The pachtersoproer was a Dutch rebellion in the 18th century. The origin of the uprising was to be found in the economic malaise of the 1740s as a result of the

Austrian War of Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. It was the system of commercial tax-collection called ''

pacht The institution of the ''pacht'' or ''pacht-stelsel'' (revenue farm, pl. ''pachten'') was a system of tax farming in the Dutch Republic. In this system tax is not collected by the government, but by a private individual who has leased the right to ...

'' that brought serious complaints, combined with deep dissatisfaction at the way in which the

regents A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

and the landed gentry exercised their power.

Reasons

The riots began in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

( Bergum) and Groningen in the spring of 1748 (March 17 in Groningen and in May). Its immediate cause was perhaps the birth of

William V William V may refer to: * William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) *William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) * William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) * William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) *William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) * Willia ...

on March 8, 1748. The houses of the landadel (great-men) and the tax-collectors were ransacked, particularly those who had not sufficiently demonstrated their loyalty to the Orangist regime. In the city of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...

72 points for reform were put forward. Frisian skippers brought the news to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. On June 17 the Botermarkt, now Rembrandtplein, called together a crowd to offer such a threat that the collectors of the butter tax saw themselves forced out of office several hours earlier than normal to conclude a peace. The riots spread rapidly to Haarlem and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

. On June 23 the Stadholder forbade gatherings for plays and fairs.

Amsterdam

In Amsterdam riots fully broke out on Monday June 24 at the Botermarkt. Pavements were broken up and stones were thrown. People ran through the houses of the taxmen, breaking open and looting everything, and throwing crates of money and expensive porcelain from the bridges into the water. 36 houses in total were looted, and three people were killed and wounded. The riots lasted until Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning all ''pacht'' taxes were suspended for a period of six months. On Friday, June 28, two men and one woman would be hanged from the window of the

Waag A weighhouse or weighing house is a public building at or within which goods are weighed. Most of these buildings were built before 1800, prior to the establishment of international standards for weights, and were often a large and representative ...

on the Dam. The onlooking crowd began to move in to be able to watch better, or possibly to try to free the convicted. Suddenly shooting was heard from the direction of

Kalverstraat The Kalverstraat (, ) is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The street runs roughly North-South for about 750 meters, from Dam Square to Muntplein square. The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping stre ...

, and panic broke out. Many people were looking for shelter and jumped into the water from the Damrak. Contemporary local chronicler Braatbard suspected around two hundred men either got trampled or drowned.

Sources

* ''This article is based entirely or partially on its equivalent on Dutch Wikipedia''. * Brugmans, H. (1972) Geschiedenis van Amsterdam, deel IV. Afgaand getij. * Fuks, L (1960) De Zeven Provinciën in beroering. Hoofdstukken uit een jiddische kroniek 1740-1752 van Abraham Chaim Braatbard * Het dagboek van J. Bicker Raye, bewerkt door F.M. Bijerinck & M.G. de Boer, (1935). * {{in lang, nl Slot, E. (1990) Vijf gulden eeuwen. Momenten uit 500 jaar gemeentefinanciën 18th century in Amsterdam 1748 in the Dutch Republic History of Amsterdam