#217: Ode to Antwerp
Antwerp, the other port city on the North Sea, is frequently overshadowed by its Dutch big brother, Amsterdam. But long before the latter was dubbed the \u201cVenice of the North,\u201d Venetians\u2014and Germans, Britons, Jews fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, and others\u2014flocked to Antwerp, the wealthiest European city of the 16th century and a huge beneficiary of the Age of Exploration. Pepper, silver, wool, sugar, salt, books, wine, and diamonds all passed through Antwerp in the complex web of trade spanning the Ottoman and Holy Roman empires, India, the Americas, and Africa. The city\u2019s star burned brightly for a century, and then was snuffed out first by Spanish soldiers in 1576 and then the Calvinists in 1577. In his new book, Europe\u2019s Babylon, Amsterdam-based writer Michael Pye brings Antwerp\u2019s golden age to life in all its scandalous, sparkling glory.
Go beyond the episode:
- Michael Pye\u2019s Europe\u2019s Babylon: The Rise and Fall of Antwerp\u2019s Golden Age
- Visit the episode page for images of the paintings described in the episode
- See the shadows of the age with a visit to today\u2019s Antwerp
- A beginner\u2019s guide to Belgian beer styles
- Get to know genever, the Low Countries\u2019 answer to gin and whiskey
- Antwerp\u2019s golden age of fashion came in 1986, with the Antwerp Six
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