1 00:00:07,447 --> 00:00:09,836 We're in the Netherlands. 2 00:00:11,447 --> 00:00:12,926 A fortified shore. 3 00:00:13,367 --> 00:00:17,645 This is the frontline of a conflict with the sea. 4 00:00:18,007 --> 00:00:22,478 For centuries the Dutch have battled to build a coastline like no other. 5 00:00:23,847 --> 00:00:30,036 A wind-powered landscape, lined with a carpet of colourful blooms, 6 00:00:30,927 --> 00:00:35,603 and extraordinary constructions that Mark is exploring. 7 00:00:36,607 --> 00:00:43,001 This is what the Dutch came up with. A 1 9-mile-long sea wall. 8 00:00:45,287 --> 00:00:47,403 Miranda's off for a seaside snack. 9 00:00:48,087 --> 00:00:51,204 This is raw herring. Not all at once. 10 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:55,796 Tessa Dunlop seeks the truth about tulip mania, 11 00:00:55,847 --> 00:01:00,045 a bizarre tale of 1 7th-century bloom and bust. 12 00:01:00,087 --> 00:01:04,239 lt's said that trading in these nearly bankrupted the nation. 13 00:01:05,967 --> 00:01:09,721 Adam Henson meets the big cheeses of the dairy world. 14 00:01:10,847 --> 00:01:13,407 These are the breed of cattle that are responsible 15 00:01:13,447 --> 00:01:16,519 for turning the British countryside black and white. 16 00:01:18,207 --> 00:01:20,402 And l'm on a peaceful isle, 17 00:01:20,447 --> 00:01:25,316 said to be the site of the last battle of the Second World War in Europe, 18 00:01:25,367 --> 00:01:28,723 to explore a tale of terror and traitors. 19 00:01:29,327 --> 00:01:32,319 They're lndian people from lndia but wearing German uniforms. 20 00:01:32,367 --> 00:01:36,883 They were caught in North Africa and they ran over to the Germans. 21 00:01:39,167 --> 00:01:42,045 This is Coast and beyond. 22 00:02:12,847 --> 00:02:16,726 The Netherlands may be brand-new territory for Coast, 23 00:02:16,767 --> 00:02:19,076 but it seems rather familiar to me. 24 00:02:21,207 --> 00:02:26,076 There's something strangely unreal about these flat landscapes, 25 00:02:26,127 --> 00:02:30,166 borrowed from the sea and compressed by this enormous sky. 26 00:02:31,247 --> 00:02:33,715 lt reminds me of where l grew up in Norfolk. 27 00:02:36,487 --> 00:02:38,955 We share the North Sea with the Netherlands. 28 00:02:39,687 --> 00:02:41,996 So we're being nosey neighbours, 29 00:02:42,047 --> 00:02:46,837 going Dutch to see what we might copy to make the most of our own coast. 30 00:02:48,247 --> 00:02:52,286 They don't just live beside the sea here, they live under it. 31 00:02:54,207 --> 00:02:57,324 A third of Dutch homes are below sea level, 32 00:02:57,887 --> 00:03:00,276 huge banks hold the water back. 33 00:03:01,367 --> 00:03:04,803 They rearranged their coast to suit themselves, 34 00:03:04,847 --> 00:03:06,326 channel the sea, 35 00:03:07,047 --> 00:03:10,084 harness the winds, build mega ports. 36 00:03:10,927 --> 00:03:15,000 The Dutch are old masters at making new land from the waves. 37 00:03:15,327 --> 00:03:19,923 We've such sights to see on a shore full or surprises! 38 00:03:23,447 --> 00:03:28,157 Ourjourney will take us to the border with Germany and the island of Rottumerplaat, 39 00:03:28,727 --> 00:03:31,719 the coast cutting into the heart of the Netherlands. 40 00:03:32,687 --> 00:03:35,599 But we start at the small coastal town of Ouwerkerk. 41 00:03:41,247 --> 00:03:44,762 This is the province of Zeeland, ''See-land''. 42 00:03:46,127 --> 00:03:50,359 We share this sea with the Dutch for better or worse. 43 00:03:53,407 --> 00:03:59,277 ln 1 953 the east coast of Britain was battered by a terrifying storm. 44 00:03:59,327 --> 00:04:06,915 307 Britons died, and over 30,000 were forced to flee as the North Sea rushed in. 45 00:04:09,767 --> 00:04:13,077 Here on the Dutch lowlands the devastation was even worse. 46 00:04:14,287 --> 00:04:17,404 The '53 flood was a national catastrophe. 47 00:04:22,287 --> 00:04:25,882 ANNOUNCER: Never in living memory have the Dutch suffered such a disaster. 48 00:04:25,927 --> 00:04:29,044 The seas lashed by a mighty wind broke through the dykes 49 00:04:29,087 --> 00:04:31,203 and poured in to swamp the countryside. 50 00:04:32,407 --> 00:04:35,399 NlCK: The flood left 1 800 dead, and many more homeless. 51 00:04:40,327 --> 00:04:44,605 The tragedy renewed an age-old conflict with the sea, 52 00:04:44,647 --> 00:04:47,480 that the Dutch are still fighting, 60 years on. 53 00:04:53,367 --> 00:04:56,962 School trips teach the next generation to take up the struggle. 54 00:04:57,727 --> 00:04:59,604 (Speaks Dutch) 55 00:04:59,647 --> 00:05:01,877 (Man's voice speaking Dutch) 56 00:05:02,527 --> 00:05:08,716 At this memorial to the flood victims they hear from those who fought for their lives. 57 00:05:11,087 --> 00:05:13,078 (Speaks Dutch) 58 00:05:14,687 --> 00:05:19,636 Mina Verton was the same age as these children the night the waters came. 59 00:05:20,687 --> 00:05:26,637 ln 1 953 her family were caught up in a desperate race against time, 60 00:05:26,687 --> 00:05:29,520 as water sped towards their home. 61 00:05:34,647 --> 00:05:37,923 With little warning of the deluge, they were trapped. 62 00:06:03,887 --> 00:06:06,401 What happened to you on the night of the flood? 63 00:06:25,647 --> 00:06:29,196 ANNOUNCER: Aircraft fly in with supplies for the people still to be moved. 64 00:06:29,247 --> 00:06:33,081 British, American and Belgian pilots keep up a shuttle service in helicopters, 65 00:06:33,127 --> 00:06:37,200 to relieve the many isolated villages cut off from contact with the areas of safety. 66 00:06:42,887 --> 00:06:49,042 l've got a map here which shows the parts of the Netherlands hit by the 1 953 disaster. 67 00:06:49,527 --> 00:06:52,087 All the parts in green were underwater, 68 00:06:52,127 --> 00:06:55,802 and it's shocking to see how much of the delta was affected. 69 00:06:55,847 --> 00:07:01,399 Through the green you can see entire road networks, villages. 70 00:07:02,927 --> 00:07:08,445 ln just six hours 700 square miles were completely submerged. 71 00:07:13,247 --> 00:07:16,159 Because much of The Netherlands is below sea level, 72 00:07:16,207 --> 00:07:22,396 when the protective walls failed in 1 953 the impact was worse here than in Britain. 73 00:07:26,487 --> 00:07:32,722 So for 40 years the Dutch beavered away spending billions on high-tech schemes, 74 00:07:33,647 --> 00:07:36,559 ringing their coast in concrete and rock defences. 75 00:07:40,207 --> 00:07:45,281 At its heart, with 62 floodgates, the mighty Oosterscheldedam, 76 00:07:45,327 --> 00:07:48,558 one of the engineering wonders of the world. 77 00:07:50,087 --> 00:07:55,207 But it could be just ten years before the low-lying Netherlands need a new plan 78 00:07:55,247 --> 00:07:57,283 as sea levels rise. 79 00:07:59,087 --> 00:08:01,078 We share the same threat. 80 00:08:02,207 --> 00:08:06,723 Will our shore one day share fortifications on the same massive scale? 81 00:08:26,207 --> 00:08:31,600 Although we often say Holland, the Netherlands has 1 2 different provinces. 82 00:08:32,287 --> 00:08:34,960 Only two are actually called Holland. 83 00:08:35,007 --> 00:08:38,124 ln the south is the resort of Scheveningen. 84 00:08:44,927 --> 00:08:49,682 Given Holland's watery history, something odd is happening here. 85 00:08:58,367 --> 00:09:02,076 People are on the beach...enjoying themselves. 86 00:09:02,767 --> 00:09:05,839 There's a watchful eye kept on the approaching waves. 87 00:09:05,887 --> 00:09:07,878 (Shouting) 88 00:09:10,527 --> 00:09:13,564 But the Dutch don't hide behind their sea walls. 89 00:09:16,887 --> 00:09:20,960 Miranda's come to find out what Netherlanders like to do beside the sea. 90 00:09:28,887 --> 00:09:34,439 Sea bathing started here around 200 years ago, about the time it was really taking off in Brighton. 91 00:09:34,487 --> 00:09:37,923 And this is a photograph of this resort some years later. 92 00:09:37,967 --> 00:09:39,605 ln fact, it could even be Brighton, 93 00:09:39,647 --> 00:09:43,037 apart from these extraordinary wicker chairs on the beach. 94 00:09:45,687 --> 00:09:51,876 Like our early resorts, Scheveningen started as an exclusive retreat for the rich. 95 00:09:51,927 --> 00:09:56,079 But in the late-1 9th century the tourist trade developed. 96 00:09:58,607 --> 00:10:02,361 ln 1 885 this grand hotel The Kurhaus was opened, 97 00:10:02,407 --> 00:10:05,080 nearly ten years before the Blackpool Tower was built. 98 00:10:09,967 --> 00:10:11,559 So, what are we looking at? 99 00:10:11,607 --> 00:10:13,438 The Dutch version of Blackpool? 100 00:10:15,607 --> 00:10:17,837 Or perhaps Brighton below the sea? 101 00:10:21,287 --> 00:10:23,243 Or maybe something else altogether. 102 00:10:23,767 --> 00:10:26,281 l need a local guide to the locals. 103 00:10:26,327 --> 00:10:28,443 - Philip. Hi. Miranda. Nice to meet you. - Hi. 104 00:10:28,487 --> 00:10:32,924 Philip Walkate is a keen observer of the Dutch at their leisure. 105 00:10:32,967 --> 00:10:36,801 We work quite hard, and we enjoy partying on a nice summer day. 106 00:10:36,847 --> 00:10:42,205 When this is packed, everybody will have their own square metre of sand. 107 00:10:42,247 --> 00:10:43,805 Very organised, very structured. 108 00:10:43,847 --> 00:10:46,202 Yeah, we have to, because there's not a lot of space, 109 00:10:46,247 --> 00:10:50,365 and half the country will go to the beach on a nice day. 110 00:10:50,407 --> 00:10:52,045 So, ''This is mine, that's yours. 111 00:10:52,087 --> 00:10:55,523 We'll be fine together as long as we don't get involved with each other.'' 112 00:10:55,567 --> 00:10:57,444 Quite like a class system, would you say? 113 00:10:57,487 --> 00:11:02,083 We have a class system as well, and we're in the right part of the beach for your class now. 114 00:11:02,127 --> 00:11:03,480 That's good. Thank you. 115 00:11:03,527 --> 00:11:06,997 Like all the posh people go over there, and this is where the partying goes on. 116 00:11:09,807 --> 00:11:16,485 l'm curious. Do the Dutch share any of our seaside traditions, like building sandcastles? 117 00:11:16,527 --> 00:11:19,325 Look at this. l mean, this is a sandcastle extraordinaire. 118 00:11:19,367 --> 00:11:22,325 - l made this this morning, especially for you. - l don't think so. 119 00:11:22,367 --> 00:11:26,246 l mean, this is incredible. We'd never see something like this in England. 120 00:11:26,287 --> 00:11:29,359 l suppose it represents all the things that you can do in the water. 121 00:11:29,407 --> 00:11:32,638 This big guy here sunbathing. Was that modelled on you or not? 122 00:11:32,687 --> 00:11:34,643 - The Mayor of Amsterdam. - (Laughs) 123 00:11:34,687 --> 00:11:36,837 This is all he does, just lying in the sun. 124 00:11:42,727 --> 00:11:45,639 No day out at the seaside's complete without a snack. 125 00:11:45,687 --> 00:11:48,485 Philip's promised me a real Dutch delight. 126 00:11:49,527 --> 00:11:52,963 - This is raw herring. - Wow, is he just gutting it? 127 00:11:53,007 --> 00:11:55,123 Cutting it and gutting it. Taking off the head. 128 00:11:55,167 --> 00:11:57,556 You leave the tail, because you use that to eat it. 129 00:11:57,607 --> 00:11:59,325 Not all at once. 130 00:12:05,447 --> 00:12:08,120 Mm. Amazing. 131 00:12:09,807 --> 00:12:11,240 lt's like the best sushi ever. 132 00:12:11,287 --> 00:12:14,484 ls this a good time of year to eat this? ls it quite a seasonal product? 133 00:12:14,527 --> 00:12:17,678 Yes, this actually is the new Dutch herring. 134 00:12:17,727 --> 00:12:20,400 The fatter it is, everybody gets more excited. 135 00:12:20,447 --> 00:12:21,960 That is very good. 136 00:12:23,047 --> 00:12:28,280 The fat Dutch herring is much more than a delicacy, it's a celebrity. 137 00:12:28,327 --> 00:12:32,366 Every July the first catch is celebrated with a festival. 138 00:12:32,407 --> 00:12:34,398 (Singing) 139 00:12:36,407 --> 00:12:40,605 Washed down with lashings of the potent local tipple. 140 00:12:41,567 --> 00:12:45,162 l'll pour you some Dutch gin - jenever, it's like a schnapps. 141 00:12:46,207 --> 00:12:49,199 l've got to drink this as well as this? lt's only ten in the morning. 142 00:12:49,247 --> 00:12:54,640 Yeah, you can just take a sip. You can knock it up or you can just take a sip. 143 00:12:54,687 --> 00:12:57,121 - You want to knock it up? - (Laughs) 144 00:12:57,167 --> 00:12:58,885 Why not! 145 00:13:00,127 --> 00:13:01,116 Wow. 146 00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:05,365 l'm beginning to see what draws the Dutch back to the beach. 147 00:13:06,727 --> 00:13:09,036 - l could do this all day. - (Both laugh) 148 00:13:10,967 --> 00:13:14,482 ln a land where the people guard their coastline closely, 149 00:13:14,527 --> 00:13:19,647 here, at least, the Dutch take time out from hostilities with the sea. 150 00:13:38,527 --> 00:13:42,645 NlCK: The locals have ingenious solutions for living in their ''Waterworld''. 151 00:13:44,327 --> 00:13:45,919 Tunnelling under it... 152 00:13:47,647 --> 00:13:50,115 ..floating on it... 153 00:13:50,167 --> 00:13:52,158 and draining it dry. 154 00:13:56,367 --> 00:14:00,246 And sometimes...just rising above it all. 155 00:14:00,287 --> 00:14:03,438 (Young woman calling out in Dutch) 156 00:14:04,367 --> 00:14:07,325 lt took off 500 years ago. 157 00:14:07,367 --> 00:14:10,916 The Dutch wanted to get about without getting their feet wet. 158 00:14:11,927 --> 00:14:14,725 Now, it's an international sport. 159 00:14:15,207 --> 00:14:18,677 lt's called Fierljeppen - far leaping. 160 00:14:18,727 --> 00:14:20,718 Who leaps farthest wins. 161 00:14:22,607 --> 00:14:24,006 l'm Jaco de Groot. 162 00:14:24,047 --> 00:14:25,400 l'm Dymphie van Rooijen. 163 00:14:26,047 --> 00:14:28,083 Running as fast as possible. 164 00:14:28,127 --> 00:14:30,482 Come on. Run faster, faster. 165 00:14:30,527 --> 00:14:33,803 Run and climb up. Go, go, go. Yeah, good! 166 00:14:33,847 --> 00:14:36,361 Climb on. Whoa! 167 00:14:37,407 --> 00:14:39,557 Climb, climb...faster. 168 00:14:40,607 --> 00:14:43,644 The water, it's two metres deep. 169 00:14:43,687 --> 00:14:45,564 Nee! Help! 170 00:14:48,207 --> 00:14:49,799 And yes, it's very cold. 171 00:14:49,847 --> 00:14:51,246 Oh! 172 00:14:54,087 --> 00:14:57,966 The pole is standing in the water, so we run about 30 kilometres an hour. 173 00:15:01,167 --> 00:15:04,204 And then you run to a pole standing still and then you have to grab it. 174 00:15:08,407 --> 00:15:10,557 (Shouting in Dutch) 175 00:15:10,607 --> 00:15:14,043 And you have to climb it in five seconds. 176 00:15:15,807 --> 00:15:18,116 - lt's just like you fly. - Yeah. 177 00:15:27,527 --> 00:15:30,519 We're working our way up the Dutch coast. 178 00:15:40,407 --> 00:15:45,845 This land is famous for being flat, with walls holding back the water. 179 00:15:47,967 --> 00:15:51,164 Sea dykes are as Dutch as windmills, 180 00:15:51,207 --> 00:15:56,964 and a tale of doom with one of those dykes turned a local lad into a legend. 181 00:15:57,007 --> 00:15:58,201 l'm on his trail. 182 00:16:00,887 --> 00:16:03,037 The Hero of Haarlem. 183 00:16:03,087 --> 00:16:05,647 The town's honoured him with a statue. 184 00:16:07,047 --> 00:16:10,926 And this is it; the boy with his finger in the dyke. 185 00:16:12,127 --> 00:16:18,760 The schoolboy whose self-sacrifice saved his village. lt's a Dutch a story as you'll discover. 186 00:16:19,887 --> 00:16:21,957 Or so you'd think. 187 00:16:22,007 --> 00:16:27,127 This little boy was really made famous by an American author, Mary Mapes Dodge, 188 00:16:27,167 --> 00:16:31,558 who included the story of the boy and the dyke in her 1 9th-century book, 189 00:16:31,607 --> 00:16:34,724 Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. 190 00:16:36,087 --> 00:16:41,207 Mapes Dodge never even visited the Netherlands, but as her fictional tale caught on, 191 00:16:41,247 --> 00:16:45,320 the locals erected a statue to satisfy curious fans. 192 00:16:46,327 --> 00:16:49,524 The young Hero of Haarlem has been adopted by the Dutch 193 00:16:49,567 --> 00:16:51,876 as an emblem of their struggle with the sea. 194 00:16:53,327 --> 00:16:57,206 lt's ironic that the story was imported here from the USA, 195 00:16:57,247 --> 00:17:00,796 because the city's name Haarlem went the other way. 196 00:17:06,087 --> 00:17:08,521 The neighbourhood of Harlem in Manhattan 197 00:17:08,567 --> 00:17:14,324 is a reminder that around 400 years ago New York was called New Amsterdam. 198 00:17:15,087 --> 00:17:19,126 Part of the Dutch trading empire had reached New Zealand, 199 00:17:19,167 --> 00:17:21,362 named after their province of Zeeland. 200 00:17:24,527 --> 00:17:29,601 Today they celebrate their sea-faring heritage,. it brought enormous wealth on the wind. 201 00:17:32,847 --> 00:17:37,557 The golden age of sail saw the birth of global trade, 202 00:17:37,607 --> 00:17:39,916 and the city of Haarlem prospered. 203 00:17:43,087 --> 00:17:49,526 Here coastland commerce fuelled a ''flower power revolution'', 1 7th-century-style. 204 00:17:50,607 --> 00:17:55,283 lt's a story of boom and bust that's brought historian Tessa Dunlop 205 00:17:55,327 --> 00:17:57,522 to the most Dutch of Dutch industries. 206 00:17:58,967 --> 00:18:03,199 Within sniffing distance of the sea there's another ocean on this coast. 207 00:18:03,247 --> 00:18:06,239 La, la-la, la-la, la-la 208 00:18:06,287 --> 00:18:08,164 La, la, la-la... 209 00:18:08,207 --> 00:18:10,084 An ocean of tulips. 210 00:18:10,127 --> 00:18:12,436 When it's spring again 211 00:18:12,487 --> 00:18:14,682 l'll bring again 212 00:18:14,727 --> 00:18:17,525 Tulips from Amsterdam 213 00:18:17,567 --> 00:18:21,560 You can't get much more Dutch than this - there's even a windmill. 214 00:18:23,407 --> 00:18:24,920 Well, sort of. 215 00:18:26,887 --> 00:18:30,357 Most of Britain's tulips start life in Dutch soil. 216 00:18:31,087 --> 00:18:36,844 ln April and May the northern coast of the Netherlands blossoms - a carpet of colour. 217 00:18:40,647 --> 00:18:45,323 Carlos van der Veek's family's been growing bulbs on this shore for years. 218 00:18:46,447 --> 00:18:50,599 Why is it that tulips grow so well here in Holland especially? 219 00:18:51,847 --> 00:18:57,444 lt's mainly because of the climate. The sea brings in his influence, the springs are cool, 220 00:18:57,487 --> 00:19:00,638 the winters are mild and that's an ideal temperature for tulips. 221 00:19:03,287 --> 00:19:07,838 Sadly, these beautiful blooms will never brighten someone's birthday. 222 00:19:12,247 --> 00:19:17,719 Their heads are lopped off- these tulips are grown for the bulb, not the bloom. 223 00:19:18,287 --> 00:19:22,724 The flowers become mulch to feed a billion-pound bulb industry. 224 00:19:24,567 --> 00:19:26,683 So tulip bulbs today have a value, 225 00:19:26,727 --> 00:19:30,481 but four centuries ago it seems they were almost priceless. 226 00:19:30,527 --> 00:19:35,521 lt's said that trading in these nearly bankrupted the nation. 227 00:19:37,487 --> 00:19:41,162 Turn back the pages of history to the early 1 7th century, 228 00:19:41,207 --> 00:19:46,235 and the tulip, a wild flower from Asia, had recently arrived in Europe. 229 00:19:46,287 --> 00:19:49,279 Tiptoe through the window 230 00:19:49,327 --> 00:19:50,521 By the window... 231 00:19:50,567 --> 00:19:53,559 Rich merchants wanted them at any price. 232 00:19:53,607 --> 00:19:58,920 Dutch dealers went so bananas for bulbs they were portrayed as greedy monkeys. 233 00:20:01,367 --> 00:20:04,245 lt became known as tulip mania. 234 00:20:04,287 --> 00:20:08,883 The story goes that when the price of the bulbs crashed, so did the economy. 235 00:20:10,327 --> 00:20:14,002 Markets that outgrow common sense are familiar now, 236 00:20:14,047 --> 00:20:17,278 but does this tale of bloom and bust stand up? 237 00:20:18,967 --> 00:20:22,562 l want to find out the real truth behind tulip mania. 238 00:20:26,447 --> 00:20:30,565 Historian Anne Goldgar has spent years studying tulip mania, 239 00:20:30,607 --> 00:20:33,440 using original 1 7th-century sources. 240 00:20:35,567 --> 00:20:39,321 Why, Anne, did Holland of all places become tulip country? 241 00:20:39,367 --> 00:20:41,437 Because they had access, first of all, to them, 242 00:20:41,487 --> 00:20:45,844 because of the fact that the Netherlands was a very important trading nation. 243 00:20:45,887 --> 00:20:49,596 And because there were a lot of people who were interested in collecting exotica. 244 00:20:49,647 --> 00:20:54,198 People in the 1 7th century wanted to have tulips which were striped or speckled, 245 00:20:54,247 --> 00:21:00,880 and you can see that in this tulip catalogue, which was made in 1 637. 246 00:21:00,927 --> 00:21:05,603 So this is rather like having, l don't know, the right diamond today. 247 00:21:05,647 --> 00:21:07,000 Yes, l know. Absolutely. 248 00:21:09,287 --> 00:21:13,758 This 1 7th-century floral bling was prized for its rarity. 249 00:21:15,327 --> 00:21:18,956 Tulips are tricky to grow. lt takes seven years from a seed. 250 00:21:19,007 --> 00:21:23,478 ln the time of tulip mania, bulb farming was a bit of a lottery, 251 00:21:23,527 --> 00:21:27,600 a gamble that Dutch traders hoped would win them a jackpot. 252 00:21:33,487 --> 00:21:35,318 So how did that work? 253 00:21:35,367 --> 00:21:38,757 Let's see what we might learn from the modern flower market. 254 00:21:39,367 --> 00:21:43,280 l've come with Anne to Aalsmeer, the world's biggest flower auction. 255 00:21:45,927 --> 00:21:48,760 lt's fascinating. lt almost reminds me of The Price ls Right. 256 00:21:48,807 --> 00:21:52,720 You've got the men here bidding, and at the bottom there are the women showing off, 257 00:21:52,767 --> 00:21:54,917 stroking their bunches of flowers. 258 00:21:54,967 --> 00:21:57,765 This is a proper Dutch auction. 259 00:21:58,447 --> 00:22:00,199 The clock counts down the price. 260 00:22:00,247 --> 00:22:04,718 The first trader to press their button stops it and pays what's on the dial. 261 00:22:06,647 --> 00:22:11,277 Turn back the clock some 400 years and it's said the market went haywire. 262 00:22:12,047 --> 00:22:15,164 How do these modern traders feel about tulip mania? 263 00:22:16,367 --> 00:22:20,758 The moment you still see that when a new tulip variety is produced, 264 00:22:20,807 --> 00:22:24,720 then we feel still a bit of the tulip mania is still going on. 265 00:22:25,927 --> 00:22:29,636 Four centuries after tulip mania traders are still tense. 266 00:22:34,127 --> 00:22:37,039 ln the 1 7th century bulbs were bought in a frenzy, 267 00:22:37,087 --> 00:22:40,875 betting they would go up in value before they were out of the ground. 268 00:22:41,727 --> 00:22:44,605 The market did boom out of control. 269 00:22:44,647 --> 00:22:47,525 Single bulbs went for the price of a grand house. 270 00:22:49,247 --> 00:22:52,080 But did the bust nearly bankrupt the nation? 271 00:22:52,807 --> 00:22:56,322 They come to a head on the 7th of February, 1 637, 272 00:22:56,367 --> 00:23:00,485 and at that point someone says ''l have a bulb to sell'' 273 00:23:00,527 --> 00:23:02,916 and nobody bought it in Haarlem. 274 00:23:02,967 --> 00:23:06,642 And at that point people started to worry, and the prices did fall dramatically. 275 00:23:06,687 --> 00:23:08,405 That part of the story is true. 276 00:23:08,447 --> 00:23:12,804 As for bankruptcies, l have found no-one who went bankrupt because of tulip mania. 277 00:23:17,287 --> 00:23:22,600 Anne's research shows society didn't crash when the tulip bubble burst. 278 00:23:22,647 --> 00:23:24,444 So where's that story come from? 279 00:23:26,967 --> 00:23:30,801 This book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds 280 00:23:30,847 --> 00:23:32,997 did much to make the myth. 281 00:23:33,047 --> 00:23:37,962 200 years after tulip mania the author, Scotsman Charles Mackay, wrote.. 282 00:23:38,207 --> 00:23:42,120 MAN'S VOlCE: ''Substantial merchants were reduced almost to beggary, 283 00:23:42,167 --> 00:23:47,799 and many a representative of a noble line saw the fortunes of his house ruined. '' 284 00:23:49,407 --> 00:23:53,286 TESSA: Mackay was printing the legend perpetuated by the original paintings 285 00:23:53,327 --> 00:23:56,285 that made mischievous fun of tulip traders. 286 00:23:57,967 --> 00:24:01,198 Four centuries on the bulb market is blooming, 287 00:24:01,247 --> 00:24:04,398 but reminders of darker days haunt the fields. 288 00:24:05,807 --> 00:24:08,002 This is a picture of the Semper Augustus, 289 00:24:08,047 --> 00:24:12,165 supposedly one of the most sought-after bulbs of the tulip mania period. 290 00:24:12,207 --> 00:24:16,041 But weirdly you'd struggle to find a tulip like this growing today, 291 00:24:16,087 --> 00:24:20,956 because in fact the flaming striped effect is a sign that the plant had a virus 292 00:24:21,007 --> 00:24:23,237 that could spread and infect the rest of the crop. 293 00:24:23,287 --> 00:24:28,725 So what was once so fashionable now would immediately be dug out and thrown away. 294 00:24:30,447 --> 00:24:35,999 The odd offending bloom still pops up, once highly-prized, now despised. 295 00:24:36,047 --> 00:24:40,484 lt seems the Netherlands will never really close the book on tulip mania. 296 00:24:50,807 --> 00:24:55,005 NlCK: Dutch engineers have carved out a remarkable coastline. 297 00:24:55,567 --> 00:24:57,046 They've battled with the sea. 298 00:24:59,927 --> 00:25:04,045 And they've taken command of it...in a big way. 299 00:25:06,647 --> 00:25:08,638 The North Sea Canal, 300 00:25:10,087 --> 00:25:13,841 a corridor of water carrying the coast inland, 301 00:25:13,887 --> 00:25:18,278 taking us to the heart of the Netherlands, and the capital - Amsterdam. 302 00:25:19,167 --> 00:25:25,402 But this channelling of the waves pales in comparison with another Dutch creation. 303 00:25:26,687 --> 00:25:30,396 At the end of the North Sea Canal is Flevoland. 304 00:25:30,447 --> 00:25:34,998 60 years ago all this land was underwater. 305 00:25:36,287 --> 00:25:39,324 This is where the Dutch got their own back on the sea. 306 00:25:40,487 --> 00:25:45,117 Mark is searching for clues to this land's sunken past. 307 00:25:47,647 --> 00:25:51,959 l'm on the hunt for a medieval ship that's somewhere in those meadows. 308 00:25:54,487 --> 00:26:00,005 Miles from the sea, they're digging up the timbers of a medieval shipwreck... 309 00:26:01,007 --> 00:26:02,645 ..in the middle of a field! 310 00:26:03,487 --> 00:26:07,116 But it's not the boat that's out of place, it's us. 311 00:26:07,967 --> 00:26:14,202 Now, we're ten miles from the sea, but only 80 years ago this was the sea bed. 312 00:26:15,447 --> 00:26:20,282 This landlocked shipwreck isjust one of hundreds discovered 313 00:26:20,327 --> 00:26:23,603 after a huge area was reclaimed from the sea. 314 00:26:25,647 --> 00:26:29,686 The sheer scale of this land grab was staggering. 315 00:26:33,887 --> 00:26:37,880 For centuries the sea regularly flooded the heart of the Netherlands. 316 00:26:39,287 --> 00:26:43,599 But in the early 20th century the Dutch fought back. 317 00:26:48,887 --> 00:26:53,642 Stage one was to build a huge sea wall across the mouth of the inlet. 318 00:26:57,287 --> 00:27:02,839 Work started in 1 927, and was completed five years later. 319 00:27:06,567 --> 00:27:09,604 lt was one of the greatest engineering projects... 320 00:27:10,727 --> 00:27:12,718 ..in an age of innovation. 321 00:27:16,727 --> 00:27:19,002 And this is it. 322 00:27:19,807 --> 00:27:23,083 The 1 9-mile-long Afsluitdijk. 323 00:27:28,247 --> 00:27:31,284 The name means closing off dyke. 324 00:27:38,927 --> 00:27:42,124 Over there is the North Sea - that's saltwater. 325 00:27:42,167 --> 00:27:46,638 And the line of the coast is defined by a motorway. 326 00:27:49,527 --> 00:27:54,043 On one side the sea, and on the other a lake. 327 00:27:55,047 --> 00:28:00,167 This concrete causeway became a new stretch of the Netherlands coastline. 328 00:28:04,487 --> 00:28:08,196 With the concrete dyke holding back the sea, 329 00:28:08,247 --> 00:28:15,437 safe behind their defences, they started to pump out saltwater, to reclaim the land. 330 00:28:18,047 --> 00:28:21,756 Legions of men armed for the task were drafted in. 331 00:28:23,647 --> 00:28:25,239 Barracks were built to house them. 332 00:28:25,287 --> 00:28:26,515 (Bell rings) 333 00:28:26,887 --> 00:28:32,166 And to drain the small ocean behind their new sea wall, they used pumping stations. 334 00:28:32,527 --> 00:28:37,476 The Dutch make it look so easy, but how does it work? 335 00:28:37,527 --> 00:28:39,165 - Hi. - Hi, Mark. 336 00:28:39,207 --> 00:28:42,244 Rombout Jongejans is a reclamation expert. 337 00:28:43,847 --> 00:28:47,396 - First of all you start with building an island. - Right. 338 00:28:47,447 --> 00:28:49,802 On this island you build a pumping station. 339 00:28:49,847 --> 00:28:54,841 ln the old days we did it with a windmill. For this model l'll show you with the electricity. 340 00:28:55,647 --> 00:28:58,445 So here we have a model of a pump. 341 00:28:58,487 --> 00:29:01,206 At the same time you start building a dyke. 342 00:29:01,567 --> 00:29:04,957 - So you build the island first and then the wall. - Yeah. 343 00:29:05,007 --> 00:29:08,682 - Then we start... - Wahey, there it goes. 344 00:29:08,727 --> 00:29:13,517 OK, so you're pumping now the water from the new land to the sea. 345 00:29:13,567 --> 00:29:16,843 So the water goes up here, and down on that side. 346 00:29:16,887 --> 00:29:21,005 When we reclaim land in Britain, we fill the land up above sea level, 347 00:29:21,047 --> 00:29:24,084 - but you do it the other way round. - Yeah, we do the other way round. 348 00:29:24,127 --> 00:29:28,040 And afterwards when the land is dry you fly over with an aeroplane 349 00:29:28,087 --> 00:29:32,444 and put in seeds of wheat, which grows and use quite a lot of water, 350 00:29:32,487 --> 00:29:34,478 and gives structure to the ground. 351 00:29:34,527 --> 00:29:37,599 And presumably there's water constantly filtering back through? 352 00:29:37,647 --> 00:29:40,525 Yes, that's also the reason why you still have to be pumping. 353 00:29:40,567 --> 00:29:45,163 - You can see that the dyke's a bit insecure. - Yeah, yeah. OK, this is just a model. 354 00:29:45,207 --> 00:29:47,198 (Laughter) 355 00:29:50,087 --> 00:29:53,045 ln 40 years of pumping and digging, 356 00:29:53,087 --> 00:29:57,239 the Dutch recovered an area the size of Greater London. 357 00:29:58,767 --> 00:30:00,758 And now they could populate it. 358 00:30:04,167 --> 00:30:09,082 The 1 960s saw a mass migration within the Netherlands. 359 00:30:09,887 --> 00:30:14,438 Families were encouraged to set up home on the old sea bed. 360 00:30:16,167 --> 00:30:19,876 Wherever the Dutch encountered obstacles pumping out the land, 361 00:30:20,647 --> 00:30:22,842 they worked around them. 362 00:30:23,767 --> 00:30:30,320 Shokland, once an island adrift in the sea, was now swallowed up by land, 363 00:30:31,127 --> 00:30:34,483 its old shoreline traced out by trees. 364 00:30:38,247 --> 00:30:40,841 But they couldn't manage to pump all the water 365 00:30:40,887 --> 00:30:43,959 out of an area called the Oostvaardersplassen. 366 00:30:46,487 --> 00:30:51,197 So now it's one of Europe's largest wetland nature reserves, 367 00:30:53,047 --> 00:30:55,845 a wild corner on a tamed coast. 368 00:31:06,567 --> 00:31:11,595 NlCK: Neat, unnaturally straight lines rule on this man-made shore. 369 00:31:12,207 --> 00:31:15,324 There's a hard edge to the heart of the Netherlands. 370 00:31:19,607 --> 00:31:22,326 l've reached the mid-point of my journey at Lelystad. 371 00:31:27,727 --> 00:31:33,199 A young city born out of the waves, it harbours a reminder of an older age. 372 00:31:38,207 --> 00:31:42,837 When the Dutch began building boats - to build an empire. 373 00:31:43,527 --> 00:31:47,520 This is an exact copy of a 1 7th-century original. 374 00:31:48,167 --> 00:31:54,402 The Batavia was launched in 1 628 not to do battle, but to do business. 375 00:31:55,967 --> 00:31:59,721 This ship was part of the Dutch East lndia Company, 376 00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:04,522 an organisation so vast it's been called the first multi-national corporation. 377 00:32:10,367 --> 00:32:12,676 Craft like this carried spices from Asia. 378 00:32:14,007 --> 00:32:17,397 They made the Dutch East lndia Company very wealthy indeed. 379 00:32:19,927 --> 00:32:24,557 Success set the Netherlands on a collision course with neighbours across the North Sea - 380 00:32:24,607 --> 00:32:25,756 the English. 381 00:32:25,807 --> 00:32:27,240 l've got a copy of a painting. 382 00:32:27,287 --> 00:32:32,202 lt shows a daring raid in 1 667 by the Dutch on the English Navy. 383 00:32:32,247 --> 00:32:38,595 The English ships are on fire and all this happened just outside London - pretty cheeky. 384 00:32:41,847 --> 00:32:45,999 That naval humiliation was one of many in the Anglo-Dutch wars 385 00:32:46,047 --> 00:32:49,437 that rumbled on throughout the 1 7th century. 386 00:32:51,687 --> 00:32:53,678 Wars that the Dutch won. 387 00:32:54,887 --> 00:33:00,325 So how did they beat the Royal Navy? Did the secret lie in their ships? 388 00:33:01,047 --> 00:33:03,163 They're building one here to find out. 389 00:33:04,407 --> 00:33:07,240 lt's the baby of Aryan Klein. 390 00:33:07,287 --> 00:33:10,165 This is a 1 7th-century admiralty ship, 391 00:33:10,207 --> 00:33:14,997 and she was specifically designed to wage warfare at sea against the English. 392 00:33:15,047 --> 00:33:18,722 What was the difference between the Dutch maritime power and English maritime power? 393 00:33:18,767 --> 00:33:21,725 We were geared up for shipbuilding in a huge way, 394 00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:24,076 so that meant we could produce ships at a fast rate. 395 00:33:24,127 --> 00:33:26,595 So you could mass-produce ships like this. 396 00:33:26,647 --> 00:33:30,276 Almost mass-produce. A ship like this would be ready within a year. 397 00:33:30,327 --> 00:33:35,037 How could the Dutch build a ship in just a year when the English couldn't? 398 00:33:36,127 --> 00:33:38,322 What was the key to this mass-production? 399 00:33:43,007 --> 00:33:44,804 Windmills, lots of them. 400 00:33:46,447 --> 00:33:49,996 Before steam power there was wind power. 401 00:33:54,767 --> 00:34:00,797 lf you can use a mill to pump water and to grind wheat, why not use it to saw wood as well? 402 00:34:03,087 --> 00:34:06,079 During the Netherland's golden age of sail, 403 00:34:06,127 --> 00:34:12,202 hundreds of windmills fed the shipbuilding industry with a production line of cut wood, 404 00:34:13,087 --> 00:34:18,844 enabling mass-production of ships almost a century before the lndustrial Revolution. 405 00:34:32,647 --> 00:34:36,356 The trade in Asian spices fuelled the Dutch Empire. 406 00:34:37,287 --> 00:34:41,565 Links to Asia left a legacy in the nation's appetites. 407 00:34:43,247 --> 00:34:46,239 ln Britain we might go for an lndian meal, 408 00:34:46,287 --> 00:34:49,006 in the Netherlands, they go for an lndonesian. 409 00:35:00,167 --> 00:35:04,206 My name is Wai Man Lo. l was born in Rotterdam and l run an lndonesian restaurant. 410 00:35:04,607 --> 00:35:08,282 My family is from New Guinea. lndonesia used to be a Dutch colony. 411 00:35:09,087 --> 00:35:14,081 After the independence a lot of people from lndonesia they came to Holland. 412 00:35:16,287 --> 00:35:20,565 My dad came in the '60s, he started a restaurant in 1 975. 413 00:35:21,207 --> 00:35:23,562 My dad is a really hard-working man. 414 00:35:23,607 --> 00:35:27,122 Looking at this picture l feel kind of proud of him. 415 00:35:30,567 --> 00:35:34,037 This kind of market really reflects like how the people live here in Holland. 416 00:35:36,447 --> 00:35:38,438 lt's like a big melting pot. 417 00:35:38,767 --> 00:35:40,883 (Sings) 418 00:35:40,927 --> 00:35:46,843 Most of the market stand holders are Moroccan or Turkish. 419 00:35:47,407 --> 00:35:52,242 We buy some fish at these markets; we like to keep our fish like pretty fresh. 420 00:35:56,007 --> 00:35:59,124 Most of the people in our restaurant they order the rice tables. 421 00:35:59,167 --> 00:36:02,318 The rice table is really a Dutch invention. 422 00:36:02,367 --> 00:36:06,963 The Dutch colonists who went to lndonesia, they liked to taste a bit of everything. 423 00:36:07,167 --> 00:36:12,878 We have, like, beef dishes all the way to chicken and vegetables. 424 00:36:14,607 --> 00:36:20,159 When tourists ask what is like typical Dutch food, they usually tell the tourists, 425 00:36:20,207 --> 00:36:23,005 ''Well...try lndonesian food.'' 426 00:36:31,767 --> 00:36:35,203 NlCK: Out of the city, and into the country. 427 00:36:39,967 --> 00:36:44,518 The province of Friesland, the rural heartland of the Netherlands. 428 00:36:46,087 --> 00:36:53,846 1 00 years ago these fertile fields gave birth to a black and white revolution - in Britain. 429 00:36:58,887 --> 00:37:00,798 At the port of Harlingen, 430 00:37:00,847 --> 00:37:04,840 farmer Adam Henson has crossed the North Sea. 431 00:37:04,887 --> 00:37:08,197 He's in search of the origin of some familiar faces. 432 00:37:10,327 --> 00:37:12,045 These beauties remind me of home. 433 00:37:12,087 --> 00:37:15,602 A staggering nine out of ten of all British dairy cows 434 00:37:15,647 --> 00:37:19,401 can trace their ancestry back to these lovely Friesland ladies. 435 00:37:19,447 --> 00:37:21,722 These are the breed of cattle 436 00:37:21,767 --> 00:37:25,646 that are responsible for turning the British countryside black and white. 437 00:37:27,127 --> 00:37:31,245 lt's difficult to image a world where dairy cows aren't black and white. 438 00:37:35,767 --> 00:37:39,442 Two-tone is the symbol of dairy production around the globe. 439 00:37:40,727 --> 00:37:42,957 But it all began here in Friesland. 440 00:37:43,407 --> 00:37:46,558 How did these Friesian cows come to conquer the world? 441 00:37:46,607 --> 00:37:48,518 The clue is in their coastal soil. 442 00:37:49,287 --> 00:37:52,757 To find out what makes this landscape ideal for rearing cows, 443 00:37:52,807 --> 00:37:55,037 l really need to take a step back in time. 444 00:37:59,527 --> 00:38:03,805 Distinctive round mounds are dotted all around the Friesian coast. 445 00:38:06,287 --> 00:38:10,644 Two and a half thousand years ago, this part of the Netherlands was marshland 446 00:38:10,687 --> 00:38:12,564 and regularly flooded by the sea, 447 00:38:12,607 --> 00:38:15,246 so the locals came up with a bright idea. 448 00:38:15,287 --> 00:38:18,962 Build their own little hills, high ground above the flood. 449 00:38:20,767 --> 00:38:25,238 These little manmade refuges stood proud over a landscape often under the sea. 450 00:38:27,567 --> 00:38:31,196 That constant washing of the land left a legacy...in the soil. 451 00:38:34,167 --> 00:38:38,479 These are the amazing grasslands of Friesland, but why are they so amazing? 452 00:38:38,527 --> 00:38:42,281 Well, for a comparison, l've bought some of my soil from home. 453 00:38:42,327 --> 00:38:45,763 My farm is on the top of the Cotswolds about 1 ,000 foot above sea level, 454 00:38:45,807 --> 00:38:48,275 and the soil is called Cotswold Brash. 455 00:38:48,327 --> 00:38:51,160 lt's full of stone, and it doesn't really retain the moisture, 456 00:38:51,207 --> 00:38:53,880 and therefore it grows pretty poor grass. 457 00:38:53,927 --> 00:38:57,442 Now in comparison, take a look at this stuff. 458 00:38:59,287 --> 00:39:02,962 This is alluvial sea clay, that's full of minerals that come from the sea. 459 00:39:04,247 --> 00:39:07,557 Those minerals help produce fantastic grass. 460 00:39:07,607 --> 00:39:13,682 The grass is full of sugar and protein that the cows love, and that converts into energy, 461 00:39:13,727 --> 00:39:15,843 and helps them produce masses of milk. 462 00:39:16,927 --> 00:39:18,883 Gallons of the white stuff. 463 00:39:18,927 --> 00:39:23,637 Their diet of nutritious coastal grass helps make these ladies world beaters. 464 00:39:30,567 --> 00:39:33,639 But for a long while the world wasn't that mad about milk. 465 00:39:37,967 --> 00:39:42,483 As a drink, milk straight from the cow had been considered beyond the pale, 466 00:39:42,527 --> 00:39:45,121 unfit for human consumption. 467 00:39:45,167 --> 00:39:49,843 But Louis Pasteur's revolutionary heat treatment in 1 864 changed everything. 468 00:39:50,407 --> 00:39:53,444 Pasteurised milk was now touted as a health drink, 469 00:39:53,487 --> 00:39:57,446 a source of vitamins and calcium city-dwellers desperately needed. 470 00:40:00,487 --> 00:40:02,443 The new industrial world wanted milk. 471 00:40:03,167 --> 00:40:05,806 To muscle-in on the market the farmers of Friesland 472 00:40:05,847 --> 00:40:08,156 began selective breeding of their super milkers. 473 00:40:12,567 --> 00:40:17,436 Those Friesian pioneers produced a cow with a higher yield, and higher visibility. 474 00:40:17,487 --> 00:40:21,241 They bred a black-and-white brand to be instantly recognisable. 475 00:40:22,327 --> 00:40:25,922 Marleen Felius is an artist and cow historian. 476 00:40:26,247 --> 00:40:28,283 - Marleen. Hi. - Hi. 477 00:40:28,327 --> 00:40:30,966 lt's not that old. The Friesian breed everybody says, 478 00:40:31,007 --> 00:40:33,316 ''Oh, it's centuries old.'' That's not true. 479 00:40:33,367 --> 00:40:37,076 As a breed it started only late in the 1 9th century. 480 00:40:37,127 --> 00:40:39,436 - Right. - Yeah, and before that they had good cows, 481 00:40:39,487 --> 00:40:42,445 but it was not a breed, because people didn't breed yet. 482 00:40:42,487 --> 00:40:48,084 The cattle from the 1 9th century were looking different than from the 1 7th century. 483 00:40:48,127 --> 00:40:50,516 And then they became more black and white. 484 00:40:51,847 --> 00:40:54,725 By the start of the 20th century black-and-white Friesians 485 00:40:54,767 --> 00:40:57,804 became the gold standard of milk production. 486 00:40:57,847 --> 00:41:00,839 ln Britain, with the First World War looming 487 00:41:00,887 --> 00:41:06,166 the 1 91 4 Milk and Dairies Act declared cow's milk ''a most necessary food''. 488 00:41:07,967 --> 00:41:10,845 So British farmers came here to go cow shopping. 489 00:41:12,647 --> 00:41:17,721 From the port of Harlingen we lifted the two-ton Friesians out of the Netherlands 490 00:41:17,767 --> 00:41:19,758 to breed our own copies. 491 00:41:22,127 --> 00:41:26,200 One bull in particular helped turn the British herd black and white. 492 00:41:27,167 --> 00:41:29,556 The Dutch are so proud of him they put him in a book. 493 00:41:30,087 --> 00:41:35,445 This bull Cyrus, he's quite well known in Britain, because he had 78 sons who were exported. 494 00:41:36,087 --> 00:41:39,602 The daughters...most daughters stayed, but the sons were exported. 495 00:41:39,647 --> 00:41:42,684 So lots of his sons were exported to Britain. When did that happen? 496 00:41:42,727 --> 00:41:48,518 ln 1 91 4. ln 1 91 4 many, many animals from Friesland went to Great Britain. 497 00:41:48,567 --> 00:41:51,559 ANNOUNCER: The lovelies were lined-up in a milk-mopping contest 498 00:41:51,607 --> 00:41:53,837 to see who could drink most milk in the least time. 499 00:41:54,287 --> 00:41:57,757 No milk today, my love has gone away 500 00:41:57,807 --> 00:42:00,401 The bottle stands forlorn... 501 00:42:00,447 --> 00:42:04,963 To quench our thirst for the white stuff we imported premier league pinter producers 502 00:42:05,007 --> 00:42:07,646 from our North Sea neighbours. 503 00:42:07,927 --> 00:42:12,637 Bringing cattle over from Friesland turned the British dairy herd black and white. 504 00:42:13,847 --> 00:42:19,399 Nine out of ten of our milkers can trace their roots back to the rich grassland 505 00:42:19,447 --> 00:42:21,597 of this corner of the Dutch coast. 506 00:42:21,647 --> 00:42:23,046 (Ship's horn) 507 00:42:23,567 --> 00:42:26,001 Next time you're buying some milk in the supermarket 508 00:42:26,047 --> 00:42:28,641 or driving past a field of black and white cows, 509 00:42:28,687 --> 00:42:31,281 spare a thought for this part of the Netherlands coast, 510 00:42:31,327 --> 00:42:32,965 and their beautiful Friesian cows, 511 00:42:33,007 --> 00:42:37,159 that have contributed so much towards the worldwide production of milk. 512 00:42:53,007 --> 00:43:00,436 The Wadden lslands, on the northwest coast of the Netherlands, peaceful and unspoilt. 513 00:43:02,847 --> 00:43:07,284 But one island here conceals the scars of a terrible battle. 514 00:43:12,887 --> 00:43:18,359 ln the Second World War the Netherlands and much of Europe were under Nazi occupation. 515 00:43:19,407 --> 00:43:23,798 The tiny island of Texel seemed an insignificant dot. 516 00:43:25,287 --> 00:43:30,486 But this out-of-the-way place saw an eruption of violence in the dying days of the conflict. 517 00:43:31,367 --> 00:43:35,440 lt's been described as the last battle of the Second World War in Europe. 518 00:43:38,687 --> 00:43:41,121 But it all started so differently. 519 00:43:42,127 --> 00:43:46,166 The Germans had taken the island in 1 940 almost unopposed. 520 00:43:46,887 --> 00:43:49,401 Before long, they'd made themselves at home. 521 00:43:51,647 --> 00:43:57,165 Two years into the war, this curious sort of occupation got...curiouser. 522 00:43:59,687 --> 00:44:01,484 Look at these photos. 523 00:44:02,567 --> 00:44:08,802 They were taken here on Texel, and they show local children posing with lndian soldiers. 524 00:44:09,287 --> 00:44:11,278 But they're not prisoners of war. 525 00:44:11,327 --> 00:44:14,478 lf you look carefully you can see they're wearing German uniforms. 526 00:44:15,007 --> 00:44:19,319 These soldiers of the British Empire were part of the Nazi Army. 527 00:44:21,847 --> 00:44:27,080 Why where the lndians here, thousands of miles from home, fighting for the enemy? 528 00:44:28,047 --> 00:44:32,916 To make sense of Texel's strange war, l'm meeting two locals. 529 00:44:32,967 --> 00:44:37,916 Cor Kievits and Riet van der Vis-Bremer were teenagers when the Nazis came. 530 00:44:37,967 --> 00:44:45,078 The Germans soldiers in these photographs seem to be treating Texel like a holiday camp. 531 00:44:45,127 --> 00:44:46,799 That's what Texel was for. 532 00:44:46,847 --> 00:44:51,921 They had people who had been at the front and they were completely knocked out. 533 00:44:51,967 --> 00:44:55,084 They brought them here for a couple of months to regain strength. 534 00:44:55,807 --> 00:44:59,686 What can you both tell me about this very curious photograph, 535 00:44:59,727 --> 00:45:04,562 with what seem to be lndian soldiers but surrounded by Dutch children. 536 00:45:04,607 --> 00:45:07,883 The children were surprised by the dark colour of the people. 537 00:45:07,927 --> 00:45:12,045 - They had never seen them before. - Yes, we never see that people. 538 00:45:12,087 --> 00:45:16,763 They were caught in North Africa, and they ran over to the Germans. 539 00:45:17,807 --> 00:45:21,277 These men were part of a remarkable Nazi project. 540 00:45:23,407 --> 00:45:29,880 The Germans persuaded captured troops with a grudge against the Allies, to switch sides. 541 00:45:33,647 --> 00:45:38,357 Some lndians from the Allied Army in North Africa were recruited by the Germans 542 00:45:38,407 --> 00:45:41,524 to form an extraordinary lndian Legion. 543 00:45:44,207 --> 00:45:48,917 A propaganda victory for the Nazis, but it didn't impress their generals. 544 00:45:50,047 --> 00:45:55,326 Not trusted to fight, the lndian Legion was put to work on coastal defences. 545 00:45:56,647 --> 00:45:58,638 Their stay on Texel was brief. 546 00:46:05,127 --> 00:46:10,042 But the island's curious connections to foreign fighters didn't stop there. 547 00:46:10,687 --> 00:46:16,000 lt's so strange to find the hammer and sickle, emblem of the Soviet Union, 548 00:46:16,047 --> 00:46:18,481 here in a Dutch cemetery. 549 00:46:18,527 --> 00:46:21,360 But it's Soviet soldiers who are buried here. 550 00:46:22,807 --> 00:46:27,403 Like the lndian troops before them they'd come to Texel as part of the German Army. 551 00:46:33,007 --> 00:46:35,601 Originally from the Soviet province of Georgia, 552 00:46:35,647 --> 00:46:39,606 these were battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern Front. 553 00:46:41,847 --> 00:46:47,843 Tough and independently-minded, Georgians had little love for their Russian commanders. 554 00:46:48,687 --> 00:46:52,441 So, when captured, some collaborated with the Germans. 555 00:46:53,367 --> 00:46:56,837 They arrived on Texel in early 1 945. 556 00:46:57,767 --> 00:47:01,123 As the Georgians posed for pictures with the locals, 557 00:47:01,167 --> 00:47:04,284 the Allied Armies were advancing across Europe. 558 00:47:06,447 --> 00:47:10,565 ANNOUNCER: A mighty thrust into the heart of Germany began on the beaches of Normandy. 559 00:47:12,087 --> 00:47:14,282 NlCK: Some nine months after D-day, 560 00:47:14,927 --> 00:47:20,399 Texel and much of the northern Netherlands still remained under Nazi control. 561 00:47:21,727 --> 00:47:25,959 But the German Army was being forced back on the Western and Eastern Front. 562 00:47:27,327 --> 00:47:31,764 By April 1 945 the Germans were in desperate straits. 563 00:47:31,807 --> 00:47:36,085 The Red Army was massing for a final assault on Berlin. 564 00:47:36,127 --> 00:47:40,882 On Texel, the Georgians, once soldiers in the Soviet Army, 565 00:47:40,927 --> 00:47:45,125 were ordered by the Germans to head to the front line to fight the Allies. 566 00:47:50,447 --> 00:47:52,961 Having found themselves on the losing side, 567 00:47:53,007 --> 00:47:57,603 the Georgians had one last desperate chance to redeem themselves. 568 00:48:01,167 --> 00:48:07,003 Texel had survived almost five years of war without a shot fired in anger. 569 00:48:07,727 --> 00:48:12,403 That all changed in the early hours of the 6th of April, 1 945. 570 00:48:12,447 --> 00:48:15,484 - You see the bullet hole in the wall there? - Yeah. 571 00:48:15,527 --> 00:48:17,040 Over there. 572 00:48:18,527 --> 00:48:20,404 The Georgians turned on the Germans. 573 00:48:22,087 --> 00:48:24,647 At one o'clock they started to kill the Germans. 574 00:48:24,687 --> 00:48:28,566 They cut their throats and they put hand grenades in their rooms with them, 575 00:48:28,607 --> 00:48:30,165 and they shot them. 576 00:48:30,207 --> 00:48:34,280 But anyway they killed all the Germans that lived among them, any place where they were. 577 00:48:34,327 --> 00:48:36,318 How many was that? 578 00:48:37,287 --> 00:48:39,198 - l think about 500. - Good heavens. 579 00:48:40,127 --> 00:48:42,516 500 massacred in one night. 580 00:48:43,287 --> 00:48:47,280 The battle was later dramatised in this Soviet feature film. 581 00:48:47,327 --> 00:48:51,479 Locals caught in the crossfire couldn't tell friend from foe. 582 00:48:51,527 --> 00:48:54,325 Both sides wore the same uniforms. 583 00:48:54,367 --> 00:48:57,245 l looked around the corner and l saw behind a tree... 584 00:48:58,247 --> 00:49:03,480 What l saw, two Georgians. One of them pointed the flame-thrower at us, 585 00:49:03,527 --> 00:49:06,485 and l said, ''Christ, they're bloody Germans.'' 586 00:49:06,527 --> 00:49:07,596 (Ringing) 587 00:49:10,567 --> 00:49:13,035 German reinforcements flooded the island. 588 00:49:15,487 --> 00:49:20,925 The Georgians who'd been fighting for control of Texel were now fighting for their lives. 589 00:49:24,407 --> 00:49:25,396 (Gunfire) 590 00:49:26,487 --> 00:49:28,523 Surrender wasn't an option. 591 00:49:30,687 --> 00:49:33,838 The rebels made for the island's most secure stronghold. 592 00:49:40,127 --> 00:49:44,359 One group of Georgians took a last stand here at the lighthouse. 593 00:49:44,847 --> 00:49:47,759 Apparently, it still carries the scars of the fighting. 594 00:49:48,647 --> 00:49:52,356 A new wall conceals the pock-marks of a desperate battle. 595 00:49:58,007 --> 00:50:00,885 Mere bullets were never going to go through a wall this thick. 596 00:50:00,927 --> 00:50:05,523 lt was an impregnable defensive position, but it was also a death-trap, 597 00:50:05,567 --> 00:50:08,035 and all the Georgians in here were eventually killed 598 00:50:08,087 --> 00:50:10,760 when the Germans blew in the door on the ground floor. 599 00:50:13,687 --> 00:50:17,282 The killing continued for a month on the tiny isle of Texel. 600 00:50:25,087 --> 00:50:28,523 Then in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide. 601 00:50:29,287 --> 00:50:31,437 (Pealing) 602 00:50:31,487 --> 00:50:35,605 On the 7th of May, 1 945, Germany surrendered. 603 00:50:36,447 --> 00:50:38,517 Europe celebrated peace. 604 00:50:45,327 --> 00:50:50,196 But in Texel, once famous for its tranquillity the fighting continued. 605 00:50:53,967 --> 00:50:56,845 The Germans wouldn't surrender to the Georgians. 606 00:51:01,287 --> 00:51:05,246 lt was two weeks after the Second World War in Europe ended, 607 00:51:05,287 --> 00:51:10,281 before Allied troops arrived to finish the final battle, here on Texel. 608 00:51:11,447 --> 00:51:17,397 Of the 800 Georgians who came to the island, only 200 or so survived. 609 00:51:19,287 --> 00:51:22,518 They had worn the uniform of the hated enemy. 610 00:51:23,647 --> 00:51:28,437 But their remarkable uprising guaranteed their safe passage. 611 00:51:29,287 --> 00:51:33,997 The rebels returned home, as heroes of the Soviet Union. 612 00:51:50,647 --> 00:51:53,605 The sandy isles of the Northern Netherlands,. 613 00:51:54,407 --> 00:51:58,036 they subtly alter their shape with each new tide. 614 00:51:58,847 --> 00:52:03,967 lt's one battle between land and sea the Dutch have decided to stay out of. 615 00:52:07,607 --> 00:52:11,725 Here they've encouraged nature to do its own thing. 616 00:52:17,007 --> 00:52:21,683 Very few people are allowed to set foot on remote Rottumerplaat. 617 00:52:23,007 --> 00:52:26,602 But Miranda's been given permission to look for signs of life. 618 00:52:35,687 --> 00:52:40,124 MlRANDA: This is the sort of spot that seems to sum up ''getting away from it all''. 619 00:52:42,207 --> 00:52:45,756 But as you walk across the dunes there's more than sand beneath your feet. 620 00:52:47,887 --> 00:52:49,479 Concrete! 621 00:52:50,687 --> 00:52:52,723 Loads of it. 622 00:52:52,767 --> 00:52:53,995 Yes, you've guessed it - 623 00:52:54,047 --> 00:53:00,236 like much of the Dutch coast, this island was built by the Dutch, or at least started by them. 624 00:53:01,127 --> 00:53:07,157 You can still see the line of a seawall built in the 1 950s to trap shifting sands. 625 00:53:08,127 --> 00:53:13,360 The island was encouraged to grow as part of another land reclamation scheme. 626 00:53:15,527 --> 00:53:17,518 But...there's no-one here. 627 00:53:22,207 --> 00:53:27,884 By the 1 990s wilderness proved more desirable than new living space. 628 00:53:27,927 --> 00:53:30,805 Rottumerplaat was abandoned to nature. 629 00:53:38,407 --> 00:53:42,036 Oyster catchers, spoonbills and common terns 630 00:53:42,087 --> 00:53:45,966 are amongst the birds feeding on the mudflats rich in shellfish. 631 00:53:52,567 --> 00:53:58,915 One of the few humans allowed to come here on a regular basis is naturalist Hans Roersma. 632 00:54:00,767 --> 00:54:02,837 Everywhere you look there are birds. 633 00:54:03,367 --> 00:54:06,643 And a big group of oyster catchers down here, some of them have taken off. 634 00:54:06,687 --> 00:54:12,922 And the sun on their...on their tummies, their bellies, it's just like glitter. lt's fabulous. 635 00:54:12,967 --> 00:54:19,566 And if they start flying it's one new, big animal. They feed individually but now they assemble. 636 00:54:19,607 --> 00:54:23,885 You can see birds which have just arrived, eat like hell. 637 00:54:23,927 --> 00:54:27,442 They go on probing and they eat and they eat. 638 00:54:31,087 --> 00:54:32,964 And there's a couple of spoonbills. 639 00:54:33,007 --> 00:54:35,043 lt's very odd the way they feed, isn't it? 640 00:54:35,087 --> 00:54:40,036 This side-to-side motion in the shallows picking up shrimp and, l guess, tiny fish as well. 641 00:54:40,087 --> 00:54:43,204 Yeah, when the tide comes in the shrimp also come in 642 00:54:43,247 --> 00:54:45,556 and they follow them and little fish, of course. 643 00:54:47,207 --> 00:54:50,597 And the water becomes too deep for them now to go on feeding. 644 00:54:50,647 --> 00:54:54,925 So they move towards the island. lt's beautiful, they walk towards us now. 645 00:54:58,447 --> 00:55:01,723 l can see why you love it here. lt's an incredibly beautiful place. 646 00:55:01,767 --> 00:55:03,485 But why is it so special to you? 647 00:55:03,527 --> 00:55:08,396 We live in the most densely populated area of Western Europe, 648 00:55:08,447 --> 00:55:12,406 and then we have a few islands reserved for nature, 649 00:55:12,447 --> 00:55:14,677 and l'm allowed to live and work there. 650 00:55:14,727 --> 00:55:16,922 - You're a very lucky man. - Yeah, yeah. (Laughs) 651 00:55:23,647 --> 00:55:27,435 The Dutch have been at war with the sea for centuries. 652 00:55:28,367 --> 00:55:30,756 But here where they've learned to live together, 653 00:55:30,807 --> 00:55:32,798 they put on quite a spectacle. 654 00:55:49,287 --> 00:55:53,917 NlCK: The sweeping sand flats make for lovely, relaxed walking, 655 00:55:53,967 --> 00:55:56,959 but getting between the islands isn't so easy. 656 00:55:58,847 --> 00:56:02,760 All this sand makes it impossible to get a boat in here, 657 00:56:02,807 --> 00:56:06,117 but the Dutch have come up with a typically ingenious idea. 658 00:56:07,127 --> 00:56:08,879 Take the bus to your boat. 659 00:56:11,167 --> 00:56:13,920 This truck is known as the Vliehors Express, 660 00:56:13,967 --> 00:56:17,482 and it's one of the ways to get from island to island. 661 00:56:17,767 --> 00:56:19,758 Theme from Van Der Valk (Eye Level) 662 00:56:41,607 --> 00:56:43,598 (Accordion and singing) 663 00:56:58,247 --> 00:57:02,160 This bus ride gets more and more otherworldly. 664 00:57:02,207 --> 00:57:06,962 We've just stopped at a driftwood stockade in the middle of this sand dessert. 665 00:57:07,007 --> 00:57:09,919 Looks like an art installation. 666 00:57:10,527 --> 00:57:16,363 Even in this natural paradise, the Dutch can't stop reclaiming stuff from the sea. 667 00:57:19,407 --> 00:57:22,160 Wonderful! lt's a museum of found objects. 668 00:57:22,207 --> 00:57:27,804 Fish crates, computer monitors, buoys, lifebelts, signs. 669 00:57:34,407 --> 00:57:38,923 This unusual busjourney has a suitably unlikely bus stop. 670 00:57:40,927 --> 00:57:42,997 This peculiar walkway is actually a jetty. 671 00:57:43,527 --> 00:57:46,325 At the far end the water is deep enough for a ferry. 672 00:57:49,607 --> 00:57:55,318 Sand and sea together, combining to conjure up something truly special. 673 00:57:56,047 --> 00:58:00,563 lt's a delightfully Dutch conundrum that sums up our Netherlandsjourney. 674 00:58:00,607 --> 00:58:06,921 Life on the margins between sea and shore can create a flair and resourcefulness 675 00:58:06,967 --> 00:58:09,276 that will arise above any challenge. 676 00:58:12,127 --> 00:58:14,197 The Dutch have learned to live with the sea, 677 00:58:14,247 --> 00:58:17,717 to recognise its opportunities and to meet its threats. 678 00:58:18,367 --> 00:58:23,395 As sea levels rise and the search for novel solutions become more urgent, 679 00:58:23,447 --> 00:58:26,883 l reckon we can all learn a thing or two from the Netherlands.