickname that shows the socialist Prime Minister was a father figure not only for his own party but for the entire population of the Netherlands. His enormous popularity was largely due to the emergency law on state old-age pensions he implemented in 1947. At an early age, Drees joined the Social Democratic Workersâ?? party (SDAP), the predecessor of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). He experienced the crisis years of the 1930s as an alderman in The Hague and tried to alleviate the effects for municipal employees. After the war, Drees entered the cabinet as Minister of Social Affairs. From 1948 to 1958 he was Prime Minister of the Christian Democrat and Social Democrat coalition (rooms-rode coalitie). Stories about Willem Drees always mention his thriftiness and simplicity. The most important politician in the Netherlands went to work every morning either on foot or by bicycle â?? he did not need a chauffeur-driven car. At the time, most politicians enjoyed cigars and drinking, but Drees refrained. And when an American diplomat visited Drees at home to discuss American financial support for the Dutch economy, Mrs Drees apparently served him a cup of tea and a biscuit. The American supposedly said that a country with such a thrifty Prime Minister was undoubtedly greatly in need of assistance through the Marshall Plan. Willem Drees |  |
Más sobre Willem Drees- Welfare State (1950)
93: Pillarization (Broadcast Tower- 1960)
| Pillarisation (Verzuiling in Dutch, Pilarisation in French) is a term used to describe the way the Dutch and Belgians used to deal with their multicultural (but not multiethnic) societies. Society was "vertically" divided in several smaller segments or "pillars" according to different religions or ideologies, which operated separately from each other. These pillars all had their own social institutions: their own newspapers, broadcasting organisations, political parties, trade unions, schools, hospitals, building societies, universities, scouting organisations and sports clubs. Some companies even only hired personnel of a specific religion or ideology. This led to a situation where many people had no personal contact with people from another pillar. Pillarization |  |
Más sobre Pillarization (Broadcast Tower- 1960)
94: Kubus-paalwoningen (1970s)
| Piet Blom (Feb 8, 1934, Amsterdam â?? Jun 8, 1999, Denmark) was a Dutch architect best known for his 'Kubuswonigen' buildings built in Helmond in the mid-1970s and in Rotterdam in the early 1980s. He studied at the Amsterdam Academy of Building-Arts as a student of Aldo van Eyck Peit Blom |  |
Más sobre Kubus-paalwoningen (1970s)
95: Groningen Gas Field (Slochteren- 1980)
| North Sea oil was discovered in the early 1960s, with the first North Sea oil coming on line in 1971 and being piped ashore at Teesside, England, from 1975, but the fields were not intensively exploited until rising oil prices in the 1980s made exploitation economically feasible. Inaccessibility and dangerous conditions offshore require complex and expensive production methods.In reality, oil seeps had been known from coal beds on either side of the North Sea, but only a limited amount of development had occurred (Eakring oil field, Nottinghamshire, England; Edinburgh Oil Shales (which seem unrelated to later discoveries); and small discoveries in the Netherlands and Northern Germany). A "demonstration well" was sunk in 1938 in association with the "World Petroleum Congress" at The Hague. After the Second World War a small number of onshore gas and oil fields were found in In 1959, an academic well drilled at Ten Boer near Groningen, Netherlands was deepened and discovered a significant gas deposit. Appraisal and development wells over the next few years brought the realisation in 1963 that the Groningen field was not just "economic", nor even "big", or "large", or "giant", but was an "elephant" field of huge potential. Given that, extending exploration into adjacent areas was a "no-brain" decision.The exploration of the North Sea has been a story of continually pushing the edges of the technology of exploitation (in terms of what can be produced) and later the technologies of discovery and evaluation (2-D seismic, followed by 3-D and 4-D seismic; sub-salt seismic; immersive display and analysis suites and supercomputing to handle the flood of computation required). Name |  |
Más sobre Groningen Gas Field (Slochteren- 1980)
96: Volkel - Air Force Missle Base (1980s)
| Approximately 4,000 U.S. nuclear warheads, nuclear artillery shells, and bombs were stored (as of 1990) at about 80 sites in seven West European countries--at air, naval, or missile bases, ordnance depots, and storage sites.About 64 percent of the warheads are in West Germany, 23 percent in Britain and Italy, and 12 percent in Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Volkel Air FOrce Base |  |
Más sobre Volkel - Air Force Missle Base (1980s)
97: Randstad Environmental Conservation (1990)
| The restoration of lowland fens in the NetherlandsBackground After the last Ice Age, a series of broad peatlands developed behind the coastal dunes of the western Netherlands. By the end of the 17th century, most of the peat had been excavated for fuel, and a linear pattern of waterlogged trenches and narrow ridges, on which the peat had been piled to dry, was left behind. Many of the ridges were washed away by storms, and the growing bodies of open water eventually developed into lakes. Where the original linear pattern survived, the trenches between the ridges gradually terrstrialised into various fen vegetations, such as quaking bogs, reedbeds, marshes and swamp forests. Traditional reed harvesting and hay-making maintained biodiversity across this range of semi-natural habitats, notably for birds such as bittern Botaurus stellaris, black tern Chlidonias niger, purple heron Ardea purpurea, common tern Sterna hirundo and bluethroat Luscinia svecica.A long process of degradationIn the 20th century however, as agriculture in the surrounding polders became more intensive and productive, farmers left the fens. Natural succession took over and large areas evolved towards uniform, species-poor swamp woodland. The fens began losing their botanical and zoological value. The intensified farming had a second detrimental effect: as the water table in the surrounding polders was lowered to allow higher yields, the fens desiccated and the reed beds acidified. Environmental Conservation- Randstad |  |
Más sobre Randstad Environmental Conservation (1990)
98: European Union- Brussels (1992)
| The European Union (EU) is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 25 independent, democratic member states. The European Union is the world's largest confederation of independent states, established under that name in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). However, many aspects of the Union existed before that date through a series of predecessor relationships, dating back to 1951 European Union |  |
Más sobre European Union- Brussels (1992)
99: Srebrenica Peacekeeping (1995)
| On 9 July 1995, the Bosnian-Serbian troops of General Mladic moved towards the Dutchbat III protected enclave of Srebrenica. Without too much resistance the attacking troops took control of this safe-haven for Muslims. The Serbs had the Muslims removed in buses, after first separating the men from the women and children with assistance from the Dutch forces. A short time later, the Serbs executed most of the men (at least 7000). The Dutch soldiers, some of whom suspected what was to come but none of whom witnessed the executions, were given safe passage to Zagreb, where they were welcomed by Prime Minister Kok and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.When news of the massacre that had taken place â??under the very eyes of Dutchbatâ? reached the Netherlands, the question was raised as to whether the Dutch soldiers should have protected the enclave against the Bosnian-Serbian troops ands so avoided the slaughter. Initially, attention was largely focused on the troops, but it soon became clear that responsibility could not be laid at their feet. Their mandate prohibited them from participating in the war. In September 1996, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) was commissioned by the government to investigate the exact circumstances of the incident. When the NIOD report was published in 2002, Prime Minister Kok accepted political responsibility for the massacre in Srebrenica and resigned.Right from the outset, Dutch soldiers have participated in UN peacekeeping missions whereby, on behalf of the United Nations, troops supervise compliance with peace treaties and ceasefires in various troubled areas around the globe. The first mission was in 1948, in Israel. A recurring problem during these missions is the instruction on the use of force. What are the peacekeepers allowed to do, and what is prohibited in these trouble spots? The Dutch Lower House has the ultimate say in instructing Dutch troops. The House has to endorse the agreements made between the government and the UN regarding the degree to which the troops are armed and the type of force they are permitted to use. This means that the balance between the duties of Dutch troops and the dangers they consequently run is ultimately struck in the Dutch Lower House. After the massacre at Srebrenica, it was once again set down that the House must be kept as well informed as possible in this regard. Srebrenica UN Peacekeeping |  |
Más sobre Srebrenica Peacekeeping (1995)
100: Maeslant Barrier (Deltaworks/Europort 1997)
| In the North Sea flood of 1953, breaks in the dikes and seawalls in the Netherlands killed 1,835 people and forced the evacuation of 70,000 more. 10,000 animals drowned, and 4,500 buildings were destroyed. To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, an ambitious flood defense system was conceived and deployed, called the Delta Works (Dutch: Deltawerken).The Dutch government often cites the Delta Works project as the world's largest flood protection project. With over 10,250 miles of levees (1,500 miles designated as primary levees and 8,750 miles as secondary levees) and 300 structures, the project is one of the most extensive engineering projects in the world. The project isolated 13 estuaries from the ocean. Approximately 1,650 sq. km. of land were reclaimed from the sea by the project.This project was intended to improve the safety of the lower areas of the Netherlands against severe storms and flooding; since more than one third of the nation's land lies below sea level, this is no simple task. Dunes along the entire seashore were raised by as much as 5 metres, while the islands in Zeeland province were joined together by dams and other large scale constructions to shorten the coastline. The most sophisticated and famous of these dams is the Oosterscheldekering (left of the leftmost "i" on the satellite image), which can be opened and closed to keep the sea at bay while preserving the saltwater river delta for wildlife and the fishing industry. Less known, but no less impressive, is the Maeslantkering storm surge barrier near the port of Rotterdam Name |  360 pictures |
Más sobre Maeslant Barrier (Deltaworks/Europort 1997)