Continuïteit en verandering in de handelsgeschiedenis van Amsterdam

Abstract

Continuity and change in the trading history of Amsterdam,Oscar GelderblomThis article argues that Clé Lesger's Handel in Amsterdam (2001 ) overestimates the impact of the Dutch Revolt on the emergence of the Amsterdam market as the centre for international trade. The immigration of merchants from Brabant and Flanders at the end of the sixteenth century was a direct outcome of the increased economic interaction between Antwerp andAmsterdam after 1540. It was indeed after they had settled in the Dutch port that these newcomers accumulated most of their considerable wealth. Finally, Amsterdam's faceless markets for foodstuffs, raw materials, industrial products, and transportation services played just as important a role in the efficient exchange of information as the international networks of the Antwerp merchants.