. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
is governed by the constitution
of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population of 1,209,419 and a metropolitan population of 2,158,592. The city is in the province
of North Holland
in the west of the country. It comprises the northern part of the Randstad
, one of the larger conurbation
s in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.
Its name is derived from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel
.
1275 Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam.
1614 Adriaen Block and 12 Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the New Netherland colony.
1687 The city council of Amsterdam votes to support William of Orange's invasion of England, which became the Glorious Revolution.
1810 The French occupy Amsterdam.
1883 The last quagga dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.
1888 The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is inaugurated.
1910 In Amsterdam, 25,000 demonstrate for general suffrage.
1942 Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
1944 The Holocaust: a tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family.
1945 The General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands.