The Oost-Indisch Huis (
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
for "East India House") is an early 17th-century building in the centre of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. It was the headquarters of the
Amsterdam chamber of the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' or VOC). It is a listed Dutch national heritage site (''
rijksmonument
A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...
'').
History
In 1603, the Amsterdam chamber of the East India Company began using part of the
Bushuis armory
Armory or armoury may mean:
* An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition
Places
*National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...
on the
Kloveniersburgwal
Kloveniersburgwal is an Amsterdam canal flowing south from Nieuwmarkt to the Amstel River on the edge of the medieval city, lying east of the dam in the centre of Amsterdam.
History
The Kloveniersburgwal was dug at the end of the 15th century. ...
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. 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. A gate with Tuscan-style
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
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 (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Amst ...
, who was most likely responsible for designing the building.
The Oost-Indisch Huis was the first building especially built for the East India Company.
It was multifunctional, serving simultaneously as a warehouse, administrative center, office and auction room. The building served as the headquarters
of the Amsterdam chamber (''Kamer'') of the East India Company. The 20 regents of the Amsterdam chamber 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.
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
The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...
. 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 University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
.
Related buildings
The East India Company chambres in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
,
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
,
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.
History
Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade wi ...
and
Hoorn
Hoorn () is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers ( ...
also had an Oost-Indisch Huis as their headquarters. The building in Rotterdam was destroyed during the
Rotterdam Blitz
Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' 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 Du ...
in 1940; however, the ones in Delft and Hoorn are still in existence.
Amsterdam also has a
West-Indisch Huis, which served as headquarters of the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
, and which has also been declared a Dutch national monument.
References
Sources
Amsterdam Bureau Monumenten & Archeologie: Oost-Indisch Huis(Dutch)
(Dutch)
Gemeente Amsterdam: VOC, 400 jaar handelstraditie(Dutch)
(Dutch)
(Dutch)
External links
{{Coord, 52, 22, 15, N, 4, 53, 53, E, type:landmark, display=title
University of Amsterdam
Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam
Buildings and structures completed in 1606
Headquarters in the Netherlands
1606 establishments in the Dutch Republic
Former properties of the Dutch East India Company
Buildings and structures associated with the Dutch East India Company