page_title: History of the Jews in the Netherlands
section_title: Economic influences
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Jews in the Netherlands / Economic influences
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Amsterdam - - Leidseplein 25. Hirsch&amp;Co Leidseplein, tijdens de openingsdag van een winkel waar producten van Apple worden verkocht. This is an image of rijksmonument number 518447 Object location52°&#160;21′&#160;48.64″&#160;N, 4°&#160;52′&#160;56.42″&#160;E&#160;View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap - Google Earth
context_page_description: The history of the Jews in the Netherlands is considered to begin largely in the 16th century, when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. Following the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the Jewish community was severely persecuted. About 70% of its members were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust during World War II.
  The area now known as the Netherlands was once part of the Spanish Empire but in 1581, the northern Dutch provinces declared independence. A principal motive was the wish to practice Protestant Christianity, then forbidden under Spanish rule. Religious tolerance was effectively an important constitutional element of the newly independent state. This inevitably attracted the attention of Jews who were religiously oppressed in different parts of the world. In pursuit of religious freedoms, many Jews migrated to the Netherlands where they flourished.
  During the German Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, 70 percent of the Jewish population of the Netherlands was killed during the Holocaust, which included deportation to concentration and extermination camps.
context_section_description: Jews played a major role in the development of Dutch colonial territories and international trade, and many Jews in former colonies have Dutch ancestry. However, all the major colonial powers were competing fiercely for control of trade routes; the Dutch were relatively unsuccessful and during the 18th century, their economy went into decline.
  Many of the Ashkenazim in the rural areas were no longer able to subsist and they migrated to the cities in search of work. This caused a large number of small Jewish communities to collapse completely (ten adult males were required in order to conduct major religious ceremonies). Entire communities migrated to the cities, where Jewish populations swelled dramatically. In 1700, the Jewish population of Amsterdam was 6,200, with Ashkenazim and Sephardim in almost equal numbers. By 1795 the figure was 20,335, the vast majority being poor Ashkenazim from rural areas.
  Because Jews were obliged to live in specified Jewish quarters, there was severe overcrowding. By the mid-nineteenth century, many were emigrating to other countries where the advancement of emancipation offered better opportunities (see Chuts).
caption: Hirsch & Co. fashion house, Amsterdam
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