History of Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a long and eventful history. The origins
of the city lie in the 13th century, when fisherman living along the
banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the
IJ, then a large saltwater inlet. Wooden doors on the bridge served as a
dam; these protected the town from the IJ, which often flooded the
early settlement.
The mouth of the river Amstel, where the Damrak now is, formed a
natural harbor, which became important for trade.
The oldest document
that refers to the settlement of Aemstelledamme ''dam on the Amstel'',
as it was then known, is dated 1204 AD.
Medieval feudality
In 1204,
the inhabitants of Kennemer penetrated the aggrem Aemestel, the Amstel
dike, resulting in the destruction of the house of Gijsbrecht van
Aemstel.
A more important year in the history of Amsterdam was 1275. While
Amstelland fell under the administrative jurisdiction of the
Prince-bishop''s Sticht Utrecht, Count Floris V of Holland granted the
fishmen exemption from tolls. This document, dated 27 October, is the
oldest recorded usage of the name "Amsterdam". This meant the
inhabitants in the vicinity of Amestelledamme had right to travel
through the county Holland without having to pay toll.
After the murder of Floris in 1296, Amstelland again belonged to the
Sticht. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam.
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.
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
subsequent trade with cities of the Hanseatic league in the Baltic Sea,
from where during the 14th and 15th centuries the Amsterdammers
increasingly acquired grain and timber. In 1342, Count Willem IV awarded
the city "Groot Privilege", which greatly 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.
According to 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.
Two great
fires swept through the city in 1421 and 1452. After the second, where
three quarters of the city were destroyed, Emperor Charles decreed that
new houses were to be built from stone. Few wooden building remain from
this period, a notable exception being the Houten Huis (Wooden House) at
the Begijnhof.
Conflict with Spain
The 16th century brought a
rebellion by the Dutch against the Habsburg king Philip II of Spain. The
uprising was mainly caused by the lack of political power for the local
nobility and by the religious intolerance of the Spanish. 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.
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 (within certain limits). 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.
During these years religious wars raged throughout
Europe and many people fled to the Dutch Republic and Amsterdam, where
they sought refuge. Wealthy Jews from Spain and Portugal, prosperous
merchants from Antwerp and the Huguenots from France all sought safety
in Amsterdam.
The "Golden Age" (1585-1672)
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 and they acquired the overseas possessions which
formed the seeds of the later Dutch colonies.
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).
Government by regents
By the mid-1660s Amsterdam had reached the optimum population (about
200,000) for the level of trade, commerce and agriculture then available
to support it. The city contributed the largest quota in taxes to the
States of Holland which in turn contributed over half the quota to the
States General. Amsterdam was also one of the most reliable in settling
tax demands and therefore was able to use the threat to withhold such
payments to good effect.
Amsterdam was governed by a body of regents, a
large, but closed, oligarchy with control over all aspects of the
city''s life, and a dominant voice in the foreign affairs of Holland.
Only men with sufficient wealth and a long enough residence within the
city could join the ruling class. The first step for an ambitious and
wealthy merchant family was to arrange a marriage with a
long-established regent family. In the 1670s one such union, that of the
Trip family (the Amsterdam branch of the Swedish arms makers) with the
son of Burgomaster Valckenier, extended the influence and patronage
available to the latter and strengthened his dominance of the council.
The oligarchy in Amsterdam thus gained strength from its breadth and
openness. In the smaller towns family interest could unite members on
policy decisions but contraction through intermarriage could lead to the
degeneration of the quality of the members.
In Amsterdam the network was so large that members of the same family
could be related to opposing factions and pursue widely separated
interests. The young men who had risen to positions of authority in the
1670s and 1680s consolidated their hold on office well into the 1690s
and even the new century.
Amsterdam''s regents provided good services
to residents. They spent heavily on the water-ways and other essential
infrastructure, as well as municipal almshouses for the elderly,
hospitals and churches.
Amsterdam''s wealth was generated by its commerce, which was in turn
sustained by the judicious encouragement of entrepreneurs whatever their
origin. This open door policy has been interpreted as proof of a
tolerant ruling class. But toleration was practiced for the convenience
of the city. Therefore the wealthy Sephardic Jews from Portugal were
welcomed and accorded all privileges except those of citizenship, but
the poor Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe were far more carefully
vetted and those who became dependent on the city were encouraged to
move on.
Similarly, provision for the housing of Huguenot immigrants was made in
1681 when Louis XIV''s religious policy was beginning to drive these
Protestants out of France; no encouragement was given to the
dispossessed Dutch from the countryside or other towns of Holland. The
regents encouraged immigrants to build churches and provided sites or
buildings for churches and temples for all but the most radical sects
and the native Catholics by the 1670s (although even the Catholics could
practice quietly in a chapel within the Beguinhof).
Immigration
During the 17th and 18th century, Amsterdam was a city
where immigrants formed the majority. Most immigrants were
Lutheran-Protestant Germans. The enormous impact of German immigration
can be seen nowadays in the surnames, which are often German. The
integration of immigrants was smooth. It was not hard to find work as a
craftsman, but craftsmen were forced to join guilds, to serve in the
city patrol and to cooperate in the local district to compete with other
districts. These were powerful institutions that resulted in quick
integration, especially since all these institutions were mainly filled
with immigrants or children of immigrants. The city council of Amsterdam
consisted out of people with all kinds of backgrounds: Dutch, German,
Flemish, French, Scottish.
Plague
However, the city''s trading status meant it suffered from an outbreak
of bubonic plague from 1663 to 1666, supposed to have come from Algiers
to Amsterdam. (The plague also broke out in the trading centre of London
in June 1665.) Though it had little initial effect, the impact grew in
autumn 1663 and in 1664. Jan J. Hinlopen''s wife and youngest daughter,
along with Rembrandt''s partner Hendrickje Stoffels, fell victim to it
that autumn. According to Samuel Pepys, for a few weeks at the end of
1663 ships from Hamburg and Amsterdam were quarantined for thirty days.
In 1664, 24,148 people were buried in Amsterdam and people assumed the
plague was caused by the digging of new canals. More than 10% of the
population died in this period - everybody that came into contact with
the plague was at risk.
Surprisingly, tobacco smoke was regarded as an effective prophylactic
against the plague. With the prospect of the plague, as well as war with
England looming, the English ambassador commented in May 1664: there
are dead this last weeke to the number 338 at Amsterdam and if the
plague thus increases within, and a warre with His Majestie without,
there will be little need of that vast new towne which they are making
there. Rich people left the cities to avoid the disease, but in the
worst week of the pandemic in 1664 in Amsterdam there were 1,041 burials
compared with 7,000 in the late summer of 1665 in London, a city twice
its size. The mayors warned the population that eating salad, spinach or
prunes could be unhealthy.
The vroedschap shut the theatre, allowing performances to resume only
in 1666, though Jan J. Hinlopen's own death in 1666 is ascribed to the
plague. Sailors on ships out to sea were relatively safe.
Decline and
modernization
Coat of arms of Amsterdam.
The three crosses are thought to suggest the three plagues which have affected the city: flood, fire, and pestilence.
The 18th and early 19th centuries saw a decline in Amsterdam''s
prosperity. The wars of the Dutch Republic with the United Kingdom and
France took their toll on Amsterdam. During the Napoleonic wars
Amsterdam's fortunes reached their lowest point; however, with the
establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, things slowly
began to improve.
In Amsterdam new developments were started by people like Samuel
Sarphati who found their inspiration in Paris.
At the end of the 19th
century the Industrial Revolution reached Amsterdam. The Amsterdam-Rijn
kanaal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine and
the Noordzee kanaal to give the port a connection with the North Sea.
Both projects improved communication with the rest of Europe and the
world dramatically. They gave the economy a big boost.
Dam Square, Amsterdam as it appeared c. 1890-1900 with the "Naatje of
the Dam" statue.
The industrial revolution led to a huge influx of
worker migrants from the Dutch countryside into the city of Amsterdam.
This occurred during the rise of socialism in Amsterdam. The Dutch
authorities tried to destroy socialism by treating socialists with
violence. During the 1880s and 1890s, fights between the police and the
socialists occurred on a weekly basis.
A notorious event was the Palingoproer (eel riots) in 1886, when 26
demonstrators were killed by the army. Another was the Orange riots of
1887, which included the destruction of a socialist pub by orangists and
the arrest of the defending socialists, while the orangists were not
punished at all. The most popular socialist leaders of the 1890s were
those who had been in jail most of the time. One socialist was so angry
with the police, that he tried to kill the chief superintendent of the
police. He shot a hole in the hat of the superintendent and was
sentenced for many years in jail after being beaten up by policemen.
After his release, he was welcomed as a hero during a parade with a
laurel wreath on his head, while people were crying in the crowded
streets filled with workers from Amsterdam.
The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam''s second
Golden Age. New museums, the Centraal Station and the Concertgebouw were
built. Also built was the Stelling van Amsterdam, a unique ring of 42
forts and land that could be inundated to defend the city against an
attack. Amsterdam''s population grew significantly during this
period.
20th century
During World War I, the Netherlands remained
neutral, but Amsterdam suffered the effects of the war when food became
scarce. When working class women started to plunder a ship with army
supplies, the military was brought in. Workers joined their wives in the
plundering and the soldiers opened fire on them. Six people were killed
and almost 100 were wounded.
In 1932 a dike separating the Zuider Zee from the North Sea, the
Afsluitdijk, was completed. The Zuider Zee was no more. The new lake
behind the dyke was called IJsselmeer. For the first time in its history
Amsterdam had no open communication with the sea.
Statue of Anne
Frank
During World War II, German troops occupied the city. More than
100,000 Jews were deported, famously including Anne Frank, almost completely wiping out the Jewish community.
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 essentially disappeared.
Amsterdam made a bid for the 1952 Olympic Games (summer games) but was
unsuccessful. The games went to Helsinki.
The cultural revolution of
the 1960s and 1970s made Amsterdam the magisch centrum (magical centre)
of Europe. The use of soft drugs was tolerated and this policy made the
city a popular destination for hippies. Squatting became widespread.
Riots and clashes with the police were frequent. A grim atmosphere took
hold of Amsterdam. Anarchists, such as the Provos and a local political
movement Kabouterbeweging, wanted to change the local society. Squatting
of empty buildings and buildings used for other purposes than living
led to a strong confrontation with contractors, who were aligned with
the Dutch Mafia.
The construction of the underground Metro under the oldest parts of the
city also led to widespread protests due to the impact of the
construction on heritage buildings and local residents. 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.
During the 1970s the number of foreign immigrants, primarily from
Suriname, Turkey and Morocco grew strongly. This led to an exodus of
people to the ''growth cities'' of Purmerend, Almere and other cities
near Amsterdam. However, neighbourhoods like the Pijp and the Jordaan,
which had previously been working class, became sought out places of
residence for the newly wealthy yuppies and students. Amsterdam that
used to be a poor city in the Netherlands turned into an economically
rich city thanks to the new economical trend towards a service-economy
instead of an industrial economy.
In 1992, an El Al cargo plane crashed in the Bijlmermeer in Amsterdam
Zuidoost. This disaster, called the Bijlmerramp, caused the death of at
least 43 people.
At the beginning of the millennium social problems such as safety,
ethnic discrimination and segregation between religious and social
groups began to develop. 45% of the population of Amsterdam has
non-Dutch parents. Large social groups are people from Surinam, the
Dutch Antilles, Morocco and Turkey. Amsterdam is characterized by its
(perceived) social tolerance and diversity. The social tolerance was
endangered by the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh on 2 November
2004 by a Mohamed Bouyeri, an islamic fundamentalist. The mayor of
Amsterdam, Job Cohen, and his alderman for integration Ahmed Aboutaleb
formulated a policy of "keeping things together" which involves social
dialogue, tolerance and harsh measures against those who break the
law.
Cultural life
In the 15th and 16th century cultural life in Amsterdam consisted
mainly of festivals. During the later part of the 16th century
Amsterdams Rederijkerskamer (Chamber of Rhetoric) organized contests
between different Chambers in the reading of poetry and drama. In 1638
Amsterdam got its first theatre. Ballet performances were given in this
theatre as early as 1642. In the 18th century French theatre became
popular.
Opera could be seen in Amsterdam from 1677, first only Italian and
French operas, but in the 18th century German operas. In the 19th
century popular culture was centered around the Nes area in Amsterdam
(mainly vaudeville and musichall). The metronome, one of the most
important advances in European classical music was invented here in 1812
by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel.
At the end of this century the Rijksmuseum and Gemeentelijk Museum were
built. In 1888 the Concertgebouworkest was established. With the 20th
century came cinema, radio and television. Though the studios are in
Hilversum and Aalsmeer, Amsterdams influence on programming is very
strong. After World War II popular culture became the dominant cultural
phenomenon in Amsterdam.
History of the municipality
When the municipality was created during the French occupation, it
covered the city (then consisting of only the central part inside the
canals) and the immediate surroundings, less than 10% of the current
municipality. When the city grew, it annexed several neighbouring
municipalities:
Sloten (covering the villages of Sloten, Sloterdijk
and Osdorp, in the west), annexed in 1921
Buiksloot, annexed in
1921, now part of Amsterdam-Noord
Nieuwendam (covering Nieuwendam
and Zunderdorp), annexed in 1921, now part of Amsterdam-Noord
Ransdorp (covering Ransdorp, Schellingwoude, Durgerdam and Holysloot),
annexed in 1921, now part of
Amsterdam-Noord
.
Watergraafsmeer, annexed in 1921
a part of Nieuweramstel (covering the
village of Buitenveldert)
a part of Weesperkarspel (covering the
Bijlmermeer and the village of Driemond), annexed in 1966, now
Amsterdam-Zuidoost
.
In 1995, the national government proposed the creation of a ''city
province'', consisting of Amsterdam and neighbouring
towns.
This was
rejected by the people in a referendum. The opposition was not so much
against creating the city province,
but against the splitting of the
city in parts. Opposers feared this would destroy the city''s cohesion.
After the referendum the city province proposal was shelved.
Nevertheless, since 1995, city parts have gradually
become
moreautonomous, and neighbouring towns have been drawn into the
city, politically and economically. In a sense, the city
provincehas
arrived in the form of ''Greater Amsterdam''.
Bron: Wikipedia
