Power and Politics: An Amsterdam Audio Tour with Context

(46 reviews)

Amsterdam audio tour: Power and Politics: An Amsterdam Audio Tour with Context

This is a 2.4mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

$19.99

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About the Tour

Amsterdam’s ‘Golden Age’ was an era of power, trade connections with faraway and exotic places, and stupendous wealth. It was also a time blighted by war, piracy, and slavery.

On this walking tour with Context Travel expert Marko Kassenaar, you’ll find out how Amsterdam became a bustling city with a trade network all over the European continent, and why this ‘Golden Age’ in the 1600s was spectacularly successful. He’ll also help you to imagine what central Amsterdam was like when this was a noisy, smelly neighborhood filled with carpenters, ropers, and caulkers, from sunrise until sunset.

The tour starts in the famous square, Nieuwmarkt, outside De Waag (The Weighing House), originally a city gate that provided Amsterdammers with a clear view for shooting their enemies. You’ll make your way to Rembrandt House Museum and hear about the era when painters like Rembrandt lived and worked here, and the famous Amsterdam canal belt was built.

During this stroll along the city’s waterways, you’ll also learn about Hendrick de Keyser, the architect who is credited with designing almost every church and tower in Amsterdam, including Zuiderkerk (South Church), the first church in the city built for Protestants.

On this Amsterdam walking tour, you’ll also have an opportunity to:

Visit the headquarters and warehouse of the East India Trading Company, the world’s first multinational organization, and learn how it enhanced Amsterdam’s market for exotic products from spices and silk, to porcelain and tea
Admire the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, the largest in the world when it opened in 1675, and a symbol of how important the Jewish community had become for the city
Stop outside Huis de Pinto, a cultural center that was named after the De Pintos, Portuguese-Jewish bankers who saved the Republic from bankruptcy in 1748 by financing the government while it waged war against France
Find out how the gables on warehouses around Oude Waal (Old Shipyard Street) helped shippers and suppliers, and see floating houses in a former shipping neighborhood
Pass by Bantam Bridge and discover how the Javanese city of Bantam, famous for its profitable pepper and spices, changed Amsterdam’s fortune
Learn about the Dutch West India Company (or GWC) which ran a monopoly on the West Indies and traded gold, sugar, animal skin – and enslaved people
See the Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) from across the harbor and spot various other maritime symbols in the city where water is its heart and soul

Our tour ends near Dam Square, on the other side of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. By the end of this 90-minute stroll along the city’s waterways, you’ll have a better grasp of the key events in Amsterdam’s history, and its powerful role in trade throughout the world.

Tour Producer

Context Travel

92 tours

Context was founded in Rome in 2003 by Paul Bennett and Lani Bevacqua an expat couple eager to curate experiences for travelers, not tourists. Since then Context has taken over 200,000 people to 60+ destinations around the world – accompanied by thousands of leading experts. What started as a dream to create cross-cultural connections is now a worldwide network and community of thoughtful, engaged travelers and experts.

Join a live private or small group tour in destinations around the world at contexttravel.com.

Preview Location

Location 11

Schippersgracht - Jewish History of Amsterdam

Continue straight.

'The Amsterdam' could carry around 300 sailors, tightly crammed together. They slept just below deck, in hammocks. The rest of the hold was for storage. But life onboard was terrible. Not only was food rationed, but the menu consisting mainly of grits, dr... Continue straight.

'The Amsterdam' could carry around 300 sailors, tightly crammed together. They slept just below deck, in hammocks. The rest of the hold was for storage. But life onboard was terrible. Not only was food rationed, but the menu consisting mainly of grits, dried fish, and cabbage, was scant. Hygiene was non-existent which meant diseases spread easily. The only toilet was a squatting space under the bowsprit. Look at the second photo to get an idea what it looked like. There, sailors relieved themselves into the sea then they used a rope to clean their buttocks, afterwards. That rope would be washed with seawater. It was then used by the next person. I am not making this up!

Sailors were considered low lives. There is a portrait in photo number three.

You only became a sailor if there was no work on land, or if you wanted to escape prison. Storms, pirates, and scurvy plagued their journeys. More than half of the crew would not return home alive.

Let's change gears from Amsterdam's naval history to Amsterdam's Jewish history, while you keep walking with the canal on your left.

You are now on your way to the heart of the Jewish Quarter. The influence of the Jewish population on Amsterdam is an important part of the history of the Golden Age. While you continue your walk, I will tell you about it. The streets are fairly quiet here, but please, still mind the traffic when you cross a street.

Jewish history in Amsterdam starts in the late 1500s. The Dutch liberation war was already underway, and in 1579, the rebellious provinces formed the so-called 'Union of Utrecht.' The members of the Union signed a document that guaranteed 'freedom of conscience' in the Dutch regions. Freedom of conscience meant that citizens could lead their lives by their own moral standards. The choice of religion was personal and not for the government to decide. This created a form of religious tolerance.

It was the first time in history that an official state document promised such liberty. It attracted refugees from all over the continent: Calvinists, Lutherans, Anabaptists, and Jews. The first wave of Jewish immigrants consisted of Sephardic Jews, from Portugal and Spain. They were wealthy and well-connected citizens. They brought trade connections and money to Amsterdam. They were soon followed by Ashkenazy Jews from middle Europe, who were less well-to-do and had a lower social status.

The presence of Jews in Amsterdam was declared legal in 1616. They were not forced to live in ghettos or wear clothes or symbols that made them recognizable as Jews, as was the case in other European countries like France, Spain, Italy, and England. With this religious freedom and permission of the town council, they started building synagogues.

Despite this freedom, Jews still had to endure social restrictions. They were not allowed official citizenship and they were banned from public office. Sexual contact with Christians was out of the question. Jews were also not accepted as members of most guilds, so their choice of profession was limited. High-status Sephardic Jews specialized in fields that are still today considered 'typically Jewish': banking, medicine, book printing, and diamond trade. The lower-status Ashkenazy Jews landed jobs like butchers or peddlers.

The Jewish immigrants settled in the neighborhood where we now walk. From 1641 onwards, the Jewish community grew in number and wealth. The Sephardic Jews especially had excellent connections with the Amsterdam town council and the Dutch government. Sephardic bankers financed Dutch military enterprises, and they also worked for the West Indies Trading Company, in colonized parts of Brazil.

Jews helped shape the history of Amsterdam. Even the nickname of Amsterdam is Jewish. Amsterdammers lovingly call their city 'Mokum,' a Yiddish word for 'city' or 'place.'

Keep going straight and you'll hear from me again soon. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Nieuwmarkt
Oude Waal
Montelbaanstoren
ARCAM Architecture Centre Amsterdam
Maritime Museum
Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam
Rembrandt House Museum
Huis de Pinto
Zuiderkerkhofpoortje
Zuiderkerk
Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam
Dam Square

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Nieuwmarkt 4, 1012 CR Amsterdam, Netherlands
Total distance

4km
Final location
Dam, 1012 RJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Distance back to start location

685.12m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in front of a tiny medieval castle in the middle of the Nieuwmarkt square. Travelers can take subway 54 to the Nieuwmarkt station to reach Niewmarkt square.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Along the way, we'll stop in the front of the following venues:
Maritime Museum, open daily from 10 AM till 5 PM
West Indies Warehouse, open daily from noon till midnight
Jewish Historical Museum, open daily from 10 AM till 5 PM
The Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, open from 10 AM till 5 PM Sunday through Friday. It's closed on Saturdays.
Rembrandt House Museum, open daily from 10 AM till 6 PM
Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam's first Protestant Church, open from 9 AM till 5 PM Monday through Saturday. It's closed on Sundays.
Royal Palace Amsterdam (Town Hall), open daily from 10 AM till 6 PM

Best time of day

If you'd like to enter the recommended venues along the way, it's best to take the tour from 9 AM till 5 PM.

Precautions

Please bring a pair of headphones and your water bottle. Don't forget to keep an eye on your belongings. Always watch out for the bicycles and make sure to check all directions before you cross the street.

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