AMSTERDAM, or A.ISISTELDAII (the dam or dike of the Amstel), the chief city of the Netherlands, is situated at the confluence of the Amstel with the Ij (pronounced Eye), an arm of the Zuiderzee, and is divided by the former, and numerous canals, into small islands, connected by about 300 'bridges. Almost the whole city, which extends in the the shape of a crescent, is founded on piles. At the beginning of the 13th c., it was merely a fishing-village, with a small castle, the residence of 'the lords of Amstel. In 1296,. on account of the murder of count Floris of Holland, the rising town was demol ished, and its inhabitants were compelled to leave it. Afterwards, with Amstelland (the district on the banks of the Amstel), it was taken under the protection of the counts of Holland, and under them enjoyed several privileges which contributed to its subsequent prosperity. In 1482, it was walled and fortified. It soon rose to be the first commercial place in the united states of the Netherlands; in 1585 was considerably enlarged by the building of the new town on the w. ; and in 1622 had 100,000 inhabitants. This prosperity) excited the envy of its neighbors. In the 17th c., the war with England so far reduced the commerce of A., that, in the year 1653, about 4000 houses were uninhabited. Prosperity was restored during the next century, and, though commerce was again injured by the disputes with England in 1781 and 1782, it once more revived. The union of Holland with France in 1810 entirely destroyed the foreign trade of A., while the excise and other new regulations impoverished its inland resources; but the old firms lived through the time of difficulty, and in 1815 commerce again began to expand.
The city has a fine appearance, when seen from the harbor, or from the high bridge over the Amstel. Numerous church towers and spires relieve the flatness of the pros pect. The old ramparts have been levelled, planted with trees, and formed into prome nades. Between 1866 and 1876, ninny spacious streets and an extensive public park were added to the city. Tramways have been successfully introduced, and the harbor greatly improved. There is railway communication with all parts of the country and of Europe. Rich grassy meadows surround the city. On the w. side are a great number of windmills for grinding corn and sawing wood. The three principal canals in A., on each side of which, with a carriage-way and row of trees intervening, the gentlemen's residences are built, run in semicircles within each other, and are from 2 to 3 m. long, called the Ileerengracht, Keizer's-gracht, and Princengracht. The houses are built of brick, and have theh gables towards the streets, which gives them a picturesque appear ance. In old times, A. was strongly fortified; but now its only defense consists in the sluices, several miles distant from the city, which can flood, in a few hours, the surround ing land. A hard frost, however, like that of 1794-95, when Pichegru invaded the country, would render this means of defense useless.
The pop., 31st Dec., 1875, amounted to 289,981, the majority belonging to the Dutch reformed church. Of the remainder, the most numerous are the Roman Catholics, the Lutherans, Jews, and Baptists. The chief industrial establishments are sugar refineries, engineering works, mills for polishing diamonds and other precious stones, dockyards. manufactories of•sails, ropes, tobacco, silks, gold and silver plate and jewelry, colors and chemical preparations, breweries, distilleries, with export houses for corn and colonial produce; cotton-spinning, book-printing, and type-founding are also carried on. Income of the city (1875), 2496,929; expenditure, £450,127; debt, £3,518,526. The ships which cleared in were 1020; out, 1040. The former Stadhuis, converted into a palace for king Louis Bonaparte, and still retained by the reigning family, is a noble structure raised upon 13,659 piles, and extending 290 ft. in length, by 239 ft. in breadth, surmounted by a round tower, rising 190 ft. from the, base. It has a hall, 120 ft. long, 57 ft. wide, and 90 ft. high, lined with white Italian marble—an apartment of great splendor.
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), founded in 1408, is the finest ecclesiastical structure in the city. Its chancel is especially admired. It contains the tombs of admiral de Ruyter, of the famous Dutch poet Vondel, and of various other notable persons. The Old Church (Oude Kerk), built in the 14th c., contains several monuments of naval heroes. Literature, science, and recreation are not forgotten in the pressure of business. for A. has its academy of arts and sciences, an excellent museum of paintings by the old masters and other collections, a library, harmonic societies, a botanical and a zoological garden, and several theaters. The hospital for aged people, the poor-house, house of correction, the orphan asylums, a navigation school, and many benevolent societies, are well supported, and managed on good principles. Large ships reach the city by the North Holland canal (52 m. in length) from Nieuwe Diep, but, if drawing more than 15f ft. of water, must first discharge a large part of the cargo. To avoid this delay and expense, the Ij has been separated from the Zuider Zee by a sea-dike, with sluices for admitting the small inland ships, and pumping-machinery capable of discharging 2500 cubic meters of water per minute. Two piers have been built into the North sea, near Wijk aan Zee, to form a harbor. The peninsula has been cut by a canal which is continued through the Ij, and capable of admitting vessels drawing 22 ft. direct to A., reducing also the distance from 52 to 15 m. tho. length of the new canal. In carrying out these works, about 12,000 acres of excellent land have been reclaimed from the Ij, and in 1876 a large tract was already bearing fine crops.