People

HISTORY

There were already population centers around the area of the estuary of the Rotte River in the year A.D. 900. This area was part of the region of Holland that belonged to the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne, (Carlomagno) and later to the German Empire. The feudal system was owned and governed by the most powerful families such as The Gentlemen of Bokel, the Voorschoten Family, Cralinghen, Spangen and Mathenesse.

All these nobles constructed docks in the environs of their territories, to protect themselves against the frequent floods. Count Floris V (1256-1296) ordered the Gentlemen to connect their walls in a single dock to be able to protect the full area against the floods. This new dock separated the Rotte River from the Maas River. Around this dock, Rotterdam grew. In 1325, the first harbour (Oude Haven) was built. In 1340 a channel was constructed to unite the Schie River with Rotterdam. At that time Rotterdam was behind its competitors, Delft and Dordrecht, which were more important in commerce and industry. But Dordrecht suffered great damages with the great flood of St. Elizabeth in 1421, while Delft, due to poor local government, was not able to enlarge its port to help its commerce.

Rotterdam did not have these problems. Its position nearer deep waters was better than its competitors and its port was more accessible. After the death of Willem, several battles and confrontations in the zone took place, mainly between the Families of the Hoeks and Kabbeljauws. New fortifications were constructed and the city made smaller to be able to defend it more easily. In 1490 Burgundy defeated Frans and the confrontations stopped. Then Rotterdam ended the monopoly of the commerce that Dordrecht had.

Even though in 1563 a great part of the city was, once again, consumed by fire, commerce continued to grow. In 1572 Rotterdam was once again involved in conflict; this time in the 80 years War between the Netherlands and Spain. During this war the position of Rotterdam as a centre of commerce was reinforced as it was one of the few ports with access to the sea; the growth was enormous at this time and the city expanded again. After the war, the walls were demolished and new harbours were excavated. This was a period of great prosperity. The trade grew and new institutions were created: the Almiralty of Rotterdam (1586), the Dutch East Indian Company (1602), Dutch West Indiam Company (1621) Company of Merchant Adventurers (1635).

In the XVIII century the population was of 50000 inhabitants. New houses and warehouses were built in the city centre. The industries of tobacco, coffee, gin and sugar arose. The density of population then started to rise. Wealthy people built their mansions in the adjacent towns. Also new factories were constructed in the outskirts. The French occupation (1795-1813) brought another period of stagnation in the economy.

The German region of the Ruhr River became industrialized and Rotterdam, due to its position benefited, since it was the crossing point of goods between Germany, Great Britain and America. Also the exploration of Africa brought a new market to the city. The port attracted lots of emigrants. People came looking for work in the fastest growing city of Holland. Between 1850 and 1940 the population went from 90000 to 600,000 inhabitants. In the centre there was not enough space for this increase of traffic and population, and drastic changes were needed. The structure of the city was adapted to accommodate this growth.

Delfshaven was absorbed in 1886, followed by Kralingen in 1895. This growth also affected the Feijenoord peninsula to the south.Steam power and mechanization increased the port capacity.The New Waterweg (Waterway) which was finalized in 1872 gave Rotterdam a direct connection with the North Sea. Rotterdam became considered as the first port of Holland, ahead of Amsterdam. During the Industrial Revolution, Rotterdam, was known as "City of Work". During this period of expansion, old buildings were demolished to make way for new ones. This process continued until the first decade of the 20th century.

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