Amsterdam

Amsterdam exists because medieval fishermen built a dam on the Amstel River—and that improbable act of hydro-engineering in a swamp created the trading hub that would fund the Dutch Golden Age and invent modern capitalism.

Settlement began around 1200 on reclaimed bog. The dam that gave Amsterdam its name allowed the village to control traffic on the Amstel and IJ waterways. In 1275, Count Floris V granted toll-free trading privileges. By 1400, Amsterdam dominated Baltic grain trade; by 1600, it was the world's commercial capital. The Dutch East India Company (VOC, founded 1602) pioneered joint-stock ownership. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange became Earth's first. The Bank of Amsterdam stabilized currency. The canal ring housed merchants whose warehouses processed spices from Indonesia and furs from Russia.

The 18th century brought decline as London rose. But Amsterdam retained financial sophistication and reinvented through tolerance—hosting refugees and freethinkers who built publishing, diamond-cutting, and banking industries. Today 900,000 Amsterdammers (2.5 million metro) generate 18% of Dutch GDP through headquarters functions, finance, and tourism. Schiphol is Europe's third-busiest airport. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (now Euronext) trades €800 billion annually. Shell, Unilever (dual headquarters), ING, Philips, and ASML (in nearby Eindhoven but Amsterdam-connected) anchor Dutch industry.

The 2026 trajectory reveals Amsterdam's post-Brexit opportunity and constraint. Financial firms relocated from London; Euronext captured trading volume. Housing prices reached €7,000 per square meter—highest in the Netherlands. Tourism (22 million annual visitors) strains the 85-square-kilometer city. The city bets on tech (becoming Europe's startup capital for fintech and sustainability), sustainable finance, and its historic tolerance now applied to cannabis, euthanasia, and LGBTQ+ rights. The dam on the Amstel still holds—Amsterdam survives by channeling what flows through it.