Stadsbestuur betreffende de ambachten
Item
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Country
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BE
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Name of institution (English)
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FelixArchief (Antwerp City Archives)
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Oudeleeuwenrui 29, 2000 Antwerp
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Contact information: phone number
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0032 33389411
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Contact information: email
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stadsarchief@antwerpen.be
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Reference number
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BE SA 61773
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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City council concerning the crafts
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Title (official language of the state)
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Stadsbestuur betreffende de ambachten
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Language of title
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dut
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Creator / accumulator
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Stadsbestuur
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Date(s)
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1327/1793
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Language(s)
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dut
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Extent
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18 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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The Stadsbestuur betreffende de ambachten fonds comprises documentation produced by the Antwerp City Council, concerning crafts and industries of the city, including documentation on their relevant activity and information on taxes and sales.
Part of this collection is the "Ambachtsboeken" (craft books), which contain a few records concerning Portuguese New Christians and their settlement in Antwerp. For instance, Ambachten Boek 1430-1561 (BE SA 61782) contains information on the privileges obtained by the New Christians of Portuguese origin in Antwerp. Among other things, they were given the right to freely assemble and hold their councils and their tribunals in their "Feitoria" (trading post) as long as the nation resided in Antwerp. A special privilege was granted at the request of Tomé Lopes on November 20, 1511, exempting the Portuguese from excise duties on wine and beer up to a limit of eight barrels of wine and forty barrels of beer (fol. 146).
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Archival history
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In the 13th century, the city of Antwerp kept its documents in the Town Hal, in a chest about two meters long, named "privilegiekom". The chest had 13 locks, whose keys were distributed among the city officials, and it could only be opened with the 13 keys. The development of the city and the growing complexity of its administration resulted in an increase in the number of documents. Therefore, the "privilegiekom" became too small to store all records. Prior to the French Revolution, the various city institutions headquartered in the Town Hall had the responsibility of keeping their own documents. However, in 1796, a city archivist was appointed to preserve and manage the archives. The city archive remained in the Town Hall until the first half of the 20th century. After that, the archive was moved to several different locations. During World War II, the most valuable documents were secured in a castle near Rochefort. In 1953, the archive was temporarily accommodated at Meirbrug. At last, on December 15, 1956, a new place in Venusstraat was inaugurated, and the city archives remained there for about 50 years. In 2006, the archive moved to the Sint-Felixpakhuis. Since then, it has been called the FelixArchief.
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(source: FelixArchief website)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Schepenbank (Court of the Aldermen) was a court usually composed of seven members appointed by the "heer" (lord), under the chairmanship of the "schout" (sheriff), "drossaard" (landdrost) or "meier" (mayor), as the lord's representative. In some cities, such as Antwerp, there were "dubbelheerlijkheden" (double lordships), whereby the lordship was divided between two lords, who often jointly appointed the members of the Schepenbank.
The presence of all "schepenen" (aldermen) was only required when pronouncing sentences in criminal cases. For other court hearings, the presence of five or two "schepenen" was sufficient.
That was the case of the Vrijwillige Rechtspraak (Voluntary Justice), which only demanded the presence of two "schepenen". It dealt with matters such as the registration of transfers of ownership, interest transactions, inheritances, etc. The "schepenen" also acted as guardians of orphans, and of mentally disabled or incapacitated people, and acted as protectors of their heritage and interests. They were also responsible for collecting the "belasting" (tax). For this specific task, they were assisted by "bedezetters" (tax officials) and "burgemeesters" (burgomasters).
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(source: Houtman, Erik. 2006. Overzicht van de Archieven En Verzamelingen van Het Rijksarchief Te Antwerpen. Vol. I (Overheidsarchieven). Brussels: Algemeen Rijksarchief)
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System of arrangement
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The collection is organised by document type.
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Access, restrictions
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Unrestricted
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2022
