history, society

Samuel Sarphati, the Man Who Set Amsterdam Back in Motion

In Amsterdam, streets and buildings bear the name of Samuel Sarphati, and in the park named after him stands an impressive monument in his honour. Rightly so: his visionary ideas about healthcare, urban planning and innovation helped transform Amsterdam into a city of enterprise and social progress. Yet few Amsterdammers today know who this Jewish doctor was or what he did for the city.

To fully grasp the significance of Samuel Sarphati (1813–1866), we need to go back to Amsterdam around the year 1840. The prosperous and vibrant city of the seventeenth century had all but vanished. As the locals might say, the city was on its last legs. Many neighbourhoods were poor and severely overcrowded, and more than ten thousand Amsterdammers were living in stuffy basement dwellings with no light or fresh air. The canals reeked terribly, especially in summer. Cholera claimed thousands of lives. The economy had all but come to a standstill, and the Industrial Revolution, with its steam engines, had yet to reach the city. Windmills still turned on the ramparts of the city walls. Amsterdam hadn’t expanded in nearly two centuries, and by around 1850, its population was actually lower than it had been during the Golden Age.

The dire state of the economy had several causes. The wealthy residents of Herengracht and Keizersgracht still had ample financial means, but capital was no longer being invested in Amsterdam. Instead, investments were made in places like England, Russia or plantations (and slavery) in the West Indies, where greater profits could be made with less risk.

The French Period (1794–1814) was disastrous for Amsterdam. Taxes were increased, and able-bodied workers were conscripted into the French military. Especially devastating was Napoleon’s Continental System, which forbade trade with Great Britain. As a result, trade came to a near standstill. The city’s connection to the Zuiderzee had silted up, leaving ships stranded “voor Pampus” (a Dutch expression meaning to be stuck or out of action). There was no money for dredging. The once-wealthy and powerful city was at the end of its rope.

Doctor to the poor

Samuel Sarphati was born in 1813 on Nieuwe Keizersgracht. His father was a tobacco merchant and a descendant of Portuguese Jews who had fled the Spanish Inquisition centuries earlier. Sarphati began as an apprentice pharmacist, but soon had the opportunity to study medicine. He was appointed as a doctor for the poor within the Jewish community. He witnessed the city’s misery up close: poverty, child mortality, cholera and inadequate housing. It didn’t take long for him to realise he had to do something.

Meanwhile, he married Abigaïl Mendes de Leon, the daughter of a wealthy Amsterdam banker. It took some effort to convince her father, but he eventually gave his blessing, and the couple wed. Abigaïl became a great source of support to Sarphati in the years that followed. The marriage gave him access to his father-in-law’s capital and network – the elite of Amsterdam. Sarphati was ready to get to work.

The first issue Sarphati tackled was the enormous waste problem. Household rubbish was dumped wherever it happened to land. There was no sewage system yet; full buckets of excrement were emptied into the canals or onto the streets. Although science had yet to discover the cause of diseases like cholera, Sarphati instinctively sensed that all those human waste products in the streets had to be a health hazard. It was clear that a waste collection service had to be arranged.

Little could be expected from the city council, as it was dominated by liberals. They believed that the city was only responsible for defence and policing, while education, healthcare and infrastructure should be left to private enterprise. In 1847, Sarphati founded the Maatschappij tot bevordering van Landbouw en Landontginning (Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and Land Reclamation). He collected the waste in the city, composted it and sold it to farmers in the countryside, where there was a serious shortage of fertiliser. It became a healthy and sustainable business that lasted for many years. In 1877, the operation was taken over by the city council. Today, it is known as the Amsterdamse Stadsreiniging (Amsterdam Municipal Cleaning Service).

The next issue Sarphati tackled was bread supply. Bread was still the staple food of the population, but it was expensive and of poor quality. Until 1855, the supply of bread was strictly regulated. Millers held a monopoly on grinding flour and bakers on baking bread. Both were subject to excise duties. Due to the lack of competition, millers took advantage of the situation by mixing flour with potatoes, buckwheat or even stones, gypsum or white lead. Bakers, in turn, had little incentive to focus on quality or pricing. Dough was still often kneaded with the feet. In 1855, Johan Rudolf Thorbecke abolished the excise duties on flour and bread, and the monopolies held by millers and bakers came to an end. This opened the door for innovation.

Sarphati also studied bread factories abroad and decided to build one in Amsterdam, on Vijzelgracht. Thanks to his network, he was able to quickly raise the necessary capital and set up the factory. The bread it produced was of higher quality than what was already available – and thirty percent cheaper. This gave a tremendous boost to public health, especially in the poorest areas of the city. The factory remained in operation until 1960.

In the meantime, Sarphati also took the initiative to found a professional organisation for pharmacists – which still exists today as the KNMP (Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter Bevordering der Pharmacie, or Royal Dutch Society for the Advancement of Pharmacy) – as well as a housing association.

Palace for innovation

But Sarphati wanted more; things were moving far too slowly for him. To truly improve the situation for the city’s poor residents, it was essential to revive the economy. New technologies that were already being widely used in other countries also needed to be introduced in Mokum, as Amsterdam was affectionately called. Especially in the use of steam power, both the Netherlands and Amsterdam were hopelessly lagging behind. Around Amsterdam, hundreds of wind-powered mills were still in operation. The reasoning was: wind is free, coal costs money and stinks. In short, innovation was needed. Sarphati called it “public industriousness”. He started a network of like-minded individuals and organised exhibitions to bring together new developments and enterprising people. It started off on a relatively small scale, with exhibitions in existing buildings around the city.

In 1851, Prime Minister Thorbecke asked Sarphati if he wanted to attend The Great Exhibition, the first world’s fair, being held at the brand-new Crystal Palace in London. Each country put its best foot forward there, showcasing the latest in technology and industry. Alongside numerous applications of the steam engine, this included the very first fax machine, the first electronic voting computer and the latest revolvers. The Crystal Palace was also the first building with public toilets, for which one penny was charged. After the world exhibition, a ranking was compiled. Great Britain came in first. The Netherlands made a poor showing, coming in last along with… Vatican City.

Back in Amsterdam, Sarphati rolled up his sleeves. He was going to think big. He unveiled his dream for Amsterdam and the Netherlands: a Palace for Innovation – a place for exhibitions, for connecting people, and to work towards a new future for the city. He succeeded in convincing investors. The public share of 2.50 guilders was in huge demand, even among Amsterdammers of modest means. His greatest challenge was persuading the Ministry of War and the city council, as they had to make the land available. Alderman Teding van Berkhout in particular was a constant obstacle. But Sarphati persevered, and on 16 August 1864, the Palace for Innovation was officially opened: 125 metres long, 60 metres wide and 60 metres high. It was the city’s new eye-catcher.

In its early years, the Palace for Innovation truly functioned as a centre for innovation. Over time, however, the exploitation became more difficult, and the palace gradually transformed into a venue for events: concerts, boxing matches, trade union meetings and the like. It became more of a Palace of Public Revelry. The people of Amsterdam loved their palace. So it came as a great shock when, during the night of 17 to 18 April 1929, the building went up in flames. Stunned, Amsterdammers flocked to Frederiksplein the next day. Devastated, they looked at the twisted heap of steel. The palace would never be rebuilt. The crisis of the 1930s, the war and the postwar reconstruction left no room for this. Eventually, the Dutch National Bank acquired the site in 1960, and a stark tower rose on the site of the palace, much to the dismay of many Amsterdammers.

But that came later. After the opening of the Palace for Innovation, Sarphati realised that an elegant hotel was needed to attract Europe’s crème de la crème to the city. Amsterdam didn’t have such a hotel yet. One last time, he approached his investors and managed to set the wheels in motion for the construction of the Amstel Hotel. To this day, it remains the place where royalty and pop stars stay when visiting Amsterdam.

Urban planner and banker

Alongside all his other activities, Sarphati also had an eye for urban planning. He foresaw that the city would grow and drew up a plan for its expansion. It was a forward-thinking plan with a lot of diversity, green spaces and quality housing. Unfortunately, the conservative city council deemed the plan too ambitious, and a much more modest version was implemented instead. In the short term, this approach was appealing, but not in the long term. Housing in neighbourhoods such as De Pijp, Staatsliedenbuurt and Dapperbuurt was built quickly and poorly. The demolition, rebuilding and renovation of these areas would go on to cost significant time, money and effort throughout the 20th century.

Although Sarphati was a man of many talents – pharmacist, doctor, baker, refuse collector, hotelier, innovator, property developer and more – he was, above all, a banker. Part of his vision of a social economy were the banks. They could provide capital for investments, enabling initiatives that not only generated profit but also brought about social improvements. That’s why he founded no fewer than three banks: the Nationale Hypotheekbank (later merged into WestlandUtrecht Bank), De Nederlandse Crediet- en Depositobank (now part of BNP Paribas) and the Bank of Suriname. As an opponent of slavery, after its abolition in 1863, Sarphati was quick to help establish a bank with the aim of kickstarting the Suriname economy. That bank still exists today.

Boundless energy

In 1864, his wife Abigaïl – his muse – passed away at the age of just forty. After her death, Sarphati’s boundless energy vanished. The constant struggle with the administration of his beloved Amsterdam took a heavy toll on him. On 23 June 1866, Samuel Sarphati died quite suddenly. The city of Amsterdam was in mourning. His tireless efforts to make Amsterdam a flourishing city once more, where not only the wealthy on Herengracht would benefit, were seen and felt in every corner. His funeral procession was escorted by twenty thousand Amsterdammers on its way to the Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk. As a farewell, his friend and successor, A.C. Wertheim spoke the words:

He died like Moses, with the Promised Land in sight, and his funeral dirge became the morning song of an awakening and rejuvenated Amsterdam.

And so it was: Sarphati put Amsterdam back on the map with his immense energy and dedication and inspired many to continue his work. As a result, between 1870 and 1930, Amsterdam experienced its second Golden Age as an enterprising but also social city.

To this day, Amsterdam still reaps the benefits. The Concertgebouw, the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum, the Amstel Hotel and Central Station all date from that period; even Schiphol was established then. And social housing, driven by aldermen like De Miranda and Wibaut, provided not only quality homes for workers but also charming neighbourhoods like the Spaarndammerbuurt, built in the style of the Amsterdam School. Industrialists such as Gerard Heineken brought new vitality to the urban economy. The population grew from just under two hundred thousand to over seven hundred thousand, and Amsterdam became a vibrant city once again.

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