South Beveland

Zuid-Beveland (South Beveland)
Peninsula
Country	Netherlands
Province	Zeeland
Municipality	Borsele Goes Kapelle Reimerswaal
Population (1-4-2011)	93.601
Major roads	A58, Zeeuwse lijn

Zuid-Beveland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzœy̯d 'beːvəlɑnt]) (South Beveland) is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Westerschelde and south of the Oosterschelde.

It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Beveland on the west and the Scheldt-Rhine Canal on the east.

It consists of four municipalities:

Goes is Zuid-Beveland's principal urban center.

Zuid-Beveland is a former island which was joined (together with Walcheren) to the mainland by a railway embankment in 1903 and to Noord-Beveland by the Delta Works. A shipping canal connecting the Belgian port of Antwerp with the Rhine River traverses Zuid-Beveland.

This was the period during which most of Zeeland appears to have been submerged. The area was and for several centuries would remain almost unpeopled.

During the eleventh century the area began to be drained, as little by little polders and channels were developed to protect the fields between them. Once drained, salt levels began to reduce and the soil became very fertile. Agriculture developed and prosperity grew.

In the thirteenth century villages and towns began to appear. People lived chiefly from farming and fishing. The commercial centre of Zuid-Beveland was Goes, but Reimerswaal to the east, which later would be destroyed by floods also played an important role at this time.

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