Hi! Welcome to the first part of the tour 'the Freedom of Amsterdam'. My name is Gwendolyn Bolderink. I live in Amsterdam and I studied philosophy here. I love this city and I cannot wait to tell you more about the freedom of Amsterdam.&nbsp;According to many people, freedom is one of the most important values of the Western world. Many people place a high value on freedom of religion and freedom of speech, but individual freedom is also considered important, such as being able to choose how you look, in which city you live, who your partner is and what your profession is.But freedom has not always been self-evident. The city of Amsterdam played an important role in acquiring this freedom.In this first part of the walk, you discover how freedom became such an important part of our society. To do this we have to go 400 years back in time. Back then, Amsterdam was perhaps the most free city of the world. I will tell you more about the origins of this part of Amsterdam&rsquo;s history, and I will tell you all about the most important philosophical ideas about freedom that originated in this city.On your screen you can see a lot of ships. Our next stop will tell you all about those ships. Just walk with me, we are going to the station square on the center side of the train station.Oh before we go, one more thing. In this walk, we will regularly ask you questions. And we would LOVE to hear your answers. Chances are that we will post them on the homepage of vrijheidvanamsterdam.nl. It is up to you if you also want your name up there. You can let us know your answer on our<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Vrijheid-van-Amsterdam-242478746558870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Facebookpage</a> vrijheidvanamsterdam or by emailing info@vrijheidvanamsterdam.nl. In the text box you can find this email address and the link to our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Vrijheid-van-Amsterdam-242478746558870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebookpage</a>.

Central Station: start of the walk

You are now standing on one of the busiest squares of Amsterdam. Lots of people are rushing to catch their train, metro or tram. But in the seventeenth century there was no station here. From where you are standing now, you could see the harbor of Amsterdam. This harbor is the most important reason that the seventeenth century is called the Golden Age in the Netherlands.Because of this harbor, Amsterdam became the richest city in the world. With thousands of ships, the Dutch transported food, like grains, wine and herbs, and other products, like wood, cotton and furs. These products were imported from countries far away from here, and resold with a huge profit.How was it possible that this specific harbor became so big? This had several reasons, but I will give five:1.&nbsp;&nbsp; Amsterdam had good sea connections. What is now called the IJsselmeer was called the Zuiderzee back then: the Enclosure Dam was not yet constructed. Trade with the Baltic Sea in particular generated a lot of money.2.&nbsp; The people of Amsterdam invented a new ship: the so-called fluitschip. This ship was faster than other ships, could store more products, and needed fewer crew members. On your screen you can see what this ship looked like.3.&nbsp; The skippers of Amsterdam thought of a smart way to conserve herrings. By pickling the fish straight away on the ship, the fish spoiled less quickly. This is how the skippers from Amsterdam were able to sail further into the sea; there was a lot more fish swimming around there.4.&nbsp;&nbsp; Several major Dutch cities were easily accessible through inland rivers, such as Haarlem, Weesp, Naarden, Muiden, Utrecht and Vianen. In this way products and food could easily be distributed throughout the country.5.&nbsp; In 1585 the Spaniards conquered Antwerp. As a result, the port of Antwerp, which played a crucial role in international trade, fell into disrepair. Because the port of Antwerp was no longer accessible, all ships went to Amsterdam. This is how the harbor of Amsterdam became very important.Trade is one of the most important reasons why there was more and more freedom in Amsterdam. People became richer, they got more free time, and they could think about what they wanted to do instead of what somebody else told them to do. This is why this century is called the Golden Age.This does not mean all the people in Amsterdam were rich; a third of the population still struggled to make ends meet. I will tell you more about this later.If you walk towards the city center now, you will see the Nieuwe Brug, or New Bridge, on your left. When we are there I will tell you about a different invention by the citizens of Amsterdam that increased the wealth of this city even more.Want to know more? At the <a href="https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Maritime</a> Museum you can see what the harbor of Amsterdam looked like in the seventeenth century. In the textbox on your screen you can always find the websites when I provide additional visiting or reading recommendations.

Station square: the harbor

You left the train station. If you look straight ahead, over the water where the canal cruises are docked, you see the Beurs van Berlage. This was once the Amsterdam stock exchange.The first stocks were traded in Amsterdam at the beginning of the seventeenth century, exactly at this spot you are standing at right now. On the Nieuwe Brug. They were sold and bought in the open air.When it was raining, the traders could take shelter in the Sint Olof's chapel at Zeedijk 2. Nowadays it is a hotel with meeting rooms. You can try and go in to see if you can visit the chapel, but if there is a meeting, you are not allowed to enter.As you might know, stocks were invented by the VOC, the Dutch East India Company. You might have heard of that name. On your screen you can see the VOC logo. While you walk towards the next stop, I will tell you more about that.Want to know more? Visit the <a href="http://www.uva.nl/locaties/binnenstad/oost-indisch-huis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oost-Indisch Huis</a>. This was once the office of the VOC, built in 1606.Visit the <a href="https://www.aex.nl/amsterdam-exchange-experience" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amsterdam Exchange Experience</a> if you want to know more about stock and investing.

3 Nieuwe Brug: the VOC and the first stocks

While you walk to the next stop, I will tell you more about the VOC (the Dutch East India Company) and the WIC (the Dutch West India Company). But please, keep an eye out for traffic and do not forget the bicyclists!The VOC was founded in 1602 and they traded in spices and other products that were difficult to get in Europe. The VOC was the only Dutch company that was allowed to trade with Asia. A bit later, in 1621, the WIC was founded.Just like the VOC, the WIC got a commercial monopoly. Not on trading with Asia though, but on trading with the coast of West Africa and South America. If you look at your screen, you can see the logo of the WIC.&nbsp;Because of the VOC and the WIC, the wealth and success of Amsterdam increased even more. The VOC became rich through stock sales and could therefore invest in ships.Anyone who wanted to, could buy a VOC share; there was no minimum price. Even people who did not earn much, such as cleaners, bought shares.But the VOC and WIC were also the cause of a lack of freedom. A lot of violence was used to get access to the Asian market. When the local population did not agree with the Dutch, entire tribes were wiped out.A lot of countries that traded with the VOC and the WIC, were colonized. The WIC enslaved many inhabitants and sold them in other countries.So, the freedom of Amsterdam was accompanied by a huge lack of freedom for others.That is why you could wonder if the Golden Age is an appropriate name for this period. The Amsterdam Museum announced in September 2019 to no longer use this term. But this was also heavily criticized.What do you think: should terms like these be abolished to do justice to an oppressed group from the past, or are you actually ignoring the past that way?

Continue walking: VOC and WIC

In this part of Amsterdam, around the harbor, there used to be a lot of printing offices and publishing houses. A lot of newspapers were published and sold in Amsterdam. These newspapers were famous for their reliable information.In the seventeeth century, a newspaper was not yet called a newspaper, or 'krant' in Dutch. They called it a 'courant'. So in June 1618, 400 years ago, the first Courant uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &amp;c was published here in Amsterdam.On your screen you can see an image of this newspaper. Amsterdam was an information hub due to the trade with different countries: people from all over the world came to this city because of the harbor. And all those people knew all sorts of things about their homeland and what was going on in their countries. All that news was collected.In front of you, at Damrak nr. 36, there used to be a book store in the seventeenth century. Chances are that in that book store the first newspapers were sold.

Damrak 36: printing offices, publishing houses, and book stores

As I said earlier, in this part of seventeenth-century Amsterdam there were a lot of publishing houses and printing offices.A lot of books were also published in other Dutch cities, like Leiden. That is why in the seventeenth century, the Netherlands was called 'the book store of the world'.&nbsp;Dutch publishers had an unprecedented amount of freedom at that time. The Dutch city governors interfered a lot less with the content of books than governors in other countries.One of the reasons for that was that book sales generated a lot of money for the city. You will hear some other reasons later on in this walk.But even the tolerant governance of Amsterdam prohibited some books. For example, books that went against the reign of the church or the state.At the next stop, I will tell you more about a publisher that published several philosophy books that were prohibited by the city governance.

6 Continue walking: Amsterdam as book store of the world

You can see a tile here with a quote originating from 1670 by the Dutch philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza, also known as Baruch Spinoza. The quote says: &lsquo;We have the rare good fortune of living in a republic in which freedom is valued more than anything else.&rsquo;You can find this quote by Spinoza in his book that was published here in this alley. On your screen you can see the title page of the book. It was published by Jan Rieuwertsz, you could find his publishing house on this street at number 14. Unfortunately, nothing is left of the old building.This publisher actually deserves more than a tile; the books that he published have changed the course of history.During this walk we will come across several books that have been published here. These books were prohibited or ran the risk of being forbidden.The book by Spinoza where this quote is from, was immediately forbidden to be published. In part 2 of this walk, you will hear more about this.Nowadays, freedom of the press is self-evident in many Western countries.What do you think of all this? Do you think it is a good thing that you are allowed to say so many things in the Netherlands? Is there a limit? And do you think it is a good thing that in the Netherlands you can be punished for saying discriminating things, even if that means restricting freedom of speech to some extent?

Tile D. v Hasseltssteeg: publisher Rieuwertsz (publisher of Spinoza amongst others)

You are now standing in front of a gorgeous monumental building at Warmoesstraat number 111. At the top of the door you can read that Dirck Coornhert was born here in 1522. Because Coornhert was so important for our freedom, we will discuss this sixteenth-century philosopher, even though this walk is about the seventeenth century.&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides freedom of the press, Amsterdam was also known for its freedom of religion. The philosopher Coornhert is seen as the founder of that freedom of religion.He thought that everyone should be able to choose for themselves which religion they want to adhere to. No one can determine what the true faith is: every believer is mainly in favor of their own believe system.Coornhert had a lot of influence. He was friends with William of Orange, the ancestor of the current Dutch king Willem-Alexander. Through William of Orange, Coornhert's ideals of tolerance towards other religions became important in the Netherlands.&nbsp;Coornhert was also one of the first people to write in Dutch, because he wanted his work to be accessible to all Dutch people. This is one of the reasons that he is internationally less known than for example Erasmus, who wrote in Latin: Erasmus's works could be read in all of Europe.Now, while you walk to the next stop, you can think about tolerance for other beliefs and the customs that go with them. Should there be a limit to that tolerance, according to you? If so, where is that limit, and why?

Warmoesstraat 111: Coornhert

We are now standing at the Nieuwe Kerk, the New Church in English. In 1578 the official religion of Amsterdam became Protestant instead of Catholic, because many people in surrounding cities criticized the wealth of the Catholic Church.&nbsp;To make sure they could still trade with those cities, Amsterdam also changed from Catholic to Protestant in 1578. This is called 'the Alteration of Amsterdam'. All important churches in Amsterdam, like the Nieuwe Kerk that we are standing in front of right now, became Protestant.But something extraordinary happened here in this city. Because of the tolerance towards other faiths, the Catholics could still live here. In many other cities, this would not have been possible.On your screen, you can see what the Nieuwe Kerk looked like in the seventeenth century.Do you want to know more? Visit the <a href="https://www.nieuwekerk.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nieuwe Kerk</a>. You can see all sorts of exhibitions about art and current political affairs.

The Nieuwe Kerk: the Alteration of Amsterdam

In 1655 the new city hall of Amsterdam was opened here, after the old city hall was destroyed by a fire. On your screen you can see what the old town hall looked like.Since 1808 we call this new town hall the Palace on the Dam. It is used as a reception room by the royal family.This place has been very important for the freedom of the Netherlands. Up until 1581 the Netherlands was dominated by the Spanish king Philip II.This ended when the representatives of all the provinces of the Netherlands, together called the States General, in 1578 decided to work together. Their goal was to be liberated of the Spanish domination. Together they wrote the Act of Abjuration in 1581.In this text they stated that king Philip II had violated the liberties and rights of the Dutch citizens. His throne was declared deserted.This was the first time that a country did a thing like this. The wealth of Amsterdam played a big part in this: they were not afraid to fight.They looked for a new king, but could not find one. This is how the role of the States General increased and the Netherlands became a republic. This way of governing was a lot more democratic than in most other countries where an absolute monarch ruled.The city council of Amsterdam had a lot of power in the States General, partly because Amsterdam was very wealthy. The city council had meetings in the old city hall, and consisted of thirty-six citizens. They all came from rich merchant families: this was definitely not like democracy as we know it today.The Act of Abjuration was influenced by the ideas of Coornhert and freedom of religion, and was used as an example for the American Declaration of Independence that was written almost two centuries later, in 1776.Visit the <a href="https://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amsterdam Museum</a> if you want to know more about the history of Amsterdam.

The Palace on the Dam: The Act of Abjuration

Imagine that there are no laws at all. Everyone has the freedom to do whatever they want. What would society look like? According to the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes it would be a complete disaster!On your screen, you can see a picture of the most important book written by this philosopher. This book was published here in this alley in 1651. The title of the book is Leviathan. In it he writes about a society without rules. He calls that 'the state of nature'.On the tile that you can see right now, you can read what that state of nature is like: 'Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.'According to Hobbes, mankind is a wolf. By that he meant that people continuously inflict harm onto each other. If you do not set limits, everyone will try to pursue their own self-interest at the expense of others.This is why we need a strong sovereign, according to Hobbes. Only a strong sovereign can ensure safety and peace through rules and regulations. The monarch is allowed to use violence to punish people that violate the rules and regulations.Everyone will be better off, with a strong sovereign, according to Hobbes. That is why you can see a big and mighty ruler on the title page of the book.Hobbes does say that if the monarch endangers the safety of the citizens, he can be replaced. There is a limit to the power of this ruler. But Hobbes's philosophy makes it easier for tyrants to exercise power over subjects. This idea of Hobbes is therefore quite controversial.What do you think of this? Do we need rules and laws because otherwise we will all punch each other's brains out? And what if the laws that a king decides on, are not good at all? Can the citizens then revolt? Do not forget to let us know your answer on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Vrijheid-van-Amsterdam-242478746558870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebookpage</a> vrijheidvanamsterdam or by emailing info@vrijheidvanamsterdam.nl

Tile Molsteeg: Hobbes's Leviathan

Earlier in this walk, at stop 9, I told you about 'the Alteration of Amsterdam', when the official faith became Protestant instead of Catholic. The Catholics were still allowed to live in Amsterdam and even hold services, as long as they kept those services hidden.A Catholic house church was located right here. That is a church that looks like a house. On your screen you can see what that church looked like.Jews were also allowed to build a synagogue, I will tell more about that during the second part of this walk. Amsterdam was known for its tolerance and profited hugely from this, because this way they could keep trading with many different countries and people from all sorts of different beliefs.Even today, Amsterdam is a diverse city with over 150 nationalities. We no longer try to keep that a secret: foreign stores and restaurants can be found everywhere. It is what makes the city special.But some people are critical of this. They think it causes problems because people from different cultures do not always understand each other. What do you think? Should there be rules about who can live in a city?Want to know more? Visit the museum <a href="https://www.opsolder.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ons' Lieve Heer op Zolder</a>, a house church that has definitely stood the test of time.

Singel 156: a Catholic house church

The wealth of Amsterdam and the tolerance for other beliefs, made the city very appealing. That is why a lot of new people came to live in this city during the Golden Age.All those workers made Amsterdam even richer, because there was a lot to do in the city. As a result, even more people came to Amsterdam. In 100 years, from 1600 to 1700, the city grew from 65 thousand to 230 thousand inhabitants.Amsterdam had a huge growth spurt, and to accommodate all those people, many houses were built. If you look forward, with the Singel behind you, you see a canal. This part of the canal belt was built from 1593 to 1613. On your screen you can see what the city looked like before then.Where would you rather live: in a place where you have a lot of space, but there are not that many people around? Or in a place where you have limited space but you can meet a lot of people?Want to know more? Visit the <a href="http://www.hetgrachtenhuis.nl/nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grachtenhuis</a>, a museum that tells you all about the canal belt.

Herengracht: more citizens to Amsterdam

Earlier in this tour I talked about the VOC, the Dutch East India Company. I added a critical note that freedom for Amsterdam meant a lack of freedom for others.Laurens Reael, a managing director of the VOC, lived in this house. Reael thought it was important to be gentle with and respectful to the inhabitants of the colonial areas with which he, as a VOC representative, had to trade with. On your screen you can see a portrait of Reael.Other directors of the VOC disagreed. That is why Laurens Reael had to stop as a director. Jan Pieterszoon Coen took over his position. He advocated a much harder treatment of the inhabitants of the colonies.

Keizersgracht 141: VOC director Laurens Reael

We are now standing in front of the House with the Heads. You can see that the owner of the house was very rich. Left of the entrance you can see the god Mercury and on the right the goddess Minerva. Mercury is the god of trade and profit. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom.An arms dealer lived here in the seventeenth century. His name was Laurens de Geer. He possibly struggled with his profession as an arms dealer, and that might be why he wanted to show that both trade and wisdom are important.&nbsp;He invited all sorts of thinkers to his house. He supported some of them by giving them a roof over their heads. The well-known philosopher Comenius lived here for a while.&nbsp;Comenius was an advocate of education for all children: girls and boys, rich and poor. He also developed an encyclopedia with images that could be understood by children.Comenius was born in the Czech Republic. Above the entrance of the house you can see a memorial stone that says 'Komensky'. That is Czech for 'Comenius'. On your screen you can see a portrait of him.This is the end of the first part of the walk about the freedom of Amsterdam. You can now start the second part of the walk. It is called 'from Descartes to Spinoza'. Walk west via the Keizersgracht and go to the Westermarkt, where you can find the Westerkerk.One final question: do you think that education makes you more free or not? You can think about this while you walk to part 2 of the walk.Want to know more? Visit the <a href="https://embassyofthefreemind.com/nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Embassy of the Free Mind</a>, in the House with the Heads. You can find a lot of information about tolerance and press freedom in Amsterdam.

Tile Keizersgracht 123: De Geer and Comenius

This is part 1 of the tour 'The freedom of Amsterdam'. This part is about the origins of the freedom of Amsterdam, a city that had an unprecedented press freedom and tolerance towards other beliefs.&nbsp;

Extended tour part 1 (16+) 'Freedom of Amsterdam': The origins of freedom of Amsterdam

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Extended tour part 1 (16+) 'Freedom of Amsterdam': The origins of freedom of Amsterdam

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