I have seen lots of
idyllic and tranquil places, yet, Texel filled my expectations
entirely, literally, One finds there - peace and quiet. It is not
surprising, the island has been proclaimed the top destination in
Europe, it deserves it completely.
Texel Guinea Pig
The island looks
inconspicuous, its history and tradition is rich and extraordinary.
The disasters and natural factors shaped and made the island dynamic
and competitive. Year 1170 was the year in which the island had to face with All
Saints Flood, it was almost utterly flooded and destroyed. Yet,
prevailed. The first traces of the human activity were discovered in
Mesolithic Period around 8000 – 45000 B.C. Marine history of the
island made it a quite a hard nut to bite through, it got its city
right in 1415. the peak development and the golden period of the
island was dated throughout the XVII and XVIII century. The merchant
ship made their route to Reede van Texel. The Frisian Islands –
Texel belongs to were shaped gradually and without a cloud of doubt
their development was more than brilliant.
There were the tides and
constant nature upheavals which made Wadden Islands so one if its
kind. The islands origins are dated to 8.000 years back. The sea
shore and its coast changed, the sea level rose, some minor islands
were submerged, it made the way to a new channel to emerge, for that
reason, Texel unlike other Wadden Islands has got a different
landscape. Ice Age period didn't leave Texel behind, in contrary, its
final ice and clay layer stay far behind Texel. This ice layer built
the islands up, made its foundations and truly shaped its
countryside. The Wadden Islands are shared between The Netherlands
and Denmark. The unusual lineament of the islands is the fact that
they are still develop its shape and character, they are called "the
moving islands", they ''move'' from west to east. East side made
the islands to grow and pile up whereas west side made them all
slowly decline into the sea. Despite this fact, the islands are not
going to disappear, no, no ... all the set of islands was proclaimed
by UNESCO, the world heritage site, as an exceptional, the only
one in Europe.
Texel as the biggest
islands is a developed differently with huge diversification and
modernization. The soil shows us this diversification at all times,
the ice periods and its warmer counterparts influenced the island
development. The ice clays originated from Scandinavia. When the
glacier period ended, its remnants are present, so called the "Hoge
Berg" is the best example of all. In the period of Holocene the
layer which were between the clay deposits were filled with sea
clay – this process formed so call an "old land" which
spreads from Den Hoorn up to Den Burg, Hoge Berg, up De Waal and
Oosterend. As was mentioned above, Texel was a very interesting place
to live, the early tools and flints proved it was true, years 8000 –
45000 B.C showed human activity in this region, the early villages,
which in comparison to Nordic and Slavic – were advanced,
well-maintained and organized, it was not an accidental dwelling. XVI
century was crucial for Texel, due to the reclamation of Eijerland –
Texel got its present shape. Ancient times of Texel are probably the
most intriguing and interesting part of all. Merchandise developed
the island, fishing and agriculture made the island independent and
very prosperous. It was so good and blooming that Texel became the
part of the Dutch East India Company. At the beginning the trade was
only within the Baltic Sea, most of the good were brought from
Portugal via the port in Antwerp. During the Spanish – Portuguese
was, the Dutch sailed for all the good themselves. The XVIII century
became a bad period, the Dutch East India Company went broke and
bankrupt. There was no more herbs, spices, cotton, silk and
porcelain. It was the British Empire who dictated who and when will
source the Indian goods and wealth.
Texel was also an object
of fierce battle of Texel which
took place on 21 August 1673 between
the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets and was the last
major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of
the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), during the war Louis XIV of France
invaded the Republic, he wanted to establish control over the
Spanish Netherlands. The commanders of the English and Dutch military
forces were Lord High Admiral James, Duke of York, afterwards King
James II of England, and Admiral-General William III of Orange,
James' son-in-law and also a future King of England. Neither of them
took part in the fight. Prince Rupert of the Rhine commanded the
Allied fleet of about 92 ships and 30 fire ships with Jean II
d'Estrées commanding the van, and Sir Edward Spragge the rear
division. The Dutch fleet of 75 ships and 30 fireships was commanded
by Lieutenant-Admiral-General Michiel de Ruyter, with
Lieutenant-Admirals Adriaen Banckert in charge of the van and
Cornelis Tromp the rear. The Dutch were under an even greater
disadvantage than the above numbers show. De Ruyter first decided not
to leave his defensive position in the Schooneveld, from which he had
successfully engaged the allied fleet in the double Battle of
Schooneveld. However the Dutch Spice Fleet was returning from the
Indies, filled with precious cargo. Under French occupation for
almost a year, the Dutch Republic's finances were in disastrous
state. The Dutch could not afford to lose the wealth the Spice Fleet
was bringing, let alone allow it to be captured by the enemy. As such
stadtholder William ordered De Ruyter to seek to engage the enemy.
Although weakened and severely depleted with powers, De Ruyter gained
the weather gauge and sent his van under Adriaen Banckert in to
separate the Allied van (under D'Estrées) from the main fleet. His
plan was effective, and the French ships were unable to play a
significant part in the remainder of the battle. Spragge and Tromp,
commanding their respective rear divisions, clashed repeatedly —
Spragge had publicly sworn an oath in front of King Charles that this
time he would either kill or capture his old enemy Tromp — each
having their ships so damaged as to need to shift their flags to
fresh ships three times. On the third occasion, Spragge drowned when
his boat took a shot and sank. Exhausted and tired the English
eventually abandoned their attempt to land troops (the landing force
known as the Blackheath Army was still waiting in England to be
shipped), and both sides retired. No major ship was sunk (although
several fireships were expended on each side), but many were
seriously damaged and about 3,000 men died: two-thirds of them
English or French. After the battle Prince Rupert complained that the
French had not done their share of the fighting. It's true however
that Count d'Estrées had strict orders from Louis XIV not to
endanger the French fleet, as he himself admitted after the battle.
Despite its inconclusive finish, the battle was a clear strategic
victory for the Dutch.
Amazing Texel's dunes are
carefully protected, the severe storms from the north made the dunes
disappear. Restoration is very tedious and difficult process.
Centuries passed by, Texel led a tranquil and very peaceful ongoing
till the wars broke out, The Great War and the Second World War
disturbed the peaceful life on Texel, during the Second World War,
the trenches were built along the sea coast, the German occupation
was severe. Texel went through rough times throughout the war, yet,
the most surprising and astounding one was undoubtedly the Georgian
uprising, Texel properties were damaged. The victims of the uprising
were buried on the cemetery on Hoge Berg – Loladze.
Texel still enjoys its
tranquility, modern island with an excellent public transport makes
You eager to go, to see, and very sad to leave.
Wadden Seal
Variety of attractions
are waiting for Everyone on Texel, Ecomare – a wildlife nature
centre is simply something I would never miss in my life. It shows
the mutual interaction of the citizens and the sea, an enormous
aquarium portrays the main life of the North and Wadden Sea, with
sharks which always were indispensable part of it. As well as Texel
Guinea Pig! The cutest thing of all.
Bibliography:
1. „Texel 1673” - Anna Pastorek / Maciej Franz – 2013
2. „Holenderska flota wojenna 1639-1667. Organizacja i znaczenie” - Anna Pastorek 2014
3. ,,Polityka zagraniczna Holandii w latach 1945-2012'' -Paweł Kołek
4. '' Texel'' - Fey Toon - 1999
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