History of the Netherlands The Dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale programme of public works (the "Delta Works") to protect the country against future floods. The project took more than thirty years to complete. The Oosterscheldedam, an advanced sea storm barrier, became operational in 1986. According to Dutch government engineers, the odds of a major inundation anywhere in the Netherlands are now one in 10,000 years. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), was founded in 1951 by the six founding members: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the Benelux countries) and West Germany, France and Italy. Its purpose was to pool the steel
Freemasonry in Luxembourg French Rite and in the French language. Luxembourg Freemasons in fact managed to acquire a certain level of autonomy, since the Dutch occupiers tended not to participate in Luxembourg Masonic life. This autonomy was reinforced in 1818 when they acquired the "Hôtel de la Loge" as their own premises. After 1839, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg became an independent state, after ceding its western, French-speaking territories, which became part of Belgium. The Lodge of the Children of fortified Concord left what had now become the Grand Orient of Belgium, and in 1844 constituted itself as a central Lodge. Despite the