Mark Raat’s PhD thesis: historical landscape policy in Frisian peat meadow region – break with past
Peat was extracted, lakes and peat ponds were drained, polders were created and agricultural land was parcelled out. Few landscapes have undergone such radical change as the peat meadow areas. Mark Raat recognises a long-standing ambition for polderisation in Friesland: a centuries-long endeavour to drain the peat soil and keep it dry. The initiative for polderisation lay with landowners, but their aspirations gradually took shape in government policy. For instance, in 1633 the States of Friesland introduced an expropriation measure that made it possible to acquire land for the draining of lakes. In doing so, the States recognised drainage as a matter of public interest, to which private interests could be subordinated.
From the second half of the eighteenth century, a debate arose over who held authority over the landscape. Later, both Friesland and the Crown increasingly implemented regulations. From 1874, the province was even able to compulsorily incorporate private polders into a water board and thus exercise control. Nevertheless, the implementation of that measure was subsequently enforced primarily by the farmers themselves.
In his doctoral research, Raat describes the interaction between the States of Friesland, farmers and the scientific community during the period from around 1600 to 1875. Among other things, they addressed the consequences of land drainage, peat extraction and water management. Raat: “It was always necessary to weigh up the short- and long-term consequences for the landscape and strike a balance between conflicting interests. A crucial question was to what extent the authorities were permitted to restrict the autonomy of landowners. These dilemmas also feature in the contemporary debate on the landscape.”
A Break
Raat observes a significant difference between the past and the present in the way decisions about the landscape are made: “Despite its support for the ‘polder ideal’, the Frisian government remained relatively cautious in its intervention in the landscape until around 1875. It acted primarily as a facilitator, rather than an enforcer. Nowadays, the opposite is true, and residents and users of the landscape say they have little control over developments.”
The rise in water levels in the Frisian peat meadow area is one such much-discussed new development. Re-wetting the peat is intended to slow down land subsidence and thereby limit damage to foundations and the environment, but it means the agricultural sector can no longer farm as intensively. The historian therefore argues that the current rise in water levels is not merely a policy choice, but also a fundamental cultural break with the past: “Behind the current technical debate on the usefulness and necessity of this measure lies a historical dimension that we must not underestimate. Greater attention to the past can put the debate on the future of the peat meadow region into perspective.”
Modern
In addition to insights into the history of Frisian agriculture in the peat meadow region, Raat’s research also sheds light on the prehistory of modern agriculture. Innovations such as steam technology, electrical engineering and artificial fertiliser could be successfully applied thanks to the political conditions that had developed in the preceding centuries. From the second half of the nineteenth century onwards, for example, governments, farmers and scientists worked ever more closely together and transformed traditional farming into modern agriculture.
PhD Defence
Mark Raat hopes to defend his PhD thesis at the University of Groningen on 15 October 2026 at 2.30 pm. His supervisors are Professors A.M. (Marijn) Molema and J.A. (Hans) Mol. The ceremony can be viewed online via the University of Groningen's website.