In the year 1342 Amsterdam received city rights. The term 'port' was mentioned then first. But there had been earlier port activities. Shortly after 1200 there had been international trade contacts. Imported goods were loaded and unloaded in the Damrak. Somewhere around 1300, larger ships started mooring at quays on both sides of the Amstel river, what would later become the Prins Hendrik quay. The city quickly grew and foreign trade became more and more important. This led to a series of expansion periods in following centuries.

First major developments

The first major development of the port of Amsterdam took place in the second half of the sixteenth century and in the Golden Age of the seventeenth century. This was a result of the conquering of Antwerp by the Spaniards, whereby Amsterdam became the most important port city in the north of the country. On the west side of the city the 'Nieuwe (New) Waal' was excavated (the 'Oude (Old) Waal' had already been taken into use in 1377 as a winter port), protected by the 'Lion's head' or Leeuwenhoofd. For trade and shipping, the 'Bickers', 'Prinsen', and 'Realen' islands were created on the west side. The east side (Old side) remained more important. There were large water areas and so Amsterdam could carry out larger works without having to resort to expensive forced purchase procedures. On that side expansions followed each other rapidly. In 1593 Amsterdam incorporated Uilenburg and Rapenburg. In the Golden Age the Waals island, Kattenburg, Wittenburg and Oostenburg followed with shipyards and warehouses. This is where the VOC (United Dutch East Indies Company), the largest limited liability company ever at the time was established.  

After the Golden Age

After the Golden Age, the Dutch economy suffered a period of stagnation and the Amsterdam port area ceased to grow. But in spite of all this, the port was still successful. Trade became more and more varied. Besides traditional beer and grains, fish was now being imported. In 1621 Piet Heins' 'zilvervloot' (silver fleet) imported the first cocoa, which became and has remained an important import product. Silting up of the port became a problem, along with the river IJ and both the old Waal and the new Waal. The port links to the North Sea via the then Zuiderzee (today the IJsselmeer) was becoming more and more shallow. Without significant work, Amsterdam would not remain a seaport. 

Better connections

King Willem I therefore ensured a better connection. He had the 'Noordhollands' canal dug between 1819 and 1824 from Amsterdam to Den Helder. These measures meant the sandbanks in the IJ could be avoided. Next, in 1832 and 1834 the Ooster and Westerdok dikes were built. The current of the IJ now had to pass through a narrower channel, whereby the IJ increased in depth. The Entrepot dock had been constructed for this purpose. Due to the increasing size of the ships, the locks and the depth in the Noordhollands canal quickly became too small to meet demands. Constructing the North Sea Canal between 1865 and 1876 solved this problem. It made Amsterdam accessible again. The distance to the North sea was now only thirty kilometres.  

The eastern port area

A year prior to the opening of the North Sea Canal, the Eastern trade quay was taken into use. In the eighteen nineties, the IJ-island was built, nowadays known as KNSM and Java island. This area became the home port of the large liner shipping companies. But in the west there was now also port activity. Through the construction of the wood ports, the Minervahaven and the Petroleumhaven a start was made on the building of the modern port. In the twentieth century, the Coenhaven (a general cargo port) would follow. In the early thirties, the first part of the West port was constructed for a Ford car factory.

Destruction and rebuilding

In the second world war the German occupiers caused huge damage, especially in the Coenhaven. After the war, rebuilding began with a vengeance. By 1950 war damage was largely repaired. Then a solution came for the poor link with the German hinterland, with the opening of the Amsterdam-Rhine canal.

New port areas

In the nineteen sixties, the port had to face an increase in scale in shipping. There was also an increasing importance in transhipment of bulk goods such as oil, grains and coal so that they could be transported further by land. At the time Amsterdam was weaker at this than Rotterdam; Amsterdam was more of a final destination for general cargo (wood, paper, steel and such). In those times the Amerikahaven and Australiehaven were being excavated. General cargo was being transported more and more in containers at the end of the sixties. At the end of the seventies the first part of the Asiahaven was constructed. In the eighties there was new growth - a particular increase in the transhipment of dry bulk (coals, grains, ore), and in the transport of containers. In the east of the Amsterdam port area, there was an end to all port-related activities halfway through the seventies. This had various reasons: large shipping companies merged and moved to Rotterdam, the area was too small for the growing ships. Today, this area is mainly used for living and recreation. Nowadays the Amsterdam Port starts at the Houthavens and ends at the border with the municipality of Haarlemmerliede and Spaarnwoude. The youngest addition to the port infrastructure, the Afrikahaven, was officially opened in 2000.  

Room for new activity

The volumes transhipped in the port of Amsterdam have continually increased since 1980. As a result of the construction of new port sites in the Western port area and the Afrikahaven, Amsterdam now has several hundred hectares of new port sites which it can allocate. To be able to cope with the expected growth of container transport, the municipality of Amsterdam, together with the American terminal operator Ceres Terminals, invested in a new container terminal. This was delivered in 2001. In 2002 the terminal was taken over by the Japanese shipping company NYK Line. The Ceres Paragon Terminal is the first container terminal where ships can load and unload on both sides simultaneously, whereby the turnaround time is almost halved in comparison to other terminals. Even though the traditional port activities in the old eastern port area have disappeared, the cruise business has increased here greatly. At this moment, some hundred cruise vessels pass through Amsterdam each year. To welcome the passengers in a representative environment, the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) by the Central Station was opened in 1999.

Literature:
- Cor Jaring: De Amsterdamse haven, uitgeverij Bekking en Blitz, 2001
- Ons Amsterdam: De haven van Amsterdam, November 1951
- Ons Amsterdam: Special De Amsterdamse haven, November 2001
- Remmert Daalder: Van havenstad tot havenregio, Amports, 1995