Tijdschrift voor Historische Geografie - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2020

In this article the development of the feudal system of ‘herengoederen’ (landowner estates) has been described for the region the Veluwe in the Netherlands. These estates were founded by the count and later duke of Gelre. In the 12th century the count of Gelre came to power due to the support of the bishop of Utrecht and the Roman-German emperor. He was able to start reclamation activities across the Veluwe region. The reclamation work was done by serfs who lived in on his estate. The term ‘herengoed’ was officially used in documents to describe a farming unit from 1543 onwards till 1795 ( the French Revolution). However, these farming units were much older as they originated form the 12th century. The system of ‘herengoed’ is an interesting subject for historical research because the administration of these farms is still available in the regional archives in the province of Gelderland. For every ‘herengoed’ a registration was set up about, for instance, the position of serfdom, the completeness of the estates and the registration of debts on the estates. A new owner of the ‘herengoed’ needed a permission (investiture) from the chamber of registration of the county of Gelre to live on the estate. After changes in the 16th century the province of Gelderland led the chamber of registration.

After a general introduction about the nature of ‘herengoederen’ a case study has been included for the local community Nunspeet with its four settlements Hulshorst, Westeinde, ‘t Hul and Oosteinde. The first remnants of settlements in this region were found during archaeological excavations in the 1970s. Periods of drought stimulated the farmers to start farming in the coastal area on the fringes of the Veluwe Plateau. After the establishment of the county of Gelre in the 12th century the coastal area between Veluwe and Zuiderzee was reclaimed within a couple of centuries. The system of reclamation was described in the article based on a study on cadastral and other maps from the 19th century and on information from the archives. The authors advise to start a Veluwe-wide inventory of all still existing ‘herengoederen’ because due to urbanisation and other causes the number of these estates has declined dramatically. A complete inventory of all these farming units has been missing up till now.

The windmill is an icon of the Netherlands. But when did this instrument acquire this symbolic role at home and abroad? After all, mills are also common outside of the Netherlands. In this essay, it is argued that during the second half of the 19th century, foreigners systematically identified the Netherlands and the windmill for the first time. More than in other countries, there was a varied use of mills in the Netherlands, large and robust mills and clusters of industrial mills. Within the Netherlands itself, development towards an iconic position is only visible around the turn of the century when the mill turned out to be a plus in tourist recruitment abroad and when mills were slowly disappearing from the landscape.

Columbus introduced maize in Spain at the end of the 15th century. At the end of 16th century, maize reached the Netherlands. However, the Dutch climate was not favorable enough to have the crop matured. Therefore, for a long time maize cultivation remained limited for study and observation. The Netherlands has not built up an old maize culture. On the other hand, Spanish and Portuguese farmers already cultivated plenty of maize in 1520. For the purpose of intensive livestock farming, the Netherlands started importing maize from America around 1850. After World War I, trade started again, but also research into the breeding of maize in order to make the Netherlands less dependent on foreign countries. After The Second World War, some farmers began to grow small-scale maize. However, it took until around 1975 before cultivation takes place on a large scale and a practical way of storage at farms has been developed. At present, maize cultivation is the largest crop in the Netherlands with over 216,000 hectares. This has led to a sharp change in the image of the historic arable landscape in 50 years.

The landscape of Rijs has a long history. The landscape knew important moments of both creation and destruction. Reclaimed in the 17th century, Rijs grew out to be a typical landscape dominated by the rural nobility. Many writers, cartographers and newspapers have described the landscape. The local people were concerned about the demolition of the house and the splintering of the estate in 1937. The purchase by It Fryske Gea caused relief and a new period of prosperity started. After forestry, the recreation sector grew out to be one of the most important economical income sources from the second half of the 20th century.