View of Amsterdam

1611

In the middle of the foreground is the Maid of Amsterdam, surrounded by merchants from all corners of the globe offering her their riches. The ‘East Indians’ and Chinese bring precious stones, nutmeg, porcelain and silk. The legend below the image refers to Amsterdam as the ‘trading capital of the entire world’ and recounts how the holds of the city’s ‘floating castles’ (the ships) were laden with cargo from the farthest reaches of the earth.