How Amsterdam Quietly Ran the World’s Economy in the 1600s | History To Sleep

Описание: In the 1600s, Amsterdam became a city where global trade could be financed, insured, and settled with unusual speed and reliability for its time. This episode traces the working parts of Amsterdam’s “money machine”: the exchange where merchants gathered to price goods and negotiate deals, the warehouse-and-entrepôt system that let commodities wait for the right market, the marine insurance practices that spread the risks of ocean voyages, and the Bank of Amsterdam (Wisselbank), whose book-entry transfers helped merchants settle large payments without relying on mixed and often unreliable coin. Alongside these private mechanisms, we also look at how public borrowing in Holland supported state capacity during wartime—and how chartered companies like the VOC and WIC connected Amsterdam’s capital to Asian and Atlantic trade, including the coercive and exploitative systems that underpinned parts of that world.

Sources:

Stadsarchief Amsterdam on the 1611 Exchange (Beurs) and its role in concentrating trade.

Bank for International Settlements on the Wisselbank’s book-entry “bank money” settlement system.

Quinn & Roberds (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta working paper) on the early Bank of Amsterdam, debasement, and bills of exchange settlement.

Encyclopaedia Britannica overview of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), founded 1602.

Library of Congress description of the 1621 charter establishing the Dutch West India Company (WIC).

Wantje Fritschy (2003) on public finance and borrowing structures in Holland during the Revolt era (foundations of later debt credibility).

Gelderblom & Jonker (Cambridge PDF) on public finance and debt dynamics in 17th-century Holland.

S.C. Go dissertation on marine insurance in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam’s 17th-century insurance market context.

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These videos are created with deep respect for history. I direct, write, and edit each piece, using AI tools as a creative partner for research, drafting, and visualization. The final narrative, structure, and fact-checking are guided by me.

The narration uses a digital recreation of a professional voice actor’s voice, and the visuals are artistic impressions created to capture historical atmosphere rather than exact reconstructions. While grounded in historical research, these stories are meant for reflection and relaxation, not as formal academic sources.

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