Alteratie

The Alteratie (Eng: Alteration) is the name given to the change of power in Amsterdam on May 26, 1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one.

Already after a few months, plans were presented to expand the city and the harbor on the eastern side (Lastage), and to construct new defensive fortifications (Oude Schans).

Lengthy negotiations followed about the Satisfactie (Eng: Satisfaction), a treaty that would put the city under the authority of the Prince of Orange and the States of Holland.

[1] In 1578, Amsterdam was one of the most important cities that had not yet joined the Prince of Orange in his rebellion against King Philip II.

A commission of old Geuzen and a large group of former exiled residents, many of whom owned land and warehouses on the Lastage, organised a gathering to plan their next move.

The oldest parish church of the city, the St. Nicolaschurch, was rechristened as the Oude Kerk, and the Heilige Stede became the Nieuwe Zijds Kapel.