City Info

Unlike other big cities, Amsterdam doesn’t have such a long history. Officially this wonderful city dates from around 700 years ago.

Amsterdam’s history begins with a small settlement, and as is to be expected, a constant struggle against water. In fact, Amsterdam is made up of three original settlements that grew closer together over the decades, until they eventually merged into one.

The oldest settlement in the vicinity of what we nowadays know as Amsterdam was Aem(e)stelle (today called Ouderkerk). Today’s Amsterdam would develop to the North of Aemstelle: it was here that a few gehuchten which would later form Amsterdam. They were based around two rivers, the `Boerenwetering' and the `Amstel' (known at that time as the 'Ammerak'). The first settlement, again an 'aemrik', was called Hemelrijk, which remained a small and insignificant village for a long time. At that time, in the early Middle Ages, Aemstelle was much more important: there was already a church and a market there.

In order to better protect this gehucht, the land belonging to the Bishop of Utrecht, and Holland’s graven in general against the water, and in order to bring the various rivers under control, a series of measures were taken. The first waterworks are thought to date from around the beginning of the 12th century. In the late 12th/early 13th century, a significant waterkering was constructed to the south of the river IJ, where the Boerenwetering and the Amstel merge?.  Work started to build a dam along the river Spaarne around 1220, and later the river Amstel. This second dam was built to the north east of Hemelrijk, and was called the 'aemsterdam'. The area around this dam was seen as safe to live, protected as it was from the water, and a new neighbourhood sprung up, nearby to Hemelrijk.

A third new neighbourhood developed, as more inhabitants arrived, on the otherside from today’s damrak (at that time the river Amstel), and these three neighbourhoods together formed the basis for what would later become the city of Amsterdam. Graaf Floris V of Holland awarded a toll privilege to the ‘people living in Aemstelledam' in 1275, and this year is thus seen as marking the official beginning of Amsterdam. (This privilege had nothing to do with the city’s standing within the region, but in fact Floris V awarded this as a kind of repayment, in recognition of the fact that he had plundered the city earlier that year!) Exactly when the inhabitants themselves accepted Amsterdam as a city, rather than a loose accumulation of independent neighbourhoods, in not clear, but it is likely long before 1275, and probably quite soon after the dam became the central point of the neighbourhoods in 1220. Around the year 1300 Amsterdam was awarded city rights, and from 1317 onwards the city officially formed part of the graafschap Holland, in which it would later gain a key role.

The old town was centred around the Damrak, and between what we today know as the Oude and Nieuwe Zijds Voorburgwal. Over the centuries there was been a steady expansion of the city, cumulating in the city expansion plan of 1612. This expansion plan was realised in the course of the 17th century, and consisted of a series of canals built in the formation of semi-circles.

From its very beginnings, Amsterdam has enjoyed rapid and successful economic development. The toll for the import of beer in to Amsterdam from Hamburg was established around 1323, which set up shipping links with Hamburg. Later, this trading became part of the general trade between the Black Sea Oostzee? ports and Vlaanderen, with Amsterdam as the most important link in this chain. Amsterdam offered valuable storage opportunities for grain coming from the Black Sea ports, leading to the city becoming the graanschuur for the northern region of the Netherlands in the 15th century. In addition, trading with the Rhineland was also becoming important.

Trading stagnated in the 16th century, during the time of the conflict between Alva and the Hollanders. Amsterdam was occupied by Alva in 1567, and between 1572 and 1578 the city was occupied by rebels (opstandelingen). De Amsterdamse regenten waren grotendeels Spaansgezind, maar werden uiteindelijk gedwongen zich aan te sluiten bij de prinsgezinden, een gebeurtenis die bekend staat als de Satisfactie van Amsterdam. De katholieken was daarbij godsdienstvrijheid toegezegd als de stad de zijde van de prins koos. Bij de zogenaamde Alteratie in mei 1578 werden de oude Spaansgezinde regenten- families vervangen door prinsgezinde bestuurders.

Meanwhile, the southern parts of the Netherlands were still in the hands of the Spanish. The conquering of Antwerp by the Duke of Parma (the Spanish landvoogd in the Netherlands from 1578 to 1592) in 1585 gave Amsterdam a significant boost. De geuzenvloot blockaded the Schelde in Antwerp, crippling this important trading city, and Amsterdam was able to pick up some of the Antwerp trade. In particular, many refugees from Antwerp, including many traders, re-settled in Amsterdam, bringing with them their trading contacts and experience, thus boosting Amsterdam’s economic position. This led to another large economic expansion in the late 16th/early 17th century. The most important regions for trading were the Black Sea region, Russia and in the Straits Straatvaart (trade with Italy and the Levant). This period was also characterised by the emergence of the first financial institutions, such as the Amsterdamsche Wisselbank (1609), which would quickly gain in importance internationally too. The same can be said for the Amsterdamse Koopmansbeurs, set up for trading activities in 1611.

This rapid expansion would continue until 1648. That year also saw the signing of the Peace Treaty of Munster, which ended the 80-year War. The Republic was officially recognised by the Spanish and, more importantly for Amsterdam, they also accepted the Dutch toll charges on the Schelde, thus keeping the Antwerp port in toom. There was another period of stagnation from then until 1680. Thereafter, up until the early part of the 18th century, there was steady economic growth in certain sectors of trading, but this slowed down somewhat once again, and this economic slump lasted until the end of the 18th century. This pattern of economic development is reflected in the demographic development of the city of Amsterdam.

In the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, Amsterdam had also become an important financial centre – the centre of the world in that respect – with the Guilder as the most important currency. However, reckless speculation and a lack of financial control led to a financial crisis in 1763 and 1773, but this was not the cause Amsterdam’s downfall. Ultimately Amsterdam was becoming a victim of its own success. The existing economic structures were still functioning well, but they proved to be too rigid. Other countries were on the rise, and in particular England was able to adapt much more quickly to the new trends in the still-developing capitalist trading system. The Amsterdam stapelmarkt had lost some of its significance, and thus also the city’s role as a midway trading station, which had always underpinned Amsterdam’s economy, was diminishing.

The fourth Dutch-English naval war (1780-1784) and the blockade of Amsterdam during the revolution of 1795 and the capture/occupation? inlijving by the French meant the end of Amsterdam as the centre of world trade. The English had achieved domination of the seas, which had dramatically weakened the Dutch position, in particular in the West Indies. Amsterdam was never to regain its pivotal position as the economic centre of the world (hetgeen it’s still an opportunity in old literary classics for nostalgic reflections over the city’s position in bygone years, ideally illustrated by numerous quotations from Vondel). So, the Amsterdam economy suffered during the French years. Not until the mid 19th century were there signs of improvement, which was partly stimulated by the opening up of the Noordzeekanaal in 1876. The economy in the 19th century was thus somewhat more successful, but the grandeur that had been evident in earlier times was gone for good.

The role Amsterdam played in international politics was key for the city’s development in many respects, both in terms of the economy and for the political governance of the city. As mentioned above, the blockade of the Schelde and hence of Antwerp is an example of the economic boost gained by Amsterdam due to the political situation. But international developments also had a direct bearing on the governance of the city. Throughout the centuries, Amsterdam had been controlled by regents, mostly members of a small number of aanzienlijke families. During the  Alteratie the Spanish regents would be replaced by Prince gezinden, but in fact that meant little more than an exchange of power amongst similar people from similar elite backgrounds. However, this culture of regents finally came to an end when the French declared war on the Stadhouder Willem VI in 1793, and the French attacked the Republic in 1795. A democratic onwenteling occurred in Amsterdam on 19th January 1795 and the regents rule was over for good. Other important developments followed: Ludwig Napoleon put an end to the period of the Batavian Republic (1798-1806), and made Amsterdam capital city of the new kingdom. Napoleon’s brief occupation of the kingdom (1810-1813) was followed by the reign of King Willem I, who also introduced the role of mayor to the city.

Normally people look back at the important role of Amsterdam, and its rapid expansion, during what has become known as the Golden Age (Gouden Eeuw) – this being classed as in particular the period of growth at the end of the 16th and in the first half of the 17th centuries. At that time, Amsterdam was indeed an economic and financial superpower, and since then has retained some of its power. However, that is not to say that this prosperity was evenly shared amongst everyone. The “Golden Age” looks a bit different when we also take into account the extreme poverty during this period. In particular the cautious economic recovery at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries was characterised by severe poverty. The number of orphans/abandoned children vondelingen beggars and the rising crime levels are just some illustrations of the worsening situation. In the same period there were also a number of significant uprisings, demonstrating the uneven distribution of wealth. A good example of this is the Aansprekers uprising of 1696: the city council had decided to stem (aan banden te leggen) the rapid growth amongst funeral directors in the city. Funerals were often extremely expensive, and there were no official controls over funeral directors (knows as aansprekers). They were able to make huge profits, whilst the city did not receive a penny. Certain measures were in the pipeline to drastically reduce the number of funeral directors in the city, but the funeral directors disagreed, and they rose up against the city council: they started spreading rumours amongst the working classes about the undesired effects these planned measures would have on funerals in the future. Naturally the rumours were largely untrue, but they had a dramatic effect: eventually anger erupted amongst the working classes, resulting in a series of riots in which even some regent’s apartments were destroyed, alongside other properties. This uprising was a clear illustration of the levels of unhappiness and dissatisfaction amongst the poorer people of Amsterdam.

The economic recovery from the end of the 19th century continued into the early 20th century, until the crisis in the 1930s hit.  From then on, it was  a tough time economically up until the Second World War, which in itself further weakened the economy. More important and damaging than that, however, was the fact that a large number of Amsterdam Jews were evacuated. The post-war developments in Amsterdam have mainly been significant from a sociological point of view. The economic recovery followed fairly rapidly, helped by the opening of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal and the expansion of the harbour. In terms of city expansion, a key event was the construction of the Bijlmermeer, started in 1966. The 1960s also saw the emergence of the provo-movement, a ludieke social protest movement. More grimmiger in nature were the actions witnessed during the wedding of Princess Beatrix (heir to the throne) and Prince Claus. in that respect, Amsterdam was part of the international struggle for freedom and emancipation by the younger generation, and the wave of democracy which was in particular sweeping through the universities. deelde in dat opzicht in de internationale emancipatiestrijd van jongeren en de democratiseringsgolf die onder andere de universiteiten overspoelde. Even after the 1960s, Amsterdam continued to be characterised by these vernieuwende impulsen, in particular on a cultural level. The successful struggle for equality by the gay movement and the international youth culture ensured that Amsterdam won a place in the hearts of many (which also didn’t displease the city’s governors) en niet tot onverdeeld genoegen van bestuurders. And if there is only one feature which characterises this unique city at this moment, then it is the enormous (multi)cultural diversity.