Some aspects of the history of land reclamation

In an earlier contribution to Flevoland's Geheugen - Polders in Mesopotamia - the oldest in the world? - I described that the world's first polders were probably reclaimed around Ur, in present-day Iraq, during the 4th millennium BC. I derived most of this information from Paul Wagret's book of 1959, Les Polders, translated into English in 1968 and published as Polderlands. In this contribution, I want to describe some aspects of the history of land reclamation worldwide.

When I arrange the data that I have on polders worldwide in chronological order, it becomes clear that the year, or period of construction for many polders is missing. Therefore, caution was advised when presenting the available data. With this in mind, it can be noted that several other polders were also constructed before the beginning of the Common Era. These include: a polder near Memphis in Egypt in 3400 BC, the reclamation in Lake Copais in Greece in 1300 BC, and the Hetao Irrigation District along the Yellow River in China in the 3rd century BC. These polders were located in areas with advanced ancient civilizations.

Thereafter I was only able to find data from the second half of the 10th century to around the end of the 11th century. The first polders in the Netherlands were probably constructed at the end of the 10th century in Friesland, east of Bolsward.

During this period, land reclamation projects were carried out in various European countries. For example, in 950, there is mention of land reclamation in the Romney Marsh in southeastern England, around 1000 there were land reclamation projects in the Po Delta in Italy, and in France, in 1024, the construction of the Marais de Dol Polder. The latter is a polder of 2,500 hectares, which must have been enormous for its time. In Belgium, 1102 is mentioned for the Zandvoorde polder. This polder is 1,174 hectares, which is also quite large. In Germany, 1106 is mentioned for the Hollerland Polder. Several other polders are also mentioned during this period; in fact, all of these polders are located in the coastal areas of Western Europe.

Looking at the 12th through the 15th centuries, the Mastenbroek Polder (1363, 1,103 hectares) near Kampen stands out for the Netherlands. Many, often smaller, polders were also reclaimed in other Western European countries during this period. The next mention of a polder in Asia is during this period. It concerns the Sangyuanwei Polder Embankment System, 26,540 hectares in China at the beginning of the 12th century.

The subsequent period, from the 16th to the 18th century, is particularly noteworthy the draining of the Achtermeer near Alkmaar (1533, 35 hectares), which was the first drained lake in the Netherlands, as well as the Zijpe and Hazepolders (1597, 6,775 hectares) as the first major lands gained on the sea. The large drained lakes in the province of North-Holland, such as Beemster, Heerhugowaard, Purmer, Schermer, and Wormer, were also reclaimed during this period.

Several other polders were reclaimed, particularly along the east coast of England and the west coast of Denmark. The first mention on the American continent concerns polders near the Bay of Fundy in Canada (1633, 36,000 hectares). These polders were primarily developed by French immigrants. Reclamation also occurred during this period in Lake Texcoco in Mexico, at an elevation of over 2,200 metres. In Asia, there is a small polder called Deshima (1634, 10 hectares) in Japan. Shortly before that, a Dutch trading post of the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) had been established there. Therefore, the Dutch may have had something to do with the reclamation of the polder.

In the 19th century, the main reclamations in the Netherlands were the draining of the Haarlemmermeer and the Zuidplas. This period also saw the introduction of steampower pumping, initially in combination with windmills, as these were considered to be more reliable than steampower pumping stations at the time. During this period, large-scale land reclamation projects were implemented, particularly in Asia.

In the United States, enormous land reclamation projects (245,000 hectares) were completed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in the mid-19th century. Because these were predominantly peatlands, significant subsidence occurred. On the African continent, more than five millennia after the polder near Memphis, the first subsequent project was the reclamation of the Abou Qir lake in Egypt (1887, 12,000 hectares).

From the 20th century to the present, the main projects in the Netherlands were the Zuiderzee Project and the introduction of diesel and electric pumping. In Asia, many polders were developed, particularly in China, Japan, and South Korea. The most recent and largest project is the Saemangeum Project in South Korea. The seawall in this area, at 33.9 kilometres, is currently the longest seawall in the world. Various land reclamation projects are underway in other continents, but generally not very large projects.

Especially in Asia, there are still plans for future land reclamation projects. Time will tell which plans will actually be realized.