About Amsterdam, The Netherlands (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Amsterdam, the official capital of the Netherlands, lies on the banks of two bodies of water, the IJ bay and the Amstel river. Founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village on the banks of the Amstel, it is now the largest city in the country and its financial and cultural centre. As of 2005, the population of the city proper is 742,951; the population of the greater Amsterdam area is approximately 1.5 million.

Amsterdam has one of the largest historic city centres in Europe, but dating largely from the 17th century, the Golden Age of the Netherlands, of which it was the focal point. At this time, a series of concentric, semi-circular canals ("grachten") were built around the older city centre, which still defines its layout and appearance today. Many fine houses and mansions are situated along the canals; most are lived in, others are now offices, and some are public buildings. Some of the narrow brick houses are gradually sinking because they are built on wooden piles to cope with the marshy subsoil.

Although Amsterdam is officially designated as the capital of the Netherlands, it is neither the capital of the province in which it is located, North Holland (which is Haarlem), nor the seat of the government and parliament of the Netherlands (which is The Hague).

Amsterdam is noted for many outstanding museums, including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, Rembrandt House Museum, the Anne Frank House, and its world-class symphony orchestra, the Concertgebouworkest, whose home base is the Concertgebouw.

Notable is its red-light district, de Wallen. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. The red-light district is located in the center of the city along major canals and is clearly marked on maps.

Centred around the Wallen, but also elsewhere in the city, coffee shops sell high quality cannabis (marijuana) products. This is not completely legal but is tolerated when small quantities of the drug are involved.

Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village in the 13th century. According to legend Amsterdam was founded by two Frisian fishermen, who landed on the shores of the Amstel in a small boat with their dog. The damming of the river Amstel gave it its name (in Dutch: Amstelredam "Dam in the Amstel", turned into Amsterdam in the course of time). It was given city rights in 1300 or 1301. From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely on the basis of trade with the cities of the Hanseatic League.

In the 16th century the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors. The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War which ultimately led to Dutch independence. After the break with Spain the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance. Jews from Spain and Portugal, prosperous merchants from Antwerp (economic and religious refugees from the part of the Low Countries still controlled by Spain), Huguenots from France (persecuted for their religion) sought safety in Amsterdam. It was the rich, refined migrants from Flanders who set the tone (their Brabant dialects became the basis of standard written Dutch) and made Holland a mercantile power.

The 17th century is considered Amsterdam's "Golden Age". In the early 17th century Amsterdam became one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to North America, Africa and present-day Indonesia and Brazil and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the biggest share in the VOC and WIC. These companies acquired the overseas possessions which formed the seeds of the later Dutch colonies. Amsterdam was the most important point for the trans-shipment of goods in Europe and it was the leading financial centre of the world. Amsterdam's stock exchange was the first to trade continuously.

The population grew from slightly over 10,000 around 1500 to 30,000 around 1570, 60,000 around 1600, 105,000 in 1622 and almost 200,000 around 1700 (a twenty fold increase in 200 years). Thereafter, the population did not change much for another century and a half. During the century before World War II it almost quadrupled to 800,000, but then remained fairly constant again to this day.

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.

The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age. New museums, a train station, and the Concertgebouw were built. At this time the Industrial Revolution reached Amsterdam. The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine and the North Sea Canal to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea. Both projects improved communication with the rest of Europe and the world dramatically. Joseph Conrad gives a brief description of Amsterdam, seen from the sea at this period, in The Mirror of the Sea (1906).

Shortly before the First World War the city began expanding and new suburbs were built. During World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral. Amsterdam suffered a food shortage and heating fuel became scarce. The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed.

Germany invaded the Netherlands in 10 May 1940, taking control of the country after five days of fighting. The Germans installed a Nazi civilian government in Amsterdam that cooperated in the persecution of Jews. However, a minority of people in Amsterdam helped the Jews in hiding and suffered persecution themselves in doing so. More than 103-105,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps, of whom perhaps the most famous was a young German girl, Anne Frank. Only 5,000 Dutch Jews survived the war. In the last months of the war communication with the rest of the country broke down and food and fuel became scarce. Many inhabitants of the city had to travel to the countryside to collect food. Dogs, cats and raw sugar beets were consumed to stay alive. Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel and all the wood of the apartments from the Jewish people who were deported.

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