Editing Zuiderzee (section)

=== Zuiderzee ===
[[File:Slag op de Zuiderzee, 6 oktober 1573 (Abraham de Verwer, 1621).jpg|thumb|The Dutch defeat the Spanish fleet at the [[Battle on the Zuiderzee]] in 1573.]]The even more massive [[St. Lucia's flood]] occurred 14 December 1287, when the seawalls broke during a storm, killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people in the fifth largest flood in recorded history. The flood occurred during a memorable storm in [[Friesland]] and [[Holland]], and came from the North Sea, breaking and destroying several dams and dunes and transforming it into a bay which was then called the Zuiderzee,{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} meaning ''Southern Sea''.<ref name="EB1911"/> The name "Zuiderzee" came into general usage around this period.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The size of this inland sea remained largely stable from the 15th century onwards due to improvements in [[dike (construction)|dikes]], but when storms pushed North Sea water into the inlet, the Zuiderzee became a volatile cauldron of water, frequently resulting in flooding and the loss of ships. For example, on 18 November 1421, a [[seawall]] at the Zuiderzee dike broke, which flooded 72 villages and killed about 10,000 people. This was the Second [[St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)|St. Elizabeth's flood]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The process of creating [[Polder|polders]] had developed to a point by 1667 that the damming of the Zuiderzee was proposed, although a feasible method did not appear until the 20th century.

The Netherlands was part of the [[First French Empire]] between 1810 and 1813. A [[Departments of France|département]] was formed in 1811 and named as [[Zuyderzée]] after the Zuiderzee, whose territory roughly corresponded to the present provinces of [[North Holland]] and [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In 1928, the [[6 Metre|6-meter]] and [[8 Metre (keelboat)|8-meter]] [[Sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics|sailing events]] for the Amsterdam [[1928 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] were held on the Zuiderzee.<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf 1928 Summer Olympics official report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408184510/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |date=8 April 2008 }} pp. 271–272, 274.</ref>