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Appraisal
Amsterdam dates back to the 12th century when it was the home of fisherman and over the following five hundred years it became a international trading port which was an anchor of the Dutch Empre in the 17th and 18th Century.
During the 19th century Amsterdam links with its European neighbours. who were prospering from a contintent-wide industrial revolution, were strengthed with building of the North Sea Canal which linked the area with the Rhine. Holland was not directly involved In WW1 but the country was badly hit by the turmoil as food and fuel was extremely scarce.
In 1940 the country was invaded by the Nazis with some areas of the counry such as Rotterdam practically erased to the ground. Amsterdam did not suffer the same fate though the eastern quarter which was predominantly Jewish was ransacked and had to be rebulit. It is estimated that around 100,000 Dutch Jews were sent to their deaths in concentration camps.
Post-war attitudes in the Netherlands leaned heavily towards the economic union of Europe, respect for human rights, social responsibilty and the freedom of the individual. In 1960's and 70's Holland and Amsterdam was famous for its tolerance of minority groups and liberal attitudes to sexuality and drugs from which Amsterdams Red light District blossomed.
In recent years the political pendulum has swung to the right and nationalism promoted by extremists has come to the afore. Social attitudes have generally drifted to the right and these are evident to visitors in a more conservative attitude to drugs immigration and areas like the red light district. The latter is more heavily regulated and the number of brothels is declining.
