In 1300 A.D., the Bishop of Utrecht granted the village of Amsterdam city rights. The township had begun as a fishing village on the banks of the Amstel River. Its founders built the first buildings on land reclaimed from a peat bog. In 1323 A.D., Count Willem III levied a tax on beer against the city, and upset citizens joined the Hanseatic League in 1369 A.D. to eliminate taxes on exports.

The city continued to grow, fueled by the trade from other merchants associated with the Hanseatic League. Soon it was a thriving metropolis during the Dutch Baroque period in the early Renaissance. When the Spanish sacked the trade capital of Antwerp in the late 1500s, Amsterdam became the prominent trade port of Holland. After the Dutch won their independence from the Spanish Crown in the 1600s, Amsterdam became the main commercial center for all of northern Europe. This was due in large part to the Dutch East India Company establishing its headquarters in the city.
Business turned stale for Amsterdam in the 1800s when the French conquered Holland and Napoleon Bonaparte annexed the country into France. Afterward, Amsterdam’s economy stagnated, but with the opening of the North Sea and Merwede canals in the late 1800s, business boomed once more.
During the early 20th century, Amsterdam suffered setbacks, like all European cities, from the great devastation of World War I. The city improved during the 1920s but soon was invaded and conquered by the Third Reich in 1940. The Nazis occupied Amsterdam for five long years, until 1945, when retreating Nazi forces destroyed the commercial port to deny it to the Allies. Money from the Marshall Plan helped to rebuild the port and finished a canal from Amsterdam to the Rhine River, which revived the post-war economy.
Amsterdam was a political and cultural center for the social revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s. It became a center for art and liberalism. Young people from around the world visit the city regularly, and to this day Amsterdam enjoys a healthy tourism business.
The city continues to thrive, and its economy continues to improve. Many Dutch banks established their headquarters in Amsterdam, and the city is currently the Dutch commercial capital, doing business with hundreds of foreign businesses every day. As the economy of Europe continues to expand, Amsterdam has nowhere to go but up.
4
According to the article, what happened to Amsterdam during the 1920s?
A.
Amsterdam's economy was boosted by the Dutch East India Company.
B.
Amsterdam's economy improved after World War I.
C.
Amsterdam held a dominant commercial position in the region.
D.
Amsterdam began as a fishing village and was later chartered as a city.