De Moderne Tijd - Current Issue

‘Our national defense tool’. Water and defense lines, 1800-1940

Water has played an important role in Dutch history since the 16th century. In the struggle against the Spanish king (1568-1648) it proved an effective tool, especially in the sieges of cities. In 1672-1673, a long line of flooded polders blocked Louis XIV’s advance into the heart of the country. This successful operation became legendary and laid the foundations for the idea of water as ‘national defense’. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in particular, this role of water played was essential in the nationalist narrative. It represented a unique form of defensive strength for a small country and could easily be linked to the important role played by the Orange family in maintaining the country’s independence. At the same time, military and political leaders debated which part of the country should be protected by water, and criticized the concept of an extensive, and expensive water line. One alternative was to put more emphasis on fighting in the polders. This was a form of territorial defense sometimes called ‘guerrilla’ in analogy to the Boer struggle in South Africa. It would have required major changes to the existing army organization. This did not happen. However, spending on water lines was curtailed. It even came to an almost complete standstill after 1920. Despite its fame in the national narrative, waterlines played a limited role in the German invasion of 1940.

‘The Stirrings of the Meuse’. Control and Conflict along the Meuse in Limburg from Old Regime to the Modern Age

This article examines how the Meuse River and its banks in the Limburg region became a heavily contested space. Drawing on legal, administrative, and cartographic sources from the late Ancien Régime to the mid-nineteenth century, we analyze how various actors – such as local landowners, municipalities, and state authorities – sought to exert influence over the river’s course and its bank protection. We demonstrate that river management during the Ancien Régime was characterized by shared and often ambiguously defined responsibilities. Local customs and private interests played a significant role in shaping governance practices. In the nineteenth century, a shift toward centralization and technocratic oversight began to emerge. However, this development was continually hindered by entrenched rights and localized interpretations of authority. By studying the Meuse as a dynamic border space shaped by the interventions of a diverse array of stakeholders, we argue that river management did not follow a straightforward trajectory of modernization. Well into the nineteenth century, it remained a domain marked by administrative conflict, legal friction, and protracted negotiation. This article thereby contributes to the historiography of hydraulic governance, property relations, and territorial organization during the transition to modernity.

A colonial artifact in a Dutch waterway. On water infrastructure and political discussions

In both the Netherlands and Indonesia the so-called Romijn water distribution structure is still found. The circumstances under which the sluice was built no longer apply in both countries. This article traces the original colonial history of the water control work to show the relationship between politically motivated objectives and the final design of artefacts in water management.

Water safety in nineteenth century ‘s-Hertogenbosch: administrative struggle at three scale levels

Right from the time of its foundation in 1185, the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch in the province of Brabant had to struggle to secure itself against flooding. The low-lying town was situated at the confluence of waterways. The rivers Aa and Dommel flowed into the river Dieze and that into the river Maas. So the discharge of the Dieze into the Maas would be blocked. This would raise the level of the Dieze, the Aa and Dommel so much that ‘s-Hertogenbosch and the surroundings would be flooded. Additionally, water would arrive at the city overland too, because of a larger river management scheme. When the water level in the Maas was too high, from above the town of Grave part of it was allowed to flow overland, through the Beers Spillway (The Beerse Overlaat) to a lower part of the river. This prevented breaking of river dikes and large-scale damage in the province of Gelderland, but the water affected ’s-Hertogenbosch and surroundings severely. What complicated water management in this area was, that fortified ’s-Hertogenbosch formed part of the Zuiderwaterlinie (Southern Dutch Waterline). This implicated that for military reasons the area surrounding the city was flooded on purpose several times. This article describes the struggle of the local and provincial governments to improve the water control in and around the town.

This article shows the struggle from the local and provincial governments and their attempts to improve the hydrology situation in this surroundings.

Right to repair? Plumbers and the struggle for the repair of domestic water supplies in the nineteenth century

The modern high-tech water infrastructure that emerged in the nineteenth century was a tool in a power struggle that manifested itself mainly indoors. These fragile systems worked anything but flawlessly, however, so repair remained essential even in times of increasing mass production. Plumbers epitomised this, but entered into fierce competition around the right to repair (a precursor of the contemporary debate) with manufacturers, distributors and local governments, who subjected repair to strict regulations to promote public health and reduce water waste. A look at London, Paris and Brussels shows how local policy choices and socio-environmental conditions affected the regulation of repair.

Access to Drinking Water as a Scene of Politicization and Urban Conflict: The Cases of Sint-Niklaas and Aalst, c. 1860–1923

In the 19th century, public health emerged as a critical social issue, particularly due to advancements in bacteriology, which shifted focus towards the establishment of drinking water infrastructure. This study examines the political dynamics surrounding access to clean drinking water in the Belgian cities of Sint-Niklaas and Aalst from 1860 to 1923. It highlights how the development of water supply systems became a battleground for various interest groups, including municipal authorities, industrialists, and citizens, leading to significant social and political conflicts. While Sint-Niklaas experienced intense politicization of the water issue, resulting in paralysis due to conflicting interests and expert opinions, Aalst faced a more subdued politicization, with the water problem initially treated as a non-issue. The research underscores the role of external pressures, such as cholera epidemics and governmental interventions, in shaping the discourse and actions regarding water supply. Ultimately, both cities illustrate how industrial interests often overshadowed public health concerns, reflecting the complex interplay of power dynamics within local governance.

New Netherlands in the old. National and local identity in the popular festivities of the Haarlemmermeerpolder (1852-1905)

Nationalism is traditionally seen as supplanting a local or regional orientation in the nineteenth century. Recent scholarship, however, has focused on the interweaving of these two identities. In this article, the case of the Haarlemmermeerpolder, a tract of land reclaimed in 1852 without history or tradition, is discussed. The polder was characterised as a national achievement, an exotic wilderness and a gathering place for agriculture from all corners of the Netherlands. In several popular festivities, the inhabitants found causalities and parallels with national history, but gradually developed a local story of agricultural and infrastructural development.

From “vischduivel” to protected fish species. Changing perceptions of the European catfish in the long nineteenth century

After the draining of the Haarlemmermeer in 1852 the last body of water in Western Europe that held European catfish disappears. Dutch newspapers in the long nineteenth century report on the captures of fish that somehow escaped. Until the 1880s catfish were described as monsters that belonged to the wasteland that humans were destined to cultivate. In the last two decades of the nineteenth century the discourse changed: the fish were put on display in aquariums and in doing so the monstruous was tamed. The twentieth century brought yet another shift in the representation of catfish: they became less threatening and even friendly, and were depicted as in need of protection.