Abstract
On 26 January 1682 and again on 3 March 1715, parts of the coastal lowlands of the Netherlands in the southwest were flooded. Both flooding disasters were caused by a storm surge, and in both cases, largely the same areas were flooded. Because these events occurred within a time interval of 33 years, documentary evidence of the 1715 flooding makes numerous references to the 1682 flooding. It not only allows us to learn about the causes and extent of both flooding disasters, but also enables us to study what the contemporaries of 1715 had actually learnt from the 1682 disaster. In particular, we look at how the measures taken after the first flood and those taken in 1715 differed. Furthermore, we need to have an insight into the perception of both flooding events: Had the perception in 1715 really changed? Moreover, is there a difference in the perception of people if we distinguish them into different social classes? Or is perception based on different people just having different kinds of responsibilities? And what about people who were mere victims of these flooding events?
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Notes
- 1.
Municipal Library at Kortrijk, ms. 175, fol. 460.
- 2.
Zeeland Archives (Middelburg), Hulsterambacht, no. 24. Resolutions magistrate 1715.
- 3.
Regional Archives (Haarlem), Honig Collection, no. 125, diary Caescooper (Buisman 2000, 622).
- 4.
Groynes are low walls built out into the sea to prevent it from washing out sand.
- 5.
Royal Library Albert I (Brussels), ms 17,243, fol. 83ro. This storm occurred on Saint Martin (11 November 1534).
- 6.
Zeeland Archives (Middelburg), Estates of Zeeland, no. 1297. Letter of 29 January 1682 by Johan van Vrijberghen.
- 7.
Zeeland Archives (Middelburg), Estates of Zeeland, no. 1297. Heerder, most probably the local sheriff or chair of the largest local water board, was authorised to report to the provincial Estates of Zeeland.
- 8.
Zeeland Archives (Middelburg), Polder van Walcheren, no. 199. February–March 1682.
- 9.
National Archives (The Hague), Nassause Domeinraad, no. 41 (res. 2 March 1682).
- 10.
National Archives (The Hague), Nassause Domeinraad, no. 74, res. 15 April 1715.
- 11.
National Archives (The Hague) Nassause Domeinraad, no. 74, res. 1 May 1715.
- 12.
Zeeland Archives (Middelburg), Estates of Zeeland, no. 1927, requests sent from Terneuzen (March 1715).
- 13.
Regional Archives of Goeree Overflakkee (Middelharnis), Commissie Herdijking 171–1737.
- 14.
Royal Library Albert I (Brussels), ms II-1593, 5–6.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dr. Sjoerd Kluiving, Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology (IGBA), VU University, Amsterdam, and Mr. Roger Pendery (Terneuzen) for their advice.
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de Kraker, A.M.J. (2013). Two Floods Compared: Perception of and Response to the 1682 and 1715 Flooding Disasters in the Low Countries. In: Pfeifer, K., Pfeifer, N. (eds) Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5000-5_10
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