The Netherlands as we know it today was nothing like the region that Caesar discovered and invaded in 50 BC.  Above the Rhine River all along the northern coast of what is now the Netherlands and extending into northeast Germany Caesar found a swampland dotted with many lakes.  This region was half water, half land, protected from the North Sea by great sand dunes.

      During the 1100s and 1300s there were many storms at sea and in 1282 the ocean waters broke through the protecting sand dunes and flooded much of the land behind these dunes creating the Zuider Zee where before had been only a lake.  Around the Zuider Zee until as late as 1930, a great deal of the area around Lemmer was under water and frozen most winters.  In the summer, farmers came and pitched tents while they gathered a quick crop of hay.

     Over the centuries the land has been reclaimed from the sea by a slow tedious process of building a succession of dykes.  Along the sea shore, in the mud flats and swampy areas, ditches are dug using the soil from them to create a protecting dyke.  Brush and rocks are strategically placed to retain the silt brought in by the ebb and flow of the tides.  This stage is called the "slikken" stage and the first dyke is the "Watcher".   As the silt builds up another "Watcher" is created, and this first dyke becomes the "Sleeper".  Tough Kwelder grass is planted behind the "Sleeper" on which sheep graze during low tide.  Eventually this dyke will become the third stage of the process and is known as the "Dreamer" or "Dozer".  The soil will be fertilized extensively for the growing of crops and grazing of cattle.  This dyke after hundreds of years becomes a 'dead' dyke as more land is reclaimed from the sea's edge.  The areas behind the dykes are known as polders and since they are lower than the sea must be pumped out constantly with huge pumping stations such as the one located at Lemmer.

      During the process of draining the land between the dykes, 'terps' (mounds of dirt) are thrown up, creating a manmade rise in the land which is secure against possible floods.  On these 'terps' are built homes and communities.  They are laboriously enlarged when more area is required for buildings.

      It was not until 1923 that a dyke was started across the mouth of the Zuider Zee to reclaim the land from the sea.  This project was not completed until after 1980 creating the freshwater IJsselmeer of Lake IJssel.

      Lemmer sits on the shore of the Zuider Zee or IJsselmeer. Inland toward Joure the country is dotted with freshwater lakes connected by the inevitable canal.  During the summer it is a sailor's paradise and in the winter when the waters freeze children probably skate the approximate 10 miles from Joure to Lemmer as they did in their grandparents days.  Or do they require the use of the family vehicles as our children in the United States do today?

      When Caesar invaded this low-lying swampy country he not only found the land inhospitable but found it occupied by fierce barbaric tribes like no other people he had encountered.  Their origin is obscure but speculation based on their language and customs is that they did not come from Central Europe but rather could be related to Celts and Scots.

      They spoke a distinctive Frisian language which seemed closer to English than Dutch - an ancient Frisian oath is "uth mitha ebbe, up mitha flood" or "out with the ebb, up with the flood".

      Gradually this Frisian empire became known as West, Main and East Friesland.  When the Zuider Zee was formed, this empire was cut in two.  What little remained above water of West Friesland was absorbed into the province of Holland and East Friesland was taken over by Germanic tribes.  Only Main Friesland was left which is the modern day province of Friesland.

      A tried in the storm race of seafarers and at the same time a hard working people of peasant farmers lives here between coast and upland.  The Frisian composure and sense of independence is remarkable.

      It is impossible for a non-historian to sort out the various rulers and countries which have governed the Netherlands.  Although Caesar and the Vikings passed through the land, it was not until the Franks under Charlemagne invaded were the Frisian tribes truly conquered.  Charlemagne gave them their first written constitution worded:  "The Frisians shall be free so long as the wind flows out of the clouds and the world stands", which guaranteed their ancient laws.

      The ancient Friesian empire owed allegiance to no central ruler but was ruled by various Flemish and Dutch counts, each community warring against the other.  In the south where there were more towns wealthy merchants lived, individual cities finally banded together against corrupt nobles, but in the north there was still very little organized government.

      During the medieval ages, these low countries came under the Roman Catholic empire and were ruled by various powers.  As the country became more prosperous, steep taxes were imposed and religious suppression was increased.  The people remained fiercely independent and protective of what was theirs.  They struggled repeatedly against unfair rulers and it was extremely difficult to rule them from such far away places as France, the German Empire, and Spain.

      During the 1500s the House of Orange became a great power with William as the Prince of Orange.  He tried to unite the provinces in a revolt against these foreign rulers.  He failed in the south but in 1579, the seven northern provinces untied under his leadership and created what would become the Dutch Republic.

      Before it became an independent country the northern provinces were ruled by France and the southern by Spain. In 1579 they won recognition from the power of Europe, not as a monarchy but as a republic and installed William of Orange as the stadholder (Governor).  France and Spain did not want to lose this avenue of wealth so they were attacked repeatedly.  It became an impoverished country and only the "sea beggars (merchants who had taken to the sea becoming what we think of as sea pirates) were able to resist.  The Province of Holland with its sea heritage and size was the strongest defense against the southern invaders and the entire region became known as Holland.  At different times when a city was under siege, the power of the sea was used to their benefit by opening dykes and flooding the area so the "sea beggars" would come to their assistance.

      The people became disenchanted with the republican government and formed a kingdom in 1813 with the king to be selected from the mighty House of Orange.  The area that is now Belgium felt this was foreign rulership so they withdrew only 15 years later, appointing their own king.

      Thus the Netherlands as it is today was created.

      During the 1600s the Dutch seafarers became a power to be reckoned with and played a decisive part in breaking the Spanish supremacy on the high seas.  Over the centuries the merchants became prosperous as cloth makers and traders.  Their shrewdness and ability won them a prominent place in history.  Hard work and rich soils behind the dykes also created a prosperous agricultural industry.

      The Netherlands are divided into two major parts by the Rivers Rhine and Maas.  It was the people north of this 'waterline' who first became protestants and resisted all the attempts of the Spaniards to turn them back into Roman Catholics.  The people of the south, though decidedly Dutch are not quite the same serious determined people as the men of the north.  This slight difference in personal character seems to have influenced the character of the country-side north of and south of the 'waterline'.

      But much more striking still is the difference between the provinces.  The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces.  When you remember that the total area is only 13,500 square miles, the differences in character and customs as you pass from one province to another are really remarkable.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the northernmost province of Friesland.

      Friesland is an agricultural province producing great quantities of butter, cheese and milk.  The black and white Friesian cattle are world famous.  The men are tall and strong and the women blue-eyed, blond and fair skinned.  They are mostly Protestant and many are strictly Calvinist.

      The Friesians have remained a people to themselves, sticking to their own obstinacy and their own interpretation for the great powers of the world.  Political boundaries are not able to make a dividing line here, and administrative boundaries, such as have been drawn between the provinces still less.  They retain their own flag, own national anthem and even their own distinctive Frisian language.  They call other Netherlanders "Hollanders" and issue "passports" to tourists.

      The Friesian national anthem is a very old tuneful song titled "Frisian Blood, Rise up and Boil!" and when Friesians sing it they rise up, stand straight, and lustily raise the rafters.

      The Friesian language is still closer to English than Dutch and is still taught in some of their schools.  Other Netherlanders do not take kindly to the Friesian insistence on going their own way.

      Behind the succession of protecting dykes sit the homes on their grassy "terps" secure against floods.  They are distinctively built in three parts.  The first part is where the family lives called the "head", or the "neck" where meals are prepared and one leaves boots or klompens (wooden shoes) before entering the living quarters.  Last but not least is the "frame" "body", a huge barn for the animals.  All are under the same vast roof which if it is not thatched is covered with large clinker bricks (glazed tiles) which in sunlight look as if maple syrup has been poured over them.  Commonly scrollwork will be painted on the gate and front door.

      Windows are bigger, cleaner and more flower-filled here than is ever found in America.  Net curtains - if any - are usually draped or parted to let in the maximum sunlight.  Window cleaning is a weekly ritual, along with the other scrubbing and polishing that gives the Netherlander housewife her unparalleled reputation for spotlessness in the home.  The women take excessive pride in keeping their houses clean and tidy (netjes is their own word for it), and since few of them have a career after marriage, it occupies their time.

      Bedclothes are usually thrown half out of the window each morning to air - sometimes the mattress, pajamas and nightdress as well.  There is also the ritual of vigorously beating all carpets and upholstery and leaving them outside while the rooms are tidied.  But this is nothing compared to the 'grote schoonmaak' (spring housecleaning), about which the housewives have an absolute mania.  In Friesland it is still a rigid rule that 'grote schoonmaak' must be finished before Easter.

      "Little" is a term much used in the Netherlands.  It comes not only as a separate word - klein - but as the suffix -je, attached to the end of almost any word.   The Netherlanders like small things.   They cherish objects, knick-knacks and, mementos like dried flowers, seashells, pieces of wood or porcelain.  All of these objects are talismans and touchstones.  Holland is a small country so this is not so much liking small things but liking things in proportion.

      The coziness of the Dutch interior is unsurpassed, but to American tastes the living rooms would be over-crowded.  The older generation still clings to the traditional and rather heavy style, with solid antique furniture, fringed velvet curtains, ornamental gilt-framed pictures and an abundance of Persian rugs (often draped over tables or hung on the wall).  Books, ornaments, lamps and indoor plants fill every available niche;  bedrooms in contrast are sparsely furnished.