Notariële Archieven / Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam
Item
Country
NL
Name of institution (English)
Amsterdam City Archives
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
dut
Contact information: postal address
Vijzelstraat 32, 1017 HL Amsterdam
Contact information: phone number
0031 202511511
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
stadarchief@amsterdam.nl
Reference number
5075
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Notarial Archives / Archives of Amsterdam notaries
Title (official language of the state)
Notariële Archieven / Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam
Language of title
dut
Creator / accumulator
Notariële Archieven
Date(s)
1578/1915
Language(s)
dut
Extent
c. 3,500 linear metres (c. 28,000 storage units)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Poor
Scope and content
The Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam fonds comprises notarial records produced by notaries operating in Amsterdam from 1578 to 1915. Copies of notarial deeds before 1578 can be found in other fonds, especially in the archives of ecclesiastical and municipal institutions and some family archives.
The notarial deeds include different types of documents, such as wills, contracts, transactions of goods and properties, inventories of inheritances for minors or absent heirs, etc., resulting in more than 28,000 records.
As Amsterdam was the home of the major Sephardic community in 17th-century Europe, including several well-known families of merchants and businessmen involved in the long-distance trade, this fonds provide extensive information on the daily life and economic activities of the members of this community.
In 1967, in the first issue of the Studia Rosenthaliana, E. M. Koen and W. C. Pieterse started to publish transcriptions of notarial deeds from this fonds related to Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam from 1578 to 1639, the year when the three Portuguese Jewish congregations of Amsterdam were merged in one, the Kahal Kados Talmud Torah. This endeavour lasted for 46 issues of the journal until 2001 and covered 886 records of 58 notaries. Besides the transcription of the original Dutch documents, it also includes English abstracts. Therefore, this publication is a good starting point for exploring the Amsterdam Notarial Archives in search of information regarding the Western Sephardic Diaspora.
Unfortunately, there is no similar resource for later years. However, it is possible to identify some notaries whose records contain more comprehensive information related to Portuguese Jews. It is the case of Jan Volkaertsz Oli: volumes 1525-1526 contain 661 contracts signed by Portuguese Jewish merchants from 1638 to 1676. These records show the importance of the commercial activity developed by Jewish merchants in Amsterdam in the 17th century. The registers of other notaries, such as Adrien Lock (records from 1647 to 1680), Pieter Padthuijsen (1656 to 1707), Dirk van der Groe (1670 to 1720), and others also comprise hundreds more similar documents related to Portuguese Jews. Jonathan Israel was one of the several scholars who used the notarial records of this fonds to trace the trajectory of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam in the 17th century. Therefore, the reading of his works mentioned below could be helpful in identifying the Amsterdam notaries who worked more closely with Portuguese Jewish merchants after 1639. As said before, for an earlier chronology, the reading of the records published in the Studia Rosenthaliana is recommended.
The notarial deeds include different types of documents, such as wills, contracts, transactions of goods and properties, inventories of inheritances for minors or absent heirs, etc., resulting in more than 28,000 records.
As Amsterdam was the home of the major Sephardic community in 17th-century Europe, including several well-known families of merchants and businessmen involved in the long-distance trade, this fonds provide extensive information on the daily life and economic activities of the members of this community.
In 1967, in the first issue of the Studia Rosenthaliana, E. M. Koen and W. C. Pieterse started to publish transcriptions of notarial deeds from this fonds related to Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam from 1578 to 1639, the year when the three Portuguese Jewish congregations of Amsterdam were merged in one, the Kahal Kados Talmud Torah. This endeavour lasted for 46 issues of the journal until 2001 and covered 886 records of 58 notaries. Besides the transcription of the original Dutch documents, it also includes English abstracts. Therefore, this publication is a good starting point for exploring the Amsterdam Notarial Archives in search of information regarding the Western Sephardic Diaspora.
Unfortunately, there is no similar resource for later years. However, it is possible to identify some notaries whose records contain more comprehensive information related to Portuguese Jews. It is the case of Jan Volkaertsz Oli: volumes 1525-1526 contain 661 contracts signed by Portuguese Jewish merchants from 1638 to 1676. These records show the importance of the commercial activity developed by Jewish merchants in Amsterdam in the 17th century. The registers of other notaries, such as Adrien Lock (records from 1647 to 1680), Pieter Padthuijsen (1656 to 1707), Dirk van der Groe (1670 to 1720), and others also comprise hundreds more similar documents related to Portuguese Jews. Jonathan Israel was one of the several scholars who used the notarial records of this fonds to trace the trajectory of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam in the 17th century. Therefore, the reading of his works mentioned below could be helpful in identifying the Amsterdam notaries who worked more closely with Portuguese Jewish merchants after 1639. As said before, for an earlier chronology, the reading of the records published in the Studia Rosenthaliana is recommended.
Archival history
In 1656, the city government of Amsterdam ordered that "closed" protocols (those produced by notaries who resigned or died) must be brought to the city hall to be stored in a guarded and locked room. Before this date, the old notarial documents were more dispersed, some of them kept by the notaries' families or sold to their successors.
In 1652 and again in 1762, a fire struck inside the city hall. Burning papers were reportedly thrown into the canals, and numerous notarial documents were lost. About 850 of the 30,000 protocols in the Amsterdam City Archives show proof of heat damage. Also, some of the 16th- and 17th-century notaries reveal large chronological gaps in their documentation, which suggests the loss of high volumes of records, probably in the sequence of the fires.
Following King Louis Napoleon's regulations in 1806, the Dutch national government centralised the safeguard for the whole archival documentation produced in the Netherlands. However, it is uncertain whether the Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam (Archive of the Amsterdam notaries) has ever been physically moved out of Amsterdam.
The Archive of the Amsterdam notaries has been in the custody of the Amsterdam City Archives for the last hundred years. Efforts have been undertaken to make this fonds more accessible. For the period before 1800, it is estimated that between 5% and 8% of notarial deeds have been made arranged on personal names, professions, business and geographical names. The period from 1578 to 1620 has been made reasonably well accessible. The deeds from the years 1701-1710 are almost entirely put on cards on professions, business subjects and geographical names.
In 1961, the Parnassim of the Portuguese Jewish congregation decided to undertake research on primary sources related to the history of the community, including the notarial archives of Amsterdam. The documents with mentions concerning Portuguese Jews were noted and transcribed on index cards. Since 1963, this project was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Pure Scientific Research. The intention was to publish these materials in the Studia Rosenthaliana, which took place from 1967 to 2001.
In 1652 and again in 1762, a fire struck inside the city hall. Burning papers were reportedly thrown into the canals, and numerous notarial documents were lost. About 850 of the 30,000 protocols in the Amsterdam City Archives show proof of heat damage. Also, some of the 16th- and 17th-century notaries reveal large chronological gaps in their documentation, which suggests the loss of high volumes of records, probably in the sequence of the fires.
Following King Louis Napoleon's regulations in 1806, the Dutch national government centralised the safeguard for the whole archival documentation produced in the Netherlands. However, it is uncertain whether the Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam (Archive of the Amsterdam notaries) has ever been physically moved out of Amsterdam.
The Archive of the Amsterdam notaries has been in the custody of the Amsterdam City Archives for the last hundred years. Efforts have been undertaken to make this fonds more accessible. For the period before 1800, it is estimated that between 5% and 8% of notarial deeds have been made arranged on personal names, professions, business and geographical names. The period from 1578 to 1620 has been made reasonably well accessible. The deeds from the years 1701-1710 are almost entirely put on cards on professions, business subjects and geographical names.
In 1961, the Parnassim of the Portuguese Jewish congregation decided to undertake research on primary sources related to the history of the community, including the notarial archives of Amsterdam. The documents with mentions concerning Portuguese Jews were noted and transcribed on index cards. Since 1963, this project was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Pure Scientific Research. The intention was to publish these materials in the Studia Rosenthaliana, which took place from 1967 to 2001.
Sources:
Administrative / Biographical history
Public notary was introduced in the Netherlands between 1250 and 1350. Two elements played an important role in this development: firstly, the itinerant notaries from Southern Europe, some of whom operated independently, while others worked in the papal legates' retinues; and secondly, the notaries who worked for ecclesiastical judges and officials. Although the latter worked for imperial, ecclesiastical and papal authorities, they were also authorised to provide independent services.
Until the 16th century, town magistrates, the "schepenen" (aldermen), had the power to grant legal value to deeds and contracts. However, the unification of the Netherlands under the Burgundian and later the Habsburg regime brought significant changes to the register of public acts and contracts. In the 1530s, Emperor Carlos V's ordinances raised the practice of drafting formal legal documents into public offices. Then, contracts produced by notaries obtained the same legal status as those made by aldermen. From then on, notaries were entitled to provide legal services and ensure the liability of a wide range of contracts, including property and assets transactions, shipping and loan contracts, business partnerships, last wills and testaments, marriage contracts, etc. Then, the public registration of contracts and deeds gradually shifted from the aldermen to the notaries. However, this shift took a long time in certain types of acts. For instance, in Amsterdam, only in the late 18th century were most loan contracts drafted by notaries instead of aldermen.
The Reformation and the Dutch Reform did not induce revolutionary changes in the notary. However, the Reformation made it impossible for notaries to work under papal authority. The profession became secularised: lay notaries replaced clerics. Only those who belonged to the Reformed Church were admitted: the notary, as a public office, was not open to Catholics. Still, the essence of the profession was unaffected by these developments. A notary remained a clerk certified and appointed by the public authorities who provided authentic documents.
During the French dominium (1795-1813), the proposal for the abolition of the public notary never gained serious consideration. Actually, the revolutionaries found the notary indispensable as a provider of legal services to the people and a guardian of legal certainty. However, certain changes did ensue from the Revolution, in particular, as a result of the Ventôse Laws of 1803. On March 1, 1811, the Ventôse Law entered into effect in the Netherlands, normalizing the notarial legislation and extending the notary office to territories that were as yet unacquainted with it. The Ventôse Law remained on the statute books until July 9, 1842, when the Notaries Act replaced it. The Notaries Act retained the status of notaries as public officers appointed by the Crown but introduced some changes. For instance, it held out the prospect of enforcing fixed fees. Thus, it introduced more government control than the Ventôse Law, which stated that the fee should be agreed between notary and client. From the moment it entered into effect to the beginning of the 20th century, the 1842 Act was sometimes the target of harsh criticism. In addition, notaries were also incensed at the competition they were facing from informal representatives, the so-called "zaakwaarnemers" (business agents). Such representatives performed numerous tasks that lay within the notary's working field but for which the latter had not been granted exclusive competence, such as legal transactions that did not require an authenticated deed.
Until the 16th century, town magistrates, the "schepenen" (aldermen), had the power to grant legal value to deeds and contracts. However, the unification of the Netherlands under the Burgundian and later the Habsburg regime brought significant changes to the register of public acts and contracts. In the 1530s, Emperor Carlos V's ordinances raised the practice of drafting formal legal documents into public offices. Then, contracts produced by notaries obtained the same legal status as those made by aldermen. From then on, notaries were entitled to provide legal services and ensure the liability of a wide range of contracts, including property and assets transactions, shipping and loan contracts, business partnerships, last wills and testaments, marriage contracts, etc. Then, the public registration of contracts and deeds gradually shifted from the aldermen to the notaries. However, this shift took a long time in certain types of acts. For instance, in Amsterdam, only in the late 18th century were most loan contracts drafted by notaries instead of aldermen.
The Reformation and the Dutch Reform did not induce revolutionary changes in the notary. However, the Reformation made it impossible for notaries to work under papal authority. The profession became secularised: lay notaries replaced clerics. Only those who belonged to the Reformed Church were admitted: the notary, as a public office, was not open to Catholics. Still, the essence of the profession was unaffected by these developments. A notary remained a clerk certified and appointed by the public authorities who provided authentic documents.
During the French dominium (1795-1813), the proposal for the abolition of the public notary never gained serious consideration. Actually, the revolutionaries found the notary indispensable as a provider of legal services to the people and a guardian of legal certainty. However, certain changes did ensue from the Revolution, in particular, as a result of the Ventôse Laws of 1803. On March 1, 1811, the Ventôse Law entered into effect in the Netherlands, normalizing the notarial legislation and extending the notary office to territories that were as yet unacquainted with it. The Ventôse Law remained on the statute books until July 9, 1842, when the Notaries Act replaced it. The Notaries Act retained the status of notaries as public officers appointed by the Crown but introduced some changes. For instance, it held out the prospect of enforcing fixed fees. Thus, it introduced more government control than the Ventôse Law, which stated that the fee should be agreed between notary and client. From the moment it entered into effect to the beginning of the 20th century, the 1842 Act was sometimes the target of harsh criticism. In addition, notaries were also incensed at the competition they were facing from informal representatives, the so-called "zaakwaarnemers" (business agents). Such representatives performed numerous tasks that lay within the notary's working field but for which the latter had not been granted exclusive competence, such as legal transactions that did not require an authenticated deed.
Sources:
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The notarial Archives are divided by notaries. In some cases, the notarial deeds are divided in types of documents.
Access, restrictions
All notarial deeds in the Stadsarchief Amsterdam are public, with the exception of wills up to 94 years. These can only be consulted if the testator is not yet alive.
Some documents available online:
Links to finding aids
Existence and location of copies
Author of the description
Kevin Soares, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Stadsarchief Amsterdam | Collections (official language of the state) |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| I. S. Révah | Existence and location of originals | |
| Netherlands - Copied Material | Existence and location of originals |