Pictures of Zeeland in words and images
Alja Schmidt-van Dorp has kindly contributed this brief introduction to Zeeland. To get a visual flavour, here are some links to the Pictures of Holland website as well.
A visit by yacht to Zeeland's traditional harbours combines historical and engineering delights, the charm of its pretty medieval harbours in contrast to formidable modern water defences.
Zeeland is situated between Holland and Flanders as part of what used to be the Low Countries. Its physical geography as the delta of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt formed the gateway into Germany and Belgium, and the short distance to Britain explains its focus for wool transport during the Middle Ages (a very important and wealthy trade for medieval England). The little borough of Goes developed through the cloth industry and salt production from French coastal resources. The boroughs of Middelburg and Zierikzee grew more influential and obtained positions in international trade. When stagnation hit the economy of the smaller Flemish towns, Veere and Vlissingen expanded.
Here the trading vessels sailed out to sea, to return riches from China, the East and West Indies to Delft and Rotterdam. Here also flat-bottomed navy vessels cast off to defend the cause of the newly formed Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Farming prospered on the heavy marine clay deposits, and fisheries on the cod and herring stocks of the North Sea. The shallow basins between the islands offered breeding grounds for oysters, mussels and shrimps. On the down side, the waters surrounding the low islands posed a continuous threat of flooding. Zeeland’s water defence work contributed to the earliest civil engineering skills and it still hosts some of the most innovative dams in the world.