Introduction:
Amsterdam: a city where innovation, creativity and the spirit of free trade have played an ongoing role through the centuries. Our rich past has laid the foundation for today’s entrepreneurial spirit. And so the history of Amsterdam is firmly anchored in our DNA.
1200-1400: Birth of a City
-A Dam in the River Amstel
Amsterdam derives its name from the dam in the River Amstel. This dam was constructed around 1265 to protect the land against flooding. The ground was wet and marshy – notexactly the best location for a global city. But the water also provided possibilities: access to the hinterland and the sea, and thus to the rest of the world.
1400-1575: Governance and Trade
-Trade in the Baltic
Amsterdamconducted a great deal of trade with the region around the Baltic Sea. Herring and beer were two important commodities shipped via Amsterdam. All the beer shipped from Hamburg to Holland was subject to tolls in Amsterdam. And so the city became an important trade centre.
1575 – 1611: Towards a Golden Age
From the end of the 16th century onward, Amsterdam-based ships set sail for Asia. They brought back spices which were sold at a great profit. In order to prevent too many small companies competing with each other, a single big company was set up in 1602: the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In a new development, normal Amsterdam citizens were able to invest in the company, too – by buying shares. Thus the Dutch East India Company is sometimes called the world’s first multinational. Amsterdam quickly grew to become the centre of global trade. New municipal institutions such as the Bank of Amsterdam and the Stock Exchange were ahead of their time and ensured that trade went smoothly. This resulted in huge prosperity for the city.
1611-1700:Expanding Economy, Expanding the City
-Expansion of the Canal Ring
The 17th century is known as the Golden Age of Amsterdam. The city experienced huge growth and went through two major expansions. This led to creation of the famous Canal Ring. The final expansion took place in 1663. This well-known urban design, which brings together water and prosperity, is still a symbol of the wealth of Amsterdam. In 2010 the Canal Ring was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It was not only shipping and trade that flourished, but science and art as well.Rembrandt painted his masterpieces and a grand new town hall on the Dam Square symbolized the power and prosperity of Amsterdam’s citizens and the city’s position as the mid-point of the world.
1700 – 1850: Bankers and Patriots
-Regents
In the 18th century trade declined, but the city remained Europe’s major financial centre. Rich Amsterdam merchants went in banking and also lent money to foreign sovereigns.
Amsterdam’s prosperity also had a dark side. The Dutch West India Company (WIC) held the monopoly on slavery and between1668 and 1738 it transported almost 63,000 enslaved people to what is now South America. They were mostly put to work on the many profitable plantations. Slavery was abolished in 1863, an event commemorated annuallyin Amsterdam.
A small number of rich families, the regents, held the reins of power in the city. From the second half of the 18th century onward the population of the city increasingly protested against this situation. Amsterdam revolutionaries, known as the Patriots,sought to gain power. Thanks to the help of French troops, in 1795 the old Republic then became the Batavian Republic for the space of ten years. Shortly after, Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power in the Netherlands. He appointed his brother Louis as king, and thus creates the first monarchy in The Netherlands. Overseas trade came almost to a standstill and the city fell into poverty.In 1813 the French were driven out and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded, with William I as king.
1850-1900: Rapid Innovations
-A Second Golden Age
In the second half of the 19th century Amsterdam rapidly transformed into a modern metropolis.This period is sometimes referred to as the Second Golden Age.Shipping gained a new lease of life, but this time in a modern form. Now steamships brought coffee and tobacco from the Dutch East Indies and carried passengers to America. The ships reached the city via the new North Sea Canaland moored in a new section of the port, the Eastern Docklands.In 1889 a large new Central Station is built, situated on an artificial island in the IJ lakeand designed by the famous architect P.J.H. Cuypers.
The city began to become crowded and it expanded again for the first time since the 17th century. While the population of Amsterdam numbered just 180,000 in 1810, toward the end of the century it had grown to over 500,000.
1900-1940: Living Conditions
-Amsterdam School
The urban growth in the 19th century also brought new problems. Many workers lived in appalling slumsand cellars, often with the entire family in just one room. From 1875 onward new neighbourhoods were thrown up at high tempo outside the city. But the buildings were of poor quality.The Socialists demanded better housing for the workers and gained wide support in Amsterdam. On the initiative of Socialist aldermen such asFloor Wibautand Monne de Miranda, new districts were built, with better homes for workers. Wibaut even travelled to London to borrow money from bankers to fund his socialist dream.
The houses were built in the style of the ‘Amsterdam School’: large apartment blocks with decorative facades full of sculptures and striking masonry. Besides residential blocks, other facilities such as monumental schools, libraries, post offices and hospitals were built in a similar style.
1940-1945: Occupation
-The February Strike
During the 1930s the previously tolerant city of Amsterdam became more divided. Antisemitism increased and in 1939 the NSB(the Dutch fascist party) gained three seats on the Amsterdam city council. On 16 May 1940 the German army entered Amsterdam and the following year the occupying forces began systematic persecution of the many Jews in the city. The Communist Party of the Netherlands(CPN) initiated a strike to protest against the ruling authorities. Op 25 February 1941 many Amsterdam citizens stopped work, in what became known as the February Strike.The strike quickly spread throughout the region. But the Nazis responded harshly to the demonstrators and the persecution of the Jews continued.
Many Jews went into hiding. The most famous of these was the teenage girl Anne Frank, who spent two years in hiding in a house annex on the Prinsengracht. The Frank family was betrayed and Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.Her story would ultimately move millions of people after her diary gained international fame.
Amsterdam was liberated on 8 May 1945.The war cost the lives of some 110,000 Amsterdam residents, of whom 75,000 were Jews: three-quarters of the total Jewish population of Amsterdam.
1945-Now: Progress
-Times of Change
During the reconstruction of the city, Amsterdam expanded once again. New districts were added to the western edge of the city, described as ‘garden cities’. These new neighbourhoods were based on the principles of light, air and space and the flats were equipped with modern facilities such as central heating.
From the 1960s onward, young people began to rebel against the ruling authorities and the bourgeoisie.The Provo group opposed the established order by provoking the police with offbeat, ‘playful’ events and happenings. Besides this, hippies from all over the world came to Amsterdam. They slept on the Dam Square, and later in the Vondelpark.
During this same period the first immigrant workers arrived inAmsterdam, mostly from Spain, Italy and Greece and later also from Turkey and Morocco. Many settled in the Netherlands and brought their families over to join them.
In the 1970s and 1980s unrest in the city increased. Amsterdam residents rebelled against the plans of the city council to demolish some areas in the old city in orderto make space for new buildings and a subway network.At the same time, a housing shortage led to even more unrest. More and more young people moved to the city. Chaos and riots were the result.
Now
-Knowledge & Innovation
-Art & Culture
-Citizenship & Participation
-Sustainable Urban Development
-Economy
-Water and Waste Management
-Human Rights
A bright future
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