Amsterdam Dam square – Daniël Marot, 1686

“Amsterdamse Kermis vertonende de Burgerij in de Wapenen”. [Amsterdam muster of the civic guard], etching with engraving made by Daniël Marot, printed from two copperplates in 1686 by Jacob Gole in the Nieuwe Vijzelstraat near the Prinsengracht. Size: 64.5 x 92.5 cm (Frame: 90 x 117 cm).

In the seventeenth century, once a year, the civic guard marched through the city in full equipment, with banners and beating drums, to present their arms at a central location. (This custom was abolished in 1697.)

The print is a pendant to the etching of the Hague parade with the civic guard on the Buitenhof, also made by Daniël Marot.

Here we see the Amsterdam civic guard regiments on Dam Square, led by Colonel Dirk Munter. Below the image are listed the formations and names of the captains of the various regiments.

The public interest in the parade is enormous. Crowds of spectators watch the spectacle, people have climbed onto rooftops and hang from windows to catch a glimpse. On the Vijgendam (to the right of the Fish Market) a scuffle has broken out.

The civic guard, as it functioned in the seventeenth century, originated in a decree of 8 September 1580. In it, the city council announced that, at the request of Prince William of Orange, a civic militia was to be established in which every able-bodied citizen had to serve. This marked the end of the old medieval schuttersgilden (archers’ guilds), which were eventually absorbed entirely into the new civic guard.

The guardsmen were well-to-do citizens who devoted part of their time to serve as armed watchmen. Every male citizen between the ages of 18 and 60 who could afford his own equipment was, in principle, a member of the civic guard. As semi-military organizations they were tasked with maintaining law and order in the cities.

A number of guardsmen together, usually about thirty, formed a squad (korporaalschap) led by a sergeant. From 1650 onwards, one company (compagnie or burgervendel) consisted of three such squads. In that year, the number of companies was expanded from twenty to fifty-four. A company was led by a captain, assisted directly by a lieutenant. Each company also had an ensign who carried the flag. Several companies together formed a regiment. From 1650 there were five regiments, each identified by a different colour: orange, yellow, blue, white, and green. These five regiments were commanded by two colonels. Around 1672 there were approximately 20,000 guardsmen.

Each district (wijk) of Amsterdam had one such company. The captains supervised their district and were therefore called wijkmeesters. The guardsmen generally lived in the district they served. With the reforms of 1650, the city’s districts were also reorganised: whereas Amsterdam had 20 districts before 1650, thereafter it had 54. The various companies gathered in one of the three doelen (shooting houses), the civic guard associations with which they were affiliated.

The guardsmen had several important duties. Every member had to stand watch, divided into day and night shifts at one of the city gates or bomen (barriers regulating access by water). The main guard post was located in the Town Hall itself. The guardsmen kept watch on the ground floor in a room next to the courtroom. During the night watch, their officers were accommodated in the Justice Chamber on the bel-etage. Each morning, two junior officers collected the keys for the gates and barriers from one of the burgomasters’ homes and returned them later that day. Because many guardsmen were affluent merchants, busy with their trade and numerous civic offices, it was sometimes possible in the seventeenth century to buy off this obligation.

In addition, the guardsmen were deployed in case of fires and riots in Amsterdam, and during great danger at the national borders. The latter often occurred during the war against Spain, when the city militias were dispatched to garrison towns to support the troops at the front. Finally, the guardsmen were used to collect municipal taxes or to raise funds for imprisoned Christians.

In 1907, the Amsterdam Civic Guard was formally disbanded after the Dutch army and police had taken over its tasks.

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