ABSTRACT
Asan effective functioning political entity, the Netherlands is not yet 150 years old. The opening of the nineteenth century found the country under French rule, and at this time only the eastern boundary existed as a recognised frontier. In the twentieth century the Netherlands has been the scene of some major sea defence schemes and one major reclamation project. In the province of North Holland, however, the hills die out and the complex of development around Amsterdam, Haarlem and the seaward end of the North Sea Canal spreads over low land more typical of the western Netherlands. The other sea defence scheme is in progress in the Rhine-Maas-Schelde Delta. Begun in the late 1950s following severe floods in 1953, the Delta Scheme will eventually protect the deltaic islands from the effects of tides and storm surges by means of a series of barrages across the mouths of the estuaries.
