Water

In my World History class I spend quite a bit of time teaching about Medieval Europe and the feudal triangle. During this period in history, the feudal triangle helped many people during a time of stress and war. At the bottom of the triangle were the peasants, they were protected from marauding neighbors by the knights; the Lords, who were higher up on the triangle, gave the knights land as payment for protecting the peasants. One drawback with this system was that the differing levels of society could not be breached. If you were born into a family of peasants, you and your family would always stay there, for centuries; there was no way of escaping your placement on the ladder of society. This was the method used throughout Europe to survive, except in one place - the Netherlands.

In Russell Shorto’s book, “Amsterdam: The Most Liberal City in the World” the idea of the Dutch not using the Feudal Triangle is discussed. Since most of the Netherlands is below sea level, their common enemy was not human instead it was water. The Dutch had to work together and continually fight the water so they could continue to plant and live in the Netherlands. This was a group effort for centuries so there were no levels of power within their society. Anyone could plant crops or sell land; you did not need to hold a high position to be the one to make decisions for those in the Netherlands. Anyone who was willing to help and problem solve against the ever pressing water was just as important as any leader in the country. The idea was that they all worked together against a common enemy, so EVERYONE, made a difference in how their society developed, not just those making the major political decisions. Since they saw the value in each individual and their ideas, the Netherlands respected and welcomed those who were different from themselves and appreciated their ideas. The Dutch still hold this value today.

The Dutch’s unique way of fighting water is now influencing the area of New York. Ironically, the Dutch established the Colony of New Netherlands in the 1600s, in what today is New York and the surrounding areas. The issue of the Dutch controlling water has now come full circle here. In a recent article by Russell Shorto, in the New York Times, I learned about Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the United States. President Barack Obama asked Donovan to find a solution to the New York area’s issues with severe flooding during Hurricane Sandy. He wanted Donovan to “radically rethink” the setup of the area with climate change in mind. While on vacation to Germany, Donovan decided to take a detour to the Netherlands and visit the world experts on water control. Here he met Henk Ovink who was the director of Spatial Planning and Water Management in the Netherlands. Ovink offered to come to the United States and assist Donovan with this issue of controlling the water. His idea was to help the United States “live with water not simply resist it.”

Ovink has his work cut out for him as the United States in not as open to new ideas as the Dutch have always been. As he walked along the shorelines of New York, the American engineers talked about their plans to rebuild the same walls that protected the areas, which had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Ovink asked what they would do if the walls were broken again by the water and the engineers simply answered they would rebuild them again. Ovink saw that a new thought pattern needed to be introduced. When Ovink discussed climate change, many American water management workers looked at him like he was crazy; they have not yet grasped the reality of this looming problem.

The Water Boards established in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages are a main reasons that the Netherlands established as such a cooperative society where everyone worked together. They used dams, windmills and dikes to live with the water and make land for themselves to live on during medieval times. Now faced with the effects of climate change, the Dutch have changed their strategy again. The windmills and dams are no longer effective with the new forces of water that have kept coming their way; they realized they need to once more “think outside of the box” and drastically change how their city is built to withstand water. One example is the city of Rotterdam; here they have built houses and office building that float as well as making a hole under city squares. These are mainly used as basketball courts, but when the water is high, they can be flooded with the addition runoff.

As Ovink has continued the water fight in the New York area, people have begun to listen and think outside of the box - more like the Dutch who settled the area centuries ago. However, they are still not as willing to reach out to other neighboring states affected by Hurricane Sandy; instead they have simply decided to let them figure out their own plan. Many homeowners in neighboring states are struggling to put their homes on stilts for protection from future water disasters. This is a very expensive and difficult task, especially accomplishing this one house at a time. Ovink suggested the entire area work together and help each other financially and materially to make it a more effective and affordable task. Their response was that it was too socialistic. They have not understood as the Dutch have learned, that when fighting water, you need to work together to win.

The Dutch have always been at the forefront of “weird” ideas. Things like the thought that the sun was the center of our solar system and that there are microscopic “animals" (today we call them bacteria and viruses) in us that make us ill. They have also continually worked together to tackle big problems, like the water, allowing everyone to be equal in fighting the challenge. In European museums there are portraits of kings and great leaders from the 1600s-1700s. The portraits from the Netherlands are a bit different from this time. Instead of only royalty, we see faces of the members of baker’s guilds and builders alongside the political leaders of the day.

 

It is hoped that the residences of New York and the United States, can take a risk on the Dutch way of thinking and work together and use different ideas to solve their water issues. As we examine a picture of New York from the Costello Plan map from around 1660, we can see that New York looked much different then it does now. When overlaid with a current Yahoo Map, it is obvious that throughout the past centuries, New York citizens have taken over a part of the water just as their ancestors from the Netherlands. It seems that things have come full circle and New York could benefit if they used their “Dutch sense” to keep the land they have claimed from the water around them and live at peace with water, as the Dutch have done for centuries.

Don't Be a Pilgrim

I tell my history students that the past is always changing. It is not that the actual events are altered, but our perception of them changes. This happens because as additional information is discovered we gain a more complete picture of events that happened long ago. One of these changes is the stereotype that the Pilgrims were the pillars of American values. The original story states that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, made friends with the Indians and had the first thanksgiving. This is basically true but the Pilgrims were not the tolerant and open-minded people that they are honored to be. All of the valued American ideals that are attributed to the Pilgrims were actually characteristics of the Dutch.

In the 1500s most of Europe was under the oppression of the Catholic country of Spain. Many Europeans were seeking religious freedom because of the spiritual reformation that had swept through Europe. At this time the Netherlands were one of the countries welcoming these religious exiles to live among them. The Dutch, in the Netherlands, fought to be released from the Spain's control and gained their freedom, which gave them the right to sail all over the world. As a result, the Dutch prepared to jump into world trade and set up colonies around the world.

The Dutch were very dissimilar from most of Europe because they were welcoming to those who were different from them and tolerant of their diverse values and ideas. They were also open to new ideas. Upon entering the world of trade, the Dutch came up with the idea to use joint stocks to fund their global trade ventures. This allowed more people to earn money from the trade they were conducting instead of simply permitting a few of the rich to get richer. The Dutch also devised a new design for a ship, which was less expensive to build, sturdier, and less likely to capsize in a storm.

New ideas in science were beginning to circulate in Europe at this time as well, and many countries were unaccepting of these concepts because they were considered to be blasphemous. One such unacceptable idea came from a man named Galileo who proposed that the earth revolved around the sun. No one would publish his papers about these unique ideas until he approached the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. The Dutch were intrigued with this new way of thinking and not only published Galileo's papers, but also opened up the use of their university telescope for those interested.

Since the Pilgrims were looking for help to get to the New World, they moved to the Netherlands along with the other religious and political exiles. The Dutch welcomed them and made plans to send the Pilgrims across the ocean to the young Dutch colony of New Netherland. But, as the Pilgrims enjoyed a temporary settlement while awaiting their voyage they became uneasy with life among the Dutch. Their chief complaint was that their children were becoming "too Dutch;" or in other words, their youth were becoming more accepting of others’ cultures, and the Pilgrim leaders were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the differences between the people living around them. The Dutch were very welcoming to those who needed help, tolerant of those who were different from themselves, and open to new ideas and ways of thinking; the Pilgrims could not deal with the diversity and acceptance that the Dutch thrived on. So, the Pilgrims moved back to England where diversity was not as prevalent, and eventually sailed to the New World on the Mayflower.

Meanwhile, the Dutch sent about 30 families on the ship, Nieu Nederlandt, to live in the recently established colony of New Netherland - known today as New York. The people that came to this colony resembled the cultural climate of the Netherlands in Europe - many languages, cultures, and beliefs - a variety of people living side-by-side starting out a new life in the New World. Even though the people who populated New Netherland were not all Dutch, they identified themselves with the Dutch culture. In her book “New Netherland in a Nutshell,” Firth Fabend stated that the diverse group of colonists called themselves Dutch because they liked the characteristics that were associated with the Dutch way of life. Fabend listed these traits as: “inclusivity, tolerance, the value placed on civic concord, pragmatism, charity, humanism, liberty, literacy, and the relatively enlightened Dutch attitude toward women” (Fabend, 115).

The Pilgrims settled in the New World, south of the colony of New Netherland and their voyage had led them to a place where they could have the freedom to worship as they pleased. The ironic thing is that the Pilgrims would not allow anyone in their colony to have freedom to worship as they pleased; for those living in the Pilgrim's colony, it was necessary to believe as they believed and conform to their way of thinking. If a colonist had a different way of looking at the world, especially religiously, the Pilgrims banished them from the colony. The only place these exiles could go in the New World was to the colony of New Netherland, where they were welcomed and given land to live on.

In the beginning, the Pilgrims made friends with the Indians and learned how to survive in the New World; however, in the end, they used up the friendship and took advantage of the Indians. The Dutch had a few war filled years with the Indians but for the most part had a civil relationship with them. The directors of New Netherland even had to establish laws to prevent the Dutch colonists from baking too much bread for the Indians, because it diminished their own supply of wheat.

The Pilgrims carried out the unthinkable during the mid 1600s in the New World by outlawing Christmas for twenty-three years. They were afraid of pagan beliefs creeping into their way of life and did not appreciate the different cultural activities that had found their way into Christmas from others parts of the world. The Dutch in New Netherland, with the help of Sinter Klaus, never missed a Christmas in the New World. Instead of being afraid of Christmas corrupting them, they used each December to help the poor and little children to find a bit of happiness during this yuletide time of the year.

So, the next time you gather around a table with family and friends to celebrate all that you are thankful for, don't be a Pilgrim; instead, remember the Dutch of New Netherland. Remember the kindness and tolerance the Dutch showed to those who differed from themselves. Remember that they were the ones who were brave enough to think outside of the box and do things a bit differently from others. Remember that a lot can be learned from being open-minded to new ideas and that there is nothing wrong with being unique.

Santa!

            He has many names, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, and simply Santa.  Whatever name you call him, this magical being came from the Dutch character Sinterklaas.  He wears a long red cape over his white bishop’s robe and a red mitre hat and comes riding his gray horse named Amerigo.  Sinterklass and his horse arrive in the Netherlands in mid November on a boat from Spain, usually bringing mandarin oranges. The feast of Saint Nickolas is celebrated on December 6^th as it is the Name Day of the Saint Nicholas.  Many European countries and some in Latin America celebrate Name Days on a specific day of the year that coordinates with a person’s given name.   This first began, as Catholic believers who were named after a particular Saint celebrated that Saints Feast Day.  For Saint Nicholas, the patron Saint of children and sailors, Feast Day is December 6^th, thus the arrival of Sinterklass in the Netherlands on that day.

            In early times, this Feast was an opportunity to help those in poverty and money was left in the shoes of the poor.  Later this tradition of giving changed from giving money to giving presents, which were left in many of the children’s shoes, rich and poor.  In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas Eve, December 5, is a main gift giving day of the season and before going to bed, children leave hay and a carrot in their shoe for Amerigo; when they awake the next morning, they find candy and a small gift in their shoes.

            Traditional Sinterklaas treats include: hot chocolate, mandarin oranges, chocolate coins and chocolate filled pastries branded with the first letter of the child’s name - written in chocolate.

            During World War II, in the difficult times of the German occupation of the Netherlands, Sinterklass came to cheer up the entire country, not just the children.  In 1941, the Royal Air Force dropped boxes of candy over the occupied Netherlands from Sinterklass to lighten the hearts of those oppressed with the war during the holiday season.

            

We Gather Together

            Since I was young I have sung “We Gather Together” during the Thanksgiving season.  This song would conjure up scenes of the Pilgrims surrounding a large table outside,with the Indians standing beside them; the center of the table filled with serving trays of turkey and platters of roasted corn.  Everyone in the scene was at peace with each other and enjoying freedom of religion in the New World.

            A few years ago, however, I happened to glance at the bottom of the page while singing the first verse of this hymn and realized that it was actually written in the Netherlands in 1626.  At once, I came to the understanding that this song was not about the Pilgrims at all, but instead was about the Dutch.  They had been under Spanish rule for years and in this hymn, they were expressing gratitude for escaping the Spanish so they could have the freedom to sail the seas in pursuit of trade opportunities and gather to worship as they wanted.  Years before this song was written the Dutch were at war with the Catholic King Phillip II of Spain and since the Dutch were mostly Protestants, this war was not just about lands, but also religion.

            “We Gather Together” was originally written in 1597 b y Adrianus Valerius to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout - part of the Eighty Year War.  The city of Turnhout was a borderland between the Northern and Southern Netherlands and it was at this place, early in 1597 that the Dutch Cavalry defeated the Spanish Cavalry Unit.  The leader of the Dutch in this battle was Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange or just Prince Maurice.

            “We Gather Together” first appeared in 1626 as part of a collection of Dutch Patriotic Hymns.  As the Dutch sang, “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessings” they were grateful for the fact that they could finally gather and worship as they pleased which was something that had been forbidden under Spain’s Catholic rule.
            This song continued to find a place in hymnbooks of various denominations as the feelings of gratitude expressed in it are somewhat universal.  During World War II as Americans sang “the wicked oppressing, now cease from distressing” they did not think of the Spanish and the Dutch, instead their minds were turned to Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

            So as you “Gather Together” this holiday season, take a minute to be grateful for the blessings you have in your life, no matter how difficult the past has been.