Refugees in Amsterdam – after J.C. Schotel, 1825

THE FLOOD OF 1825 – AMSTERDAM RECEIVES REFUGEES

“Aankomst der Noord-Hollandsche Vlugtelingen te Amsterdam op den 5 February  1825”. [Arrival of the North Holland refugees in Amsterdam on 5 February 1825.] Lithograph by Alexandre Joseph Boens after a drawing by Johannes Christiaan Schotel, used as an illustration in Johannes Coenraad Beijer’s “Gedenkboek van Neerlands watersnood, in Februarij 1825″. With original hand colouring. Sheet size 26 × 31.3 cm.

The storm surge of 3–5 February 1825 ranks among the most severe natural disasters of the 19th century in the Netherlands. It was a classic example of a northwesterly storm coinciding with a high tide, driving water into the Zuiderzee, the Wadden Sea, and connected waterways to dangerous levels. In many places the water rose higher than anything witnessed since the St. Peter’s Flood of 1651.

North Holland was particularly hard hit, with widespread devastation in Waterland and West Friesland. Thousands of houses were damaged or swept away entirely. Polders flooded within a matter of hours, and large numbers of livestock drowned.

“From all sides the unfortunate fled to the capital, mostly in small boats, provided with the bare necessities, yet often with nothing preserved but their lives.”

“The City itself, as well as several charitable institutions, opened their buildings for the afflicted. Various municipal warehouses, the Municipal Orphanage, and the Outer Hospital were made available as their shelter.”

“Many could not return to their homes, as the water remained upon the fields for many weeks, and numerous dwellings had collapsed or were uninhabitable.”

Literature: Frederik Muller (1863-1882), De Nederlandsche geschiedenis in platen : beredeneerde beschrijving van Nederlandsche historieplaten, zinneprenten en historische kaarten, p. 126, no. 6220/1b.

Price: Euro 250,-