Loyalist History in Amsterdam, Netherlands

While in Amsterdam in the Fall of 2009, Nancy and I visited a number of places, most of which had some relevance to two lines of her ancestry. One day we visited the Archives in Amsterdam, an imposing building (see picture) but one with wonderfully organized records and most helpful staff.

Before entering the Archives, Nancy noticed a small display in one of the window display cases beside the sidewalk and it featured a token from the time of the American Revolution - one never knows where a piece of history will turn up. The photos below show what we saw. The text describing the token reads:

American Revolution in an Amsterdam cesspit

In 2008 a British propaganda token dating from the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783) was uncovered in a cesspit at the Oydezijds Armsteeg in Amsterdam. This token, with Dutch inscription, commemorates a British victory over the American revolutionaries on Rhode Island in 1778. The token's purpose was to discourage the Dutch from interfering in the Anglo-American conflict. It was made in 1779, but lost its effect later that year when the British lost Rhode Island to the Americans. Eventually, around 1800, the token ended up ingloriously in a cesspit.

Doug Grant U.E.

American Revolutionary War Token Display at Amsterdam Archives in The Netherlands
Note the actual token just to the left of the rightmost display board
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Description of Amsterdam American Revolutionary War Coin
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Face of the Amsterdam American Revolutionary War Token
British Admiralty Flagship "The admirals flag of admiral Howe 1779"
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Reverse of the Amsterdam American Revolutionary War Token
"Rode [sic] Island attacked by three ships on the left, four rows of fleeing
persons on the island and thirteen departing rowing boats on the right"
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