The Dutch windmill refers to windmills installed in the Netherlands initially imported from Germany and primarily used for grinding. By the 16th and 17th centuries, windmills held significant economic importance for the Netherlands.

At that time, the country held a primary position in global commerce, with various raw materials transported via waterways to windmills for processing.

These materials included timber from Nordic and Baltic countries, hemp and flax seeds from Germany, and cinnamon and pepper from India and Southeast Asia. Rotterdam and Amsterdam's vicinity housed numerous windmill gristmills, sawmills, and paper mills. Windmills played a crucial role in the Netherlands' extensive land reclamation projects, fitted with movable cap roofs and mounted on rollers, leading to the development of the Dutch-style windmill.

The Netherlands is often dubbed the "land of windmills." It's a small European country with just over ten million people. Its official name is "Nederland," which means "low-lying land." About a third of the country sits just one meter above sea level, and nearly a quarter is below sea level, truly earning its title of "Nederland."

Situated in the prevalent westerly wind belt of the Earth, the Netherlands experiences constant winds blowing from the west year-round, coupled with its proximity to the Atlantic, creating a maritime climate. This condition provided favorable compensation for the Netherlands' lack of hydraulic and power resources by harnessing wind power.

Long ago, the Netherlands, located in Western Europe, was covered by ancient forests and marshlands. It's described vividly that until a thousand years ago, a squirrel could travel from one far-off place to another, not on the ground but across the treetops. Due to its proximity to the North Sea, the Netherlands' terrain is low-lying, with numerous marshy lakes, earning its reputation as a "low-lying country."

Much of its land lies below six meters from sea level. For instance, today's Amsterdam International Airport is approximately 4 meters below the North Sea. Hence, the story of the Netherlands intertwines legend and reality, encompassing windmills, wooden shoes, cheese, and tulips.

Facing constant threats from tidal erosion due to its low-lying terrain, the Dutch were driven by survival instincts, building dikes and reclaiming land, creating towering windmills capable of pumping water as high as 9 meters to establish habitable areas. In 1229, the Dutch invented the world's first windmill to provide power to humans.

Over time, they evolved from manual grain processing to horse-powered mills, water-driven mills, and eventually windmills due to the flat, windy nature of the Netherlands. As the demand increased, windmill technology evolved beyond grain milling to processing barley, sawing timber into beams and planks, paper production, oil extraction from various oilseed crops like flax and rapeseed, and even grinding spices into mustard.

Despite their multifunctional use, people still remember the European adage: "God created the world, but the Dutch created the land." Indeed, without these towering, water-pumping windmills, the Netherlands wouldn't have reclaimed nearly one-third of its territory from the sea, leading to the following aromatic cheeses and tulips.

When a Dutch person gazes upon a windmill, they surely feel a different kind of emotion. If a child's memories are of the distant and ancient windmill tales, here lies the natural dream of the Dutch countryside.