This baluster palmwood broker’s stick with silver mounts belonged to Cornelis van den Heuvel, who was active as a broker in Amsterdam from 1699 onwards. Born to Pieter Cornelisz van den Heuvel, a public servant, and Marieke van Zittert, he became a citizen as a merchant at the age of twenty-four and was appointed broker thirteen years later, on 29 January 1699, a position he retained until his death. The “Lyste der Namen en Woonplaatfen van de Makelaars” or list of names and places of residence of the brokers of 1733, which records all Amsterdam brokers from 1681 onwards, notes that he dealt in Muscovite goods and papers. In 1731 he lived on the Prinsengracht; by 1740 he resided on the Lauriersgracht.

Paper and Muscovite Goods

Together with others, and sometimes independently, Van den Heuvel regularly auctioned consignments of paper. Advertisements preserved from 1721 and 1722 show that these auctions took place at the Brakke Grond in Amsterdam. Alongside Johan Staats and Hendrick Linquet, he announced the sale of “French writing and printing papers, in various formats and from the finest makers”. These were substantial quantities: 4,500 and 6,000 reams. The term ream derives from the Arabic word rismat, meaning “bundle” or “pack”; one ream equated to approximately 500 sheets of paper.
In 1724 and 1725, his name also appears in advertisements for auctions of Muscovite goods. In the seventeenth century, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands imported various products from Muscovy, present-day Russia. The most important of these were hides, beaver and marten furs, flax, hemp, timber, pitch and tar—materials essential to Dutch shipbuilding, the textile industry and other key sectors of the economy.

A Good Broker

On 8 October 1578, an ordinance set out the conditions a broker was required to fulfil. A good broker was expected to be reliable, accurate and honest. He was obliged to observe confidentiality with regard to his clients’ commissions and was forbidden to approach a merchant already represented by another broker—principles that, in essence, still apply to brokers today. One month later, on 8 November 1578, the brokers’ guild was established in Amsterdam. Through this guild, brokers sought to uphold professional standards and to discipline members who engaged in misconduct.

Broker's Stick

Legislation alone, however, did not prevent the continued presence of unlicensed intermediaries. To distinguish an authorised broker from an unlicenced one, a regulation issued in 1636 stipulated that brokers were obliged to display their baton when concluding a transaction. This short, elegant staff was made of turned wood with silver mounts at both ends. One end bore the city arms of Amsterdam in silver; the other carried the monogram of the brokers’ guild, MKRS (without the letter L after 1736). On the smooth silver band along the side were engraved the broker’s name and the year of his appointment. The baton served as proof of official authorisation and remained in use until around 1850.

Entrance Fees

The number of brokers steadily increased. By around 1767, more than 500 were registered in Amsterdam. Upon admission to the guild, brokers paid an entrance fee of forty guilders, in addition to three guilders for the baton—substantial sums at the time. Thereafter, each broker was required to pay an annual contribution of thirteen guilders and four stuivers for membership fees, office dues and fire dues. The fire dues amounted to an annual sum of six hundred guilders, which the brokers’ guild paid to the city of Amsterdam in exchange for exemption from firefighting duties, obligations that otherwise applied to guild members.

't Makelaers Comptoir

In 1613 a house on the northern corner of the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and the Nieuwstraat was purchased to serve as the guild house. In 1633 it was demolished and replaced by a purpose-built guild hall that still exists today: ’t Makelaers Comptoir, or Brokers’ Office, one of the few surviving guild houses in the city of Amsterdam.

Staple Market

As early as the Middle Ages, trading cities with staple markets employed brokers to mediate transactions between buyers and sellers. Staple markets were places where goods from across the world were brought for transshipment or temporary storage. This system helped to limit price fluctuations and ensured a constant supply of goods.

Ordinance of Dordrecht

In the Netherlands, the earliest evidence of the profession of broker dates from 1284, when Count Floris V granted the city of Dordrecht the right to appoint brokers. This right was formally recorded seven years later in a so-called keur, an ordinance that is still preserved in the Dordrecht municipal archives. Until the end of the seventeenth century, brokers mediated trade in ships, textiles, furniture, spices, coffee, tea, grain, foodstuffs and other goods brought to Amsterdam from all parts of the world.
Although brokerage was prohibited by an Amsterdam ordinance of 1495, it was partially permitted in the sixteenth century, insofar as the city itself appointed a limited number of brokers. In 1530 the profession was officially legalised, and candidates could apply to the burgomasters to have their competence assessed.

The Largest in Europe

In the sixteenth century, Amsterdam overtook Antwerp as the principal port city of the region. During the revolt against the Spanish king Philip II, Antwerp was looted by Spanish troops in 1585—an event known as the Fall of Antwerp. The city’s position was severely weakened, and many merchants, particularly Jewish traders, chose to settle in Amsterdam. The influx of traders brought prosperity and growth, later known as the Golden Age, during which Amsterdam became the largest staple market in Europe, a status still reflected in its waterside warehouses.