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Oost-Indisch Huis (Amsterdam)
Encyclopedia
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Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
for "East India House") is an early 17th-century building in the centre of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. It was a headquarters of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC).
The building served as the headquarters of the Amsterdam chambre (Kamer) of the East India Company and the 20 regents of the Amsterdam chambre met here. In addition, the majority of meetings of the Heeren XVII (the Lords Seventeen), the regents of the East India Company, were also held at the Oost-Indisch Huis. Shipcrews were recruited here, and the archives and map collection of the East India Company were also kept here.
In 1603, the Amsterdam chambre of the East India Company began using part of the Bushuis armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
on the Kloveniersburgwal canal as a warehouse. Two years later, the East India Company took over the whole building. However, the company still lacked meeting and office space, so a new building was constructed directly adjacent to the Bushuis. This building, completed in 1606, was called the Oost-Indisch Huis ("East India House") and was the first building especially built for the East India Company.
A gate with Tuscan-style pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and a small tunnel lead to an inner courtyard with elegant facades in Amsterdam Renaissance style, a style closely identified with the architect Hendrick de Keyser
Hendrick de Keyser
Hendrick de Keyser was a Dutch sculptor and architect born in Utrecht, Netherlands, who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism in Amsterdam...
, who was most likely responsible for designing the building.
In 1663-64, the western wing was extended. In addition, a northern wing was added, so that the building now also bordered the street Oude Hoogstraat. The last major extension was added between 1658 and 1661.
After the East India Company was dissolved in 1798, the building served until 1808 as the seat of the colonial government of the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
. In 1891, the adjacent Bushuis was demolished and a new eastern wing, designed by Cornelis Peters, was added along the inner courtyard.
In 1976 the building underwent restoration. During this restoration, the grand meeting room was also reconstructed. The building has been declared a national monument (rijksmonument). The building is now in use by the University of Amsterdam.
The East India Company chambres in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.Enkhuizen was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, just like Hoorn and Amsterdam, from where overseas trade with the East Indies was conducted. It received city rights in 1355...
and Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
also had an Oost-Indisch Huis as their headquarters. The building in Rotterdam was destroyed during the Rotterdam Blitz
Rotterdam Blitz
The Rotterdam Blitz refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender...
in 1940; however, the ones in Delft and Hoorn are still in existence.
Amsterdam also has a West-Indisch Huis
West-Indisch Huis (Amsterdam)
The West-Indisch Huis is the former headquarters of the Dutch West India Company in Amsterdam...
, which served as headquarters of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
.
Sources
- Amsterdam Bureau Monumenten & Archeologie: Oost-Indisch Huis (Dutch)
- Amsterdam Monumenten - Oost-Indisch Huis (Dutch)
- Gemeente Amsterdam: VOC, 400 jaar handelstraditie (Dutch)
- VOC Kenniscentrum (Dutch)
- Cultuurwijzer: Oost-Indische Huizen in Nederland (Dutch)