The extremes of density of population are found in the provinces
of North Holland and South Holland on the one hand, and
Drente on the other. This divergence is partly explained by
the difference of soil—which in Drente comprises the maximum
of waste lands, and in South Holland the minimum—and partly
also by the greater facilities which the seaward provinces enjoy
of earning a subsistence, and the greater variety of their industries.
The largest towns are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague,
Utrecht, Groningen, Haarlem, Arnhem, Leiden, Nijmwegen,
Tilburg. Other considerable towns are Dordrecht, Maastricht,
Leeuwarden, Zwolle, Delft, ’s Hertogenbosch, Schiedam,
Deventer, Breda, Apeldoorn, Helder, Enschedé, Gouda, Zaandam,
Kampen, Hilversum, Flushing, Amersfoort, Middelburg, Zutphen
and Alkmaar. Many of the smaller towns, such as Assen,
Enschedé, Helmond, Hengelo, Tiel, Venlo, Vlaardingen, Zaandam,
Yerseke, show a great development, and it is a noteworthy
fact that the rural districts, taken as a whole, have borne an
equal share in the general increase of population. This, taken
in conjunction with the advance in trade and shipping, the
diminution in emigration, and the prosperity of the savings
banks, points to a favourable state in the condition of the people.
Communications.—The roads are divided into national or royal roads, placed directly under the control of the water-staat and supported by the state; provincial roads, under the direct control of the states of the provinces, and almost all supported by the provincial treasuries; communal and polder Roads. roads, maintained by the communal authorities and the polder boards; and finally, private roads. The system of national roads, mainly constructed between 1821 and 1827, but still in process of extension, brings into connexion nearly all the towns.
The canal system of Holland is peculiarly complete and extends into every part of the country, giving to many inland towns almost a maritime appearance. The united length of the canals exceeds 1500 m. As a matter of course the smaller streams have been largely utilized in their formation, while the Canals. necessity for a comprehensive drainage system has also contributed in no small degree. During the years 1815–1830 a large part of the extensive scheme of construction inaugurated by King William I. was carried out, the following canals, among others, coming into existence in that period: the North Holland ship canal (depth, 1612 ft.) from Amsterdam to den Helder, the Grift canal between Apeldoorn and Hattem, the Willemsvaart connecting Zwolle with the Ysel, the Zuid Willemsvaart, or South William’s canal (612 ft.), from ’s Hertogenbosch to Maastricht, and the Ternuzen-Ghent ship canal. After 1849 the canal programme was again taken up by the state, which alone or in conjunction with the provincial authorities constructed the Apeldoorn-Dieren canal (1859–1869), the drainage canals of the “Peel” marsh in North Brabant, and of the eastern provinces, namely, the Deurne canal (1876–1892) from the Maas to Helenaveen, the Almelo (1851–1858) and Overysel (1884–1888) canals from Zwolle, Deventer and Almelo to Koevorden, and the Stieltjes (1880–1884), and Orange (1853–1858 and 1881–1889) canals in Drente, the North Williams canal (1856–1862) between Assen and Groningen, the Ems (1866–1876) ship canal from Groningen to Delfzyl, and the New Merwede, and enlarged the canal from Harlingen by way of Leeuwarden to the Lauwars Zee. The large ship canals to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, called the New Waterway and the North Sea canal respectively, were constructed in 1866–1872 and 1865–1876 at a cost of 212 and 3 million pounds sterling, the former by widening the channel of the Scheur north of Rozenburg, and cutting across the Hook of Holland, the latter by utilizing the bed of the Y and cutting through the dunes at Ymuiden. In 1876 an agreement was arrived at with Germany for connecting the important drainage canals in Overysel, Drente and Groningen with the Ems canal system, as a result of which the Almelo-Noordhorn (1884–1888) and other canals came into existence.
The canals differ in character in the different provinces. In Zeeland they connect the towns of the interior with the sea or the river mouths; for example, the one from Middelburg to Veere and Flushing (1866–1878), from Goes to the East Scheldt, and from Zierikzee also to the East Scheldt. The South Beveland (1862–1866) canal connects the East and West Scheldt; similarly in South Holland the Voorne canal unites the Haringvliet with the New Maas, which does not allow the passage of large vessels above Brielle; whilst owing lo the banks and shallows in front of Hellevoetsluis the New Waterway was cut to Rotterdam. Of another character is the Zederik canal, which unites the principal river of central Holland, the Lek, at Vianen by means of the Linge with the Merwede at Gorkum. Amsterdam is connected with the Lek and the Zederik canal via Utrecht by the Vecht and the Vaart Rhine (1881–1893; depth 10.2 ft.). Again, a totally different character belongs to the canals in North Brabant, and the east and north-east of Holland where, in the absence of great rivers, they form the only waterways which render possible the drainage of the fens and the export of peat; and unite the lesser streams with each other. Thus in Overysel, in addition to the canals already mentioned, the Dedemsvaart connects the Vecht with the Zwarte Water near Hasselt; in Drente the Smildervaart and Drentsche Hoofdvaart unites Assen with Meppel, and receives on the eastern side the drainage canals of the Drente fens, namely, the Orange canal and the Hoogeveen Vaart (1850–1860; 1880–1893). Groningen communicates with the Lauwers Zee by the Reitdiep (1873–1876), while the canal to Winschoten and the Stadskanaal, or State canal (1877–1880), bring it into connexion with the flourishing fen colonies in the east of the province and in Drente. In Friesland, finally, besides the ship canal from Harlingen to the Lauwers Zee there are canals from Leeuwarden to the Lemmer, whence there is a busy traffic with Amsterdam; and the Caspar Robles or Kolonels Diep, and the Hoendiep connect it with Groningen.
The construction of railways was long deferred and slowly accomplished. The first line was that between Amsterdam and Haarlem, opened in 1839 by the Holland railway company (Hollandsch Yzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij). In 1845 the state undertook Railways. to develop the railway system, and a company of private individuals was formed to administer it under the title of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatspoorwegen. In 1860, however, the total length of railways was only 208 m., and in that year a parliamentary bill embodying a comprehensive scheme of construction was adopted. By 1872 this programme was nearly completed, and 542 m. of new railway had been added. In 1873 and 1875 a second and a third bill provided for the extension of the railway system at the cost of the state, and, in 1876, 1882 and 1890 laws were introduced readjusting the control of the various lines, some of which were transferred to the Holland railway. The state railway system was completed in 1892, and since that time the utmost that the state has done has been to subsidize new undertakings. These include various local lines such as the line Alkmaar-Hoorn (1898), Ede-Barneveld-Nykerk, Enschedé-Ahaus in Germany (1902), Leeuwarden to Franeker, Harlingen and Dokkum, and the line Zwolle-Almelo (junction at Marienberg) Koevorden-Stadskanal-Veendam-Delfzyl, connecting all the fen countries on the eastern borders. The electric railway Amsterdam-Zandvoort was opened in 1904. The frame upon which the whole network of the Dutch railways may be said to depend is formed of two main lines from north and south and four transverse lines from west to east. The two longitudinal lines are the railway den Helder via Haarlem (1862–1867),[1] Rotterdam (1839–1847), and Zwaluwe (1869–1877) to Antwerp (1852–1855), belonging to the Holland railway company, and the State railway from Leeuwarden and Groningen (1870) (junction at Meppel, 1867) Zwolle (1866)—Arnhem (1865)—Nijmwegen (1879)—Venlo (1883)—Maastricht (1865). The four transverse lines belong to the State and Holland railways alternately and are, beginning with the State railway: (1) the line Flushing (1872)—Rozendaal (1860)—Tilburg (1863)—Bokstel (whence there is a branch line belonging to the North Brabant and Germany railway company via Vechel to Goch in Germany, opened in 1873)—Eindhoven—Venlo and across Prussian border (1866); (2) the line Hook of Holland—Rotterdam (1893)—Dordrecht (1872–1877)—Elst (1882–1885)—Nijmwegen (1879)—Cleves, Germany (1865); (3) the line Rotterdam—Utrecht (1866–1869) and Amsterdam—Utrecht—Arnhem (1843–1845) to Emmerich in Germany (1856): this line formerly belonged to the Netherlands-Rhine railway company, but was bought by the state in 1890; and finally (4) the line Amsterdam—Hilversum—Amersfoort—Apeldoorn (1875), whence it is continued (a) via Deventer, Almelo and Hengelo to Salzbergen, Germany (1865); (b) via Zutphen, Hengelo (1865), Enschedé (1866) to Gronau, Germany; (c) via Zutphen (1876) and Ruurlo to Winterswyk (1878). Of these (1) and (2) form the main transcontinental routes in connexion with the steamboat service to England (ports of Queenborough and Harwich respectively). Two other lines of railway, both belonging to the state, also traverse the country west to east, namely, the line Rozendaal—’s Hertogenbosch (1890)—Nijmwegen, and in the extreme north, the line from Harlingen through Leeuwarden (1863) and Groningen (1866) to the border at Nieuwe Schans (1869), whence it was connected with the German railways in 1876. The northern and southern provinces are further connected by the lines Amsterdam—Zaandam (1878)—Enkhuizen (1885), whence there is a steam ferry across the Zuider Zee to Stavoren, from where the railway is continued to Leeuwarden (1883–1885); the Netherlands Central railway, Utrecht—Amersfoort—Zwoole—Kampen (1863); and the line Utrecht—’s Hertogenbosch (1868–1869) which is continued southward into Belgium by the lines bought in 1898 from the Grand Central Belge railway, namely, via Tilburg to Turnhout (1867), and via Eindhoven (1866) to Hasselt. In 1892 Greenwich mean time was adopted on the railways and in the post-offices, making a difference of twenty minutes with mean Amsterdam time.
Since 1877 railway communication has been largely supplemented by steam-tramways, which either run along the main roads or across the country on special embankments, while one of them is
- ↑ The dates indicate the period of construction of the different sections.
