History of Amsterdam
A timeless scene in Amsterdam's city center.
Amsterdam's picturesque canal houses.
Amsterdam was founded in 1204, when Gijsbrecht II built a fortress on this spot. A considerable settlement soon grew up around it, which, in 1296, came into the possession of the Count of Holland. In 1301, it was raised to the rank of a city, and grew prosperous through the influx of large numbers of merchants from Brabant and Flanders and trade with the cities of the Hanseatic league.
The religious life of the city also developed on a large scale. At the end of the 15th century there were more than 20 monasteries in Amsterdam, only one of which, however, the Beguinage, has survived the Reformation in its original form.
Of the churches and chapels, the so-called "Holy Room" is the most famous, as the scene of a great sacramental miracle, the "Miracle of Amsterdam." It was a place resorted to by countless pilgrims, among others by the Emperor Maximilian, and the street which led to it is still known as the "Holy Way."
The Reformation reached Amsterdam quickly: 1535 saw a bloody rising of the Anabaptists, and in 1566 an Iconoclasm. Amsterdam remained Catholic for longer than the rest of the Netherlands, until 1578. In that year the Calvinists gained the upper hand.
In 1579, Amsterdam joined the Utrecht Union, which stipulated in its fourteenth article that no other public exercise of religion except the reformed should be allowed. However, the city authorities of were, in the interests of their trade with Catholic nations, more tolerant in the enforcement of this regulation than most of the cities of the Netherlands.
The 16th century also brought a rebellion by the Dutch against Philip II of Spain, which led to the Eighty Years' War and Dutch independence. Subsequently, the Dutch Republic became known for its religious tolerance, and wealthy Jews from Spain and Portugal, prosperous merchants from Antwerp and the Huguenots from France, among others, sought safety in Amsterdam. Certain orders, such as the Franciscans and the Jesuits were able, in consequence of the prevailing toleration, to remain there for a long time practically unmolested.
However, Amsterdam became less tolerant under the influence of the Jansenists. In 1660 the public exercise of the Catholic religion was forbidden, which led to the “hidden churches” dating from that period that have the outward appearance of private houses. The religious houses which still existed in 1708 were done away with, and their churches closed.
The 17th century is considered Amsterdam's "Golden Age". In the early 17th century Amsterdam was the richest trading city in Europe. Ships 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 van Rijn painted in this century and the city expanded mightily around its canals during this time. Amsterdam was the most important point for the trans-shipment of goods in Europe and it was for a time the leading financial center of the world. Amsterdam's stock exchange was the first to trade continuously. Dutch wages were the highest in the world.
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 Sarphati who found their inspiration in Paris.
Catholics finally gained a considerable measure of religious liberty towards the end of the 18 th century, which was due mainly to the founding of the Kingdom of Holland, of which Amsterdam became the capital, by Napoleon in 1808-10. The fall of the Napoleonic dynasty and the accession of William I meant the practical cessation of this liberty, and Catholics were debarred from all the offices of State.
Under William II, the Constitution of 1848 brought the Catholics complete liberty and equality with the Protestants, while the year 1853 witnessed the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy, by which Amsterdam became a deanery subject to the Diocese of Haarlem. Catholic progress has kept pace since then with that of the city, which has once more risen to the chief mercantile city of the Netherlands and one of the most important in Europe. The Catholics, who, in 1817, were 44,000, had risen, in 1865, to over 68,000.
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. Between 1850 and 1900 population doubled to about 500,000.
The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age. New museums, a train station, and the Concertgebouw were built. Amsterdam's population grew significantly during this period.
During World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral, but Amsterdam suffered the effects of the war when food became scarce. During World War II, German troops occupied the city. More than 100,000 Jews were deported, of whom perhaps the most famous was a young girl, Anne Frank; this almost completely wiped out the Jewish community.
Sources: Wikipedia under GFDL and Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907.
