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 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 ...

. 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 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, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

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 Bon ...

. In 1891, the adjacent Bushuis was demolished and a new eastern wing, designed by

Cornelis Peters Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given ...

, 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 (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...

, Enkhuizen 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 ...

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