BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//pretalx//pretalx.com//spathum24//talk//ZXPEGP BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:CET BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20001029T040000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=10 TZNAME:CET TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20000326T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:CEST TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:pretalx-spathum24-ZXPEGP@pretalx.com DTSTART;TZID=CET:20240926T170000 DTEND;TZID=CET:20240926T173000 DESCRIPTION:At the end of the Middle Ages\, Rotterdam was a relatively mode st town. However\, with the separation of the Northern Netherlands and the emergence of the Dutch Republic\, urban development along the Maas River experienced a significant upsurge. Rotterdam benefited from the blockade o f the Scheldt during the civil war in the Netherlands. As emerging Amsterd am joined the northern capitalism scene later\, Rotterdam had the opportun ity to develop into an intriguing port city\, playing a significant role i n expanding the global commercial network of the Dutch Republic. In 1400\, Rotterdam housed a mere 2\,500 inhabitants\; by the early seventeenth cen tury\, this figure had surged to 20\,000\, and by the late eighteenth cent ury\, it exceeded 50\,000. This rapid growth inevitably resulted in strain s on the housing market. This paper aims to chart this process using spati al data\, comparing it with similar phenomena in other cities of the Nethe rlands\, such as Antwerp and Amsterdam\, where such developments have alre ady been extensively studied using taxation data based on property rental values\, available across various periods.\nWhile these sources have previ ously been utilized by other historians to delineate the spatial dimension s of inequality\, they also carry inherent limitations. It is commonly ass umed that they provide a reasonably accurate reflection of the income leve ls of property owners or tenants. However\, these sources tend to underest imate the true extent of inequality within the urban landscape. This is be cause poorer households are compelled to allocate a more substantial porti on of their income towards rental expenses compared to their wealthier cou nterparts. Poor families indeed required a minimum number of rooms\, while there was a limit on the percentage that extremely wealthy families could spend on their accommodation in the city. Moreover\, the precision of spa tial data presents a challenge. During the early modern period\, such data were only accessible at the street level\, with the number of streets doc umented increasing over time. For instance\, while tax registers from 1553 list a mere 16 streets\, by 1665\, this figure had soared to 82\, and by 1731\, there were records of 155 distinct streets. This escalation undersc ores the difficulty in accurately gauging urban spatial dynamics solely th rough historical records.\nThe examination of social inequality in Rotterd am during the early modern era holds significant interest for two primary reasons. Firstly\, the remarkable growth of Rotterdam has been somewhat ov ershadowed in the historiography of the Dutch Republic\, particularly in c omparison to the well-documented developments in Amsterdam. Nonetheless\, Rotterdam would eventually evolve into one of the world's foremost ports. Thus\, this study seeks to address this scholarly gap. Secondly\, the spat ial patterns observed in Rotterdam diverge from conventional narratives. O n a micro level\, the Rotterdam pattern shows similarities with other citi es in the early modern period\, where the wealthy resided along the main r oads\, while the poor settled in their vicinity in the smaller alleys. How ever\, we also observe a pattern on a macro level. Contrary to prevailing assumptions\, affluent households in Rotterdam have been situated near the waterfront since the sixteenth century. This challenges long-standing not ions of urban segregation patterns and warrants a reevaluation of existing frameworks.\nFor a considerable period\, historians have predominantly re lied upon Sjoberg's model\, which posits a stratified urban structure with a small elite occupying central positions\, while the less affluent resid e on the outskirts. This is referred to as a center-periphery model. Howev er\, Lesger and van Leeuwen argue that Vance's model\, delineating the tra nsition to capitalist cities in the sixteenth century\, offers contradicto ry results. According to Vance\, capitalist dynamics drove spatial segrega tion processes during the early modern period\, with property values prima rily dictated by commercial desirability. This model provides a more apt f ramework for interpreting Rotterdam's urban evolution. Interesting commerc ial locations in the harbour and along major streets had the highest value s.\nComparative analyses with the results for other port cities\, such as sixteenth-century Antwerp and seventeenth-century Amsterdam\, suggest that Rotterdam's urban dynamics may be less exceptional than previously assume d. In these cities as well\, historical evidence suggests a similar phenom enon\, with affluent households gravitating towards the old harbors. This 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 during the early modern period. This is remarkable because\, in the nineteenth c entury\, waterfront residences became less desirable\, prompting the elite to seek housing away from the water's edge. However\, during the early mo dern period\, living by the water was considered a mark of privilege.\nIn conclusion\, the study of Rotterdam's urban development during the early m odern era offers valuable insights into broader historical trends and chal lenges conventional narratives of urban segregation. By employing spatial data and revisiting theoretical frameworks\, historians can achieve a more nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics shaping urban landscapes th roughout history. DTSTAMP:20260520T134105Z LOCATION:MG2 01.10 SUMMARY:The lure of the waterfront. Mapping economic inequality in Rotterda m from the sixteenth until the nineteenth century - Maarten F. Van Dijck\, Paul van de Laar URL:https://pretalx.com/spathum24/talk/ZXPEGP/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR