From Fishing Village to the Golden Age
Amsterdam's history begins with a dam. Around 1270, fishermen built a dam in the Amstel — Amstel-Dam became the settlement first mentioned in records in 1275. The city grew rapidly: strategically well-located, with access to the North Sea via the Zuiderzee (today IJsselmeer).
The Golden Age (1585–1672)
In the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced its heyday — the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and Amsterdam its heart:
- VOC (Dutch East India Company): Founded in 1602, the VOC was the first joint-stock company in the world. From Amsterdam, Dutch merchants controlled the spice trade with Indonesia, the silk trade with Japan, and trade across all the world's oceans. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (1602) was the first in the world.
- Canal Belt: Between 1613 and 1665, the famous Canal Belt was created — one of the boldest urban planning projects in history. Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht were laid out as concentric semicircles, along whose banks the wealthiest merchants built their canal houses.
- Art: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals — the greatest painters in Western art history lived and worked in Amsterdam during this time. Rembrandt's workshop was located on Jodenbreestraat (today Museum het Rembrandthuis).
- Tolerance: Amsterdam was the most tolerant place in the world: Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, and dissidents from all over Europe found refuge here. This tolerance was not altruistic — it was economically savvy: The refugees brought knowledge, capital, and trade connections with them.
The Golden Age ended with the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) 1672: war against England, France, and the bishops of Münster and Cologne simultaneously. Amsterdam survived but lost its supremacy to England.