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  • ๐Ÿ›๏ธ Palace of Commerce takes you inside Amsterdamโ€™s Royal Palace โ€” once the worldโ€™s most glorious city hall! In the seventeenth century, it was a magnificent center of governance, justice, and global commerce. Our book uncovers the hidden stories behind its marble walls โ€” from merchant-regents to anonymous citizens. ๐Ÿ“– Watch the trailer and join…

  • ๐ŸŒ As part of our research project on multilevel governance in medieval and early modern commercial cities, we are expanding our website with a series of short vignettes on the legal histories of key trading hubs. In each of these introductions we explore the organisation of urban governance in relation to the economy of the…

  • ๐ŸŒ As part of our research project on multilevel governance in medieval and early modern commercial cities, we are expanding our website with a series of short vignettes on the legal histories of key trading hubs. In each of these introductions we explore the organisation of urban governance in relation to the economy of the…

  • In his seminal work, Cities of Commerce, Oscar Gelderblom has famously argued that urban competition was the driving force behind economically efficient institutions.[1] This blog post examines the different competitive strategies developed by the โ€˜great skippersโ€™ guildsโ€™ through their admission requirements and further regulations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Despite the crucial role of inland navigation,…

  • ๐Ÿ“š New Book: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ. ๐—”๐—บ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—บโ€™๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต ๐—–๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜† Step inside one of Amsterdamโ€™s most iconic buildings and discover its hidden past! ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ unveils the fascinating history of the Royal Palace on Dam Square โ€“ originally built as Amsterdamโ€™s City Hall during the Dutch Golden Age. Far from todayโ€™s serene marble halls, it…

  • ๐ŸŒ As part of our research project on multilevel governance in medieval and early modern commercial cities, Maurits den Hollander and I are expanding our website with a series of short vignettes on the legal histories of key trading hubs. In each of these introductions we explore the organisation of urban governance in relation to…

  • Wednesday 26 March 2025, our team, joined by dr. Niels Fieremans (Universiteit Gent), organised a panel as part of the European Social Science History Conference 2025 at Leiden University. Titled โ€˜Urban Professionals and Commerce in the Low Countries, c. 1400-1700โ€™, the panel united five papers focusing on various types of urban officials in cities of…

  • The city of Amsterdam occupies a prominent role in our research. Two of our team members completed their PhD’s at the UvA, while both principal investigators used the city as case study for our own doctoral dissertations. Libraries have been written about the rise of the city on the Amstel as a global economic power.…

  • Friday, 24th of January 2025, Maurits den Hollander and Marco in โ€˜t Veld organised a specialised workshop as a kick-off of their combined research project. The aim of the workshop was to explore the historical and legal dimensions of commission trade in early modern Europe. This much-neglected area of study offers rich insights into the…

  • The concept of commission trade and the role of commission agents in early modern Europe presents a complex and often confusing narrative. Historians have struggled to define this crucial component of trade, as the boundaries between commission agents, brokers, factors, and other intermediaries were not always clearly demarcated. While the term โ€˜commission agentโ€™ may seem…