How the Dutch Beat the Ocean | Why Amsterdam Has Canals

00:11:52
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoEZvSl5Cg8

Resumo

TLDRThe video delves into the ongoing battle between the Dutch people and the ocean and highlights the innovative solutions applied by the Netherlands to reclaim land and combat sea erosion. By creating a network of canals, fortifications, and windmills, the Netherlands has successfully expanded its land mass, thus shaping their society and cultural practices. Many aspects of Dutch heritage, like cheese production, biking, and tulip cultivation, are attributed to this intensive water management. Amsterdam's economic growth is showcased as a result of intentional canal engineering, making the city accessible and commercially viable. Additionally, modern strategies continue to evolve to ensure the Netherlands remains resilient against flooding and sea-level rise. The video concludes with a sponsorship segment for Skillshare, promoting their platform as a resource for learning various skills.

Conclusões

  • 🚲 Significant Dutch heritage such as biking originates from their geographical landscape.
  • 🌊 The Netherlands has fought against the ocean for centuries, gaining land.
  • 🏰 Building walls and using windmills have been key techniques in reclaiming land.
  • 🧀 Dutch cheese and agriculture thrive due to fertile, reclaimed soil.
  • 🚢 Amsterdam's canals were intentionally created for economic growth.
  • 🔧 Hydrological engineering marvels are essential to Dutch sustainability.
  • 🌷 Tulip cultivation benefits from reclaimed soil conditions.
  • 🌐 The Netherlands created a new province by reclaiming land from the sea.
  • 🛠 Advancements in water management continue to protect the Netherlands.
  • 📚 Sponsorship encourages learning through Skillshare's platform.

Linha do tempo

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The Dutch have been battling the ocean for centuries and have successfully reclaimed thousands of square kilometers of land from the sea. This story highlights the ingenuity of Dutch engineering and explains cultural aspects such as cheese, canals, and biking. The Netherlands is largely under or at sea level, making hydrological engineering vital. Instead of retreating from the encroaching sea, the Dutch began to fight back around 500 years ago, developing sophisticated methods to manage and reclaim land.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:11:52

    The Dutch employ ingenious techniques like building walls around bodies of water and using windmills for pumping out water to reclaim land. A significant achievement occurred in 1932 when they transformed a sea section into a fresh water lake by erecting a massive barrier. Since then, they've converted parts of this into land, gaining a new province entirely made from reclaimed land. Their success lies in fortifying coastlines and mastering water management across urban areas, leading to cultural elements like cheese, windmills, and tulips—all rooted in their water management achievements. Skillshare sponsors the video, explained at the end.

Mapa mental

Vídeo de perguntas e respostas

  • How have the Dutch fought against the ocean for centuries?

    The Dutch have been combating the ocean for centuries using advanced water management techniques such as building walls and windmills to create habitable land from water bodies.

  • What techniques do the Dutch use to reclaim land?

    The techniques include building walls around bodies of water, using windmills to pump out water, and reclaiming land from the sea.

  • What is Holland’s geographical challenge?

    It is a country with much of its land below sea level, requiring constant effort to manage water.

  • Why are windmills significant in Dutch history?

    Windmills were used historically to pump water out of areas they wanted to convert into land.

  • Did the Dutch create new provinces by reclaiming land from the sea?

    Yes, the area was transformed from sea to a freshwater lake through the construction of barriers.

  • Why is biking popular in the Netherlands?

    The water management strategies have made it feasible for efficient transportation through flat, compact land, perfect for biking.

  • Why is Dutch cheese considered to be of high quality?

    Their expert water management has led to fertile grounds perfect for dairy farming, hence producing excellent cheese.

  • What is the reason behind Holland's famous tulip cultivation?

    Tulips grow optimally in the soil created by reclaimed underwater lands.

  • How did Amsterdam's canals contribute to its development?

    They intentionally designed canals to manage water effectively, making the city accessible by boat and an economic hub.

  • How did water management contribute to Amsterdam’s role as an economic hub?

    Water management helped Amsterdam become an economic hub in Europe due to its well-planned canal system.

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Rolagem automática:
  • 00:00:01
    (bicycle wheels rattling)
  • 00:00:08
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:00:17
    - It's the ocean versus the Dutch.
  • 00:00:19
    That's the battle that's going on right now.
  • 00:00:22
    (ticking)
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    It's been going on for hundreds of years
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    and you know, who's winning, the Dutch.
  • 00:00:28
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:00:33
    See all that water,
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    it's super ingenious the way they designed it.
  • 00:00:39
    Can you tell the engineering marvel?
  • 00:00:41
    - If I hear one more thing about the water.
  • 00:00:42
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:00:50
    - Look at this map of Holland in 1300,
  • 00:00:54
    compare this to a map of Holland today.
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    The country has gained land.
  • 00:01:00
    Yes, thousands and thousands of square kilometers
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    of land has been won back from the ocean.
  • 00:01:08
    (ticking)
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    The story of this battle between the ocean and the Dutch
  • 00:01:12
    explains why Holland is good at cheese,
  • 00:01:15
    why Amsterdam has canals,
  • 00:01:18
    Why Dutch people ride bikes.
  • 00:01:20
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:01:26
    - And for those who are confused,
  • 00:01:28
    the Dutch, Netherlands and Holland are all the same thing
  • 00:01:33
    and they all have different reasons
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    and I'm not gonna go into them.
  • 00:01:35
    You can like, look at Wikipedia.
  • 00:01:37
    This is just when I use those words,
  • 00:01:38
    it all has to do with the same thing, which is this country,
  • 00:01:41
    okay?
  • 00:01:42
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:01:45
    So the Netherlands or Holland or whatever you wanna call it
  • 00:01:49
    is a country that is sinking.
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    It's actually...
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    the majority of it is under sea level
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    or right at sea level.
  • 00:01:56
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:02:03
    I mean, if you look at the map of Holland,
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    you see that a lot of it
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    is just these little strips of land
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    that are right up in the North sea
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    and the ocean and the wind
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    just kind of eat away at this land year after year.
  • 00:02:16
    Instead of fleeing these coastal communities
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    that were slowly sinking into the water,
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    about 500 years ago, the Dutch started to fight back.
  • 00:02:25
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:02:30
    Now, let's just be clear about one thing,
  • 00:02:32
    which is, fighting the ocean,
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    the incessant, timeless powerhouse, the ocean,
  • 00:02:40
    is a very difficult thing.
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    Where are we going?
  • 00:02:44
    - Texel
  • 00:02:45
    - What?
  • 00:02:46
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:02:49
    Texel?
  • 00:02:50
    - Texel.
  • 00:02:51
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:03:22
    - We made it.
  • 00:03:23
    - We made it.
  • 00:03:23
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:03:25
    - This battle between the Netherlands and the ocean
  • 00:03:30
    is now much more real for me,
  • 00:03:32
    and this wind and these waves
  • 00:03:34
    are so crazy and consistent.
  • 00:03:37
    They're just eating this land alive
  • 00:03:40
    and yet the Netherlands have decided to fight back
  • 00:03:43
    and they're doing a pretty darn good job.
  • 00:03:45
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:03:52
    - Holland is up for this task.
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    They've developed a whole system,
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    a whole science behind hydrological engineering
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    that has allowed them to combat
  • 00:04:01
    the effects and the erosion of the ocean.
  • 00:04:04
    - My favorite is the Curry ketchup,
  • 00:04:08
    and Johnny loves the (indistinct)
  • 00:04:09
    and they actually go really well together.
  • 00:04:12
    Like us.
  • 00:04:13
    (laughs)
  • 00:04:16
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:04:21
    - Okay, so how do they actually do this?
  • 00:04:22
    This is where it gets really interesting.
  • 00:04:25
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:04:26
    There are a few techniques that the Dutch use
  • 00:04:29
    for their wizardry over the water.
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    The first one has to do with them building a wall
  • 00:04:33
    around a body of water that they want to turn into land.
  • 00:04:38
    Build a wall around it and then they, back in the day,
  • 00:04:42
    would build a windmill next to those walls
  • 00:04:44
    and they would use the windmill to spin,
  • 00:04:48
    and as the windmill would spin,
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    that would spin a pump that would pump the water out
  • 00:04:53
    of that land.
  • 00:04:54
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:05:00
    They'll plant on it,
  • 00:05:02
    and they will do whatever they need to do
  • 00:05:03
    to actually make it a firm, dry, habitable land
  • 00:05:06
    and then they'll build entire cities on.
  • 00:05:10
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:05:22
    And then in 1932, Holland had a huge win.
  • 00:05:26
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:05:30
    There's this giant part of the country
  • 00:05:33
    that was a part of the sea.
  • 00:05:36
    And they finally built this huge wall.
  • 00:05:38
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:05:46
    Building this giant wall, created a barrier
  • 00:05:48
    between the saltwater sea and made this huge body of water
  • 00:05:54
    into a fresh water lake.
  • 00:05:56
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:05:57
    After they built this wall,
  • 00:05:59
    they then started to section off little pieces
  • 00:06:02
    of this newly created Lake,
  • 00:06:04
    and to start to turn those into land as well.
  • 00:06:07
    So this is all of the land that they have created
  • 00:06:10
    since 1932, when they built a wall to make this Lake.
  • 00:06:14
    I mean, it's totally crazy.
  • 00:06:15
    (dramatic music)
  • 00:06:26
    The Netherlands, actually, a few years ago,
  • 00:06:29
    got a new province, like a new state in their country,
  • 00:06:32
    not because of any administrative reform,
  • 00:06:35
    but because they literally reclaimed a giant piece of land
  • 00:06:38
    that used to be under the sea.
  • 00:06:40
    (dramatic music)
  • 00:06:46
    So much of the Dutch coastline looks like this,
  • 00:06:51
    just super fortified with asphalt
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    and a million other building materials
  • 00:06:56
    that they have come to
  • 00:06:57
    for hundreds and hundreds of years of experimentation.
  • 00:07:01
    It seems simple, it's like a wall,
  • 00:07:03
    but in this wall lies the big secret
  • 00:07:07
    to Holland not sinking,
  • 00:07:10
    and they don't always work.
  • 00:07:12
    There have been times when these walls break,
  • 00:07:16
    but for the most part, this has been a success story,
  • 00:07:19
    (soft uplifting music)
  • 00:07:34
    But it's not just creating land out of water
  • 00:07:37
    it's also just how they manage water
  • 00:07:40
    in every one of their cities.
  • 00:07:42
    (cheerful upbeat music)
  • 00:07:50
    Amsterdam used to just be, I mean,
  • 00:07:52
    you can hear it in the name, a dam
  • 00:07:54
    on the Amstel river.
  • 00:07:56
    (cheerful upbeat music)
  • 00:07:57
    They then built it up
  • 00:07:58
    and they created this series of canals,
  • 00:08:00
    a very intentional design, as you can see,
  • 00:08:03
    and in doing so,
  • 00:08:04
    they made this city a very accessible boat city,
  • 00:08:08
    which was a very lucrative thing to do
  • 00:08:09
    back in like the 1500's and 1600's.
  • 00:08:12
    Amsterdam became an economic hub in Europe
  • 00:08:15
    and developed a very quickly.
  • 00:08:17
    A population boom contributed to the golden age of Holland.
  • 00:08:21
    And even today, Amsterdam is a giant
  • 00:08:24
    economic and global hub,
  • 00:08:26
    which you can attribute to how the Dutch
  • 00:08:29
    have just mastered water
  • 00:08:31
    and learned how to intentionally design their cities
  • 00:08:34
    and their country around water management.
  • 00:08:37
    (cheerful upbeat music)
  • 00:08:44
    A lot of the things we think of as quintessential of Dutch
  • 00:08:47
    come from this culture of water management.
  • 00:08:50
    And it now that sounds like the wonkiest thing in the world,
  • 00:08:52
    but listen to me here, see the bikes,
  • 00:08:55
    the bikes are a product of this low land
  • 00:08:57
    because when you have flat land,
  • 00:09:00
    it's relatively close together
  • 00:09:01
    because as most of the land is waterlogged,
  • 00:09:03
    then bikes become a really efficient,
  • 00:09:05
    viable transportation means.
  • 00:09:07
    You also have some of the most fertile grounds in the world
  • 00:09:12
    for growing grass,
  • 00:09:13
    which then becomes fertile pastures for cows,
  • 00:09:17
    which produce amazing dairy products,
  • 00:09:19
    which is why Dutch cheese is such wonderful, amazing cheese.
  • 00:09:24
    And then of course there are windmills.
  • 00:09:26
    Windmills are a huge Dutch thing.
  • 00:09:27
    Windmills come from this history of pumping water
  • 00:09:31
    from lakes and the ocean to create new pieces of land.
  • 00:09:36
    For a long time windmills were the technology,
  • 00:09:38
    which is why Poland is full of windmills.
  • 00:09:41
    Finally, you have these tulips.
  • 00:09:42
    Tulips are another huge Dutch thing.
  • 00:09:45
    The reason for this is that tulips grow
  • 00:09:47
    in this special clay-sand-soil mixture
  • 00:09:51
    and a lot of that exact soil is right here in Holland
  • 00:09:55
    because of the fact that a lot of this land
  • 00:09:58
    was under water before they reclaimed it,
  • 00:10:00
    and so it's perfect for growing tulips.
  • 00:10:03
    So a lot of Dutch culture
  • 00:10:04
    could be attributed to water management
  • 00:10:07
    and conquering the water.
  • 00:10:09
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:10:17
    I hope you now understand why Amsterdam has canals
  • 00:10:19
    and the marvel of Dutch water management.
  • 00:10:22
    So much more to learn.
  • 00:10:23
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    and making it possible
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    for me to make these more in-depth explainers,
  • 00:11:42
    which kind of take a lot of time,
  • 00:11:44
    but I hope you learned a lot
  • 00:11:46
    and I'll see you in the next one.
  • 00:11:47
    (upbeat music)
Etiquetas
  • Netherlands
  • water management
  • land reclamation
  • Dutch culture
  • engineering
  • flood control
  • Amsterdam
  • canals
  • windmills
  • sea-level rise