It was not until the completion of the Afsluitdijk (Enclosure Dam) in 1932 that the open link with the North Sea disappeared and the Zuiderzee was divided into two - the IJssellake and the Wadden Sea. In past times, people that lived around the Zuiderzee heavily depended on the sea. Fishing was the main source of income and in the 17th Century, the East Indian Shipping Company brought wealth and prosperity to the area. The enclosure of the Zuiderzee brought irreversible change to a culture of traditional