Amsterdam is a relatively late developer compared to most European cities. During the period of Classical Antiquity, these regions were largely unpopulated, notwithstanding the fact that Roman coins were discovered there, a fact indicating that they were inhabited back in Roman times. The area was first settled in the 9th and 10th Centuries.

The generally accepted view is that the city grew around a dam on the Amstel River in the late 1100s. Along with several others, this dam formed a network of dikes along the southern bank of the Amstel River. One view is that workers who came from the Utrecht diocese located in Holland to build the dikes built Amsterdam. The river flowed into the Amstel through a sluice in the dam, while the canals served the purpose of water supply to the city. To this day, no matter where you are in Amsterdam, there is a canal nearby.

Inhabited mostly by craftsmen, traders and farmers, Amsterdam was granted a city charter around 1300 by the Bishop of Utrecht. Some historians believe that this charter actually confirmed the city’s rights given by the Lord of Aemstel in 1200. The oldest record of the city dates from 1275. This is the toll concession of the Count of Holland, which states that the settlers in the area around the dam were relieved from toll payments to Holland, as they transported their own goods. This was an essential arrangement, because in the 1200s Amsterdam was under the jurisdiction of the Utrecht diocese. As such, they were bound to Holland by trade regulations.