BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//pretalx//pretalx.com//spathum24//speaker//39QCMS BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Amsterdam BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20230927T000000 TZNAME:CEST TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231029T030000 RDATE:20241027T030000 TZNAME:CET TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240331T030000 RDATE:20250330T030000 TZNAME:CEST TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:The lure of the waterfront. Mapping economic inequality in Rotterd am from the sixteenth until the nineteenth century - Maarten F. Van Dijck \, Paul van de Laar DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Amsterdam:20240926T170000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Amsterdam:20240926T173000 DTSTAMP:20260911T192352Z UID:pretalx-spathum24-ZXPEGP@pretalx.com DESCRIPTION:At the end of the Middle Ages\, Rotterdam was a relatively mod est town. However\, with the separation of the Northern Netherlands and th e emergence of the Dutch Republic\, urban development along the Maas River experienced a significant upsurge. Rotterdam benefited from the blockade of the Scheldt during the civil war in the Netherlands. As emerging Amster dam joined the northern capitalism scene later\, Rotterdam had the opportu nity to develop into an intriguing port city\, playing a significant role in expanding the global commercial network of the Dutch Republic. In 1400 \, Rotterdam housed a mere 2\,500 inhabitants\; by the early seventeenth c entury\, this figure had surged to 20\,000\, and by the late eighteenth ce ntury\, it exceeded 50\,000. This rapid growth inevitably resulted in stra ins on the housing market. This paper aims to chart this process using spa tial data\, comparing it with similar phenomena in other cities of the Net herlands\, such as Antwerp and Amsterdam\, where such developments have al ready been extensively studied using taxation data based on property renta l values\, available across various periods.\nWhile these sources have pre viously been utilized by other historians to delineate the spatial dimensi ons of inequality\, they also carry inherent limitations. It is commonly a ssumed that they provide a reasonably accurate reflection of the income le vels of property owners or tenants. However\, these sources tend to undere stimate the true extent of inequality within the urban landscape. This is because poorer households are compelled to allocate a more substantial por tion of their income towards rental expenses compared to their wealthier c ounterparts. Poor families indeed required a minimum number of rooms\, whi le there was a limit on the percentage that extremely wealthy families cou ld spend on their accommodation in the city. Moreover\, the precision of s patial data presents a challenge. During the early modern period\, such da ta were only accessible at the street level\, with the number of streets d ocumented increasing over time. For instance\, while tax registers from 15 53 list a mere 16 streets\, by 1665\, this figure had soared to 82\, and b y 1731\, there were records of 155 distinct streets. This escalation under scores the difficulty in accurately gauging urban spatial dynamics solely through historical records.\nThe examination of social inequality in Rotte rdam during the early modern era holds significant interest for two primar y reasons. Firstly\, the remarkable growth of Rotterdam has been somewhat overshadowed in the historiography of the Dutch Republic\, particularly in comparison to the well-documented developments in Amsterdam. Nonetheless \, Rotterdam would eventually evolve into one of the world's foremost port s. Thus\, this study seeks to address this scholarly gap. Secondly\, the s patial patterns observed in Rotterdam diverge from conventional narratives . On a micro level\, the Rotterdam pattern shows similarities with other c ities in the early modern period\, where the wealthy resided along the mai n roads\, while the poor settled in their vicinity in the smaller alleys. However\, we also observe a pattern on a macro level. Contrary to prevaili ng assumptions\, affluent households in Rotterdam have been situated near the waterfront since the sixteenth century. This challenges long-standing notions of urban segregation patterns and warrants a reevaluation of exist ing frameworks.\nFor a considerable period\, historians have predominantly relied upon Sjoberg's model\, which posits a stratified urban structure w ith a small elite occupying central positions\, while the less affluent re side on the outskirts. This is referred to as a center-periphery model. Ho wever\, Lesger and van Leeuwen argue that Vance's model\, delineating the transition to capitalist cities in the sixteenth century\, offers contradi ctory results. According to Vance\, capitalist dynamics drove spatial segr egation processes during the early modern period\, with property values pr imarily dictated by commercial desirability. This model provides a more ap t framework for interpreting Rotterdam's urban evolution. Interesting comm ercial locations in the harbour and along major streets had the highest va lues.\nComparative analyses with the results for other port cities\, such as sixteenth-century Antwerp and seventeenth-century Amsterdam\, suggest t hat Rotterdam's urban dynamics may be less exceptional than previously ass umed. In these cities as well\, historical evidence suggests a similar phe nomenon\, with affluent households gravitating towards the old harbors. Th is was often considered in line with the models of Sjoberg and Vance\, but we might need to stress the importance of living in harbour districts dur ing the early modern period. This is remarkable because\, in the nineteent h century\, waterfront residences became less desirable\, prompting the el ite to seek housing away from the water's edge. However\, during the early modern period\, living by the water was considered a mark of privilege.\n In conclusion\, the study of Rotterdam's urban development during the earl y modern era offers valuable insights into broader historical trends and c hallenges conventional narratives of urban segregation. By employing spati al data and revisiting theoretical frameworks\, historians can achieve a m ore nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics shaping urban landscapes throughout history. LOCATION:MG2 01.10 URL:https://pretalx.com/spathum24/talk/ZXPEGP/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR