History of Amsterdam

The history of Amsterdam is a very turbulent one. The 1600's where very important. In Holland we call it the golden age. It was a period of extreme wealth.

The origins of Amsterdam lie in the 13th century. It is thought that fisherman lived along the banks of the river Amstel. They built a dam in the river. That explains the name "Amsterdam". The oldest document that refers to the settlement of Aemstelledamme 'dam on the Amstel', as it was then known, mentions that in 1204 the inhabitants of Kennemer penetrated the aggrem Aemestel, the Amstel dike, resulting in the destruction of the house of Gijsbrecht van Aemstel. He is still a famous person in the history of Amsterdam. Around 1300, Gwijde van Henegouwen, bishop of Utrecht, gave Amsterdam city rights. After his death, Count Willem III inherited Amstelland, upon which Amsterdam thenceforth fell under Holland. According to a legend, on 12 March 1345, the miracle of Amsterdam occurred and Amsterdam became an important pilgrimage town. The town grew considerably thanks to the pilgrims. A Roman Catholic procession (Stille Omgang) occurs every year to celebrate the miracle.

In 1323, Willem III established a toll on the trade of beer from Hamburg. The contacts laid through the beer trade formed the basis for other trade with cities in the Baltic Sea, from where during the 14th and 15th centuries the Amsterdammers increasingly traded grain and timber. In 1342, Count Willem IV gave the city "Groot Privilege", which strengthened the position of the city. During the 15th century, Amsterdam became the granary of the northern low countries and the most important trading city in Holland. Two great fires swept through the city in 1421 and 1452. After the second, where three quarters of the city were destroyed. Since then new houses had to be built from stone. A few wooden buildings remain from this period, a notable example being the Houten Huis (Wooden House) at the begijnhof

The 16th century brought a rebellion by the Dutch against king Philip II of Spain. A big issue was the religious intolerance of the Spanish. A turbulent part of the history of Amsterdam began. Although Amsterdam began the war on the Spanish side, it changed sides in 1578 and gave its support to William I of Orange. The rebellion led to the Eighty Years' War and Dutch independence. The dutch queen Beatrix descends of this William of Orange. One of the results of the war was that Spanish religious intolerance gave way to Dutch tolerance. In Amsterdam people were free to believe what they wanted. In the city a large Roman Catholic minority remained (and Roman Catholicism is still one of the major religions in Amsterdam), but the majority of the people belonged to the Reformed Church and other Protestant denominations. Religion played an important roll in the history of Amsterdam.

The 17th century was Amsterdam's Golden Age. Ships from the city sailed to North America, Indonesia, Brazil and Africa and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants financed expeditions to the four corners of the world. Parts of the oversea countries where taken by the Dutch and became later the
Dutch colonies(Indonesia, Suriname and the Dutch Antilles). Rembrandt painted in this century, and the city expanded greatly around its canals during this time. Amsterdam was the most important point for the transshipment of goods in Europe and it was the leading financial centre of the world (a position later taken over by London). In this period the beautiful canals and the canalhouses were build. The canals were used to transport all the merchandise to the warehouses(the high canalhouses). You can still see the cranes on the top of the houses, that were used to rig the merchandise. In Amsterdam there is a museum of Shipping(scheepvaartmuseum). You can visit a beautiful replica of the VOC-ship the Amsterdam. The VOC was a union of traders that sailed to the eastern parts of the world.This was the most important period in the history of Amsterdam. The canals are nowadays very important for Amsterdam tourism. The Amsterdam canals are just as picturesque as the canals in Venice.

the Golden age

Anne Frank, the famous teenager who wrote her diary when she was hiding from the nazies for a few years. The war almost completely wiped out the Jewish community in Amsterdam. Before the war, Amsterdam was the world's center for the diamond trade. Since this trade was mostly in the hands of Jewish businessmen and craftsmen, the diamond trade almost disappeared. This was a dark period in the history of Amsterdam

The cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s made Amsterdam the magical centre of Europe. The use of soft drugs was tolerated(it still is) and this policy made the city a popular destination for hippies. Riots and clashes with the police occured frequently. A grim atmosphere took hold of Amsterdam. Anarchist squaters wanted to change the local society by squatting empty buildings and buildings used for other purposes than living. This led to a strong confrontation with the house-owners, who were aligned with the Dutch Mafia. Amsterdam started the 1980s in an explosive manner. In 1980, while Queen Beatrix's coronation was being held in the New Church on Dam square, protesters outside the church fought with the police in protest against government policies. Their slogan was 'Geen woning, geen kroning' (No house, no coronation). The mayor and city council eventually had to bring in the military to get the situation under control. The history of Amsterdam still continues.

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