AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 1883
International Colonial and Export Exhibition

Quick List Info

Dates Open
May 1 to October 31, 1883. Open Sundays.

Attendance
1.439 million attendance. Some contemporary sources list up to 3 million visitors.

International Participants
28 nations and colonies quoted. List includes 39 nations and/or colonies.

Note: All of the above are estimates from various sources. See below for details. Additional participants are possible.

Total Cost - Unknown.

Site Acreage - 62 acres (donated for expo use by the city) in what is today the Museumplein square, site of the current Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, and Concertgebouw concert hall.

Sanction and Type - Prior to the Bureau of International Exhibitions. The exhibition would be considered a Special Expo event on specific themes like that on the 2-3 or 7-8 years of a decade cycle. King William III endorsed the plan for the exhibition, but the government did not fund.

Ticket Cost - 50 cents (1 france).

Photo top center: Photo of the Dutch Colonial Pavilion, plus statue of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Colonial Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, 1883. Courtesy Stadssarchief via Wikipedia Commons. Column Top: Official Diploma from the International Colonial and Export Exposition, 1883, Expo Authority. Courtesy Pinterest. Column Bottom: Map of the exhibition, 1883, Unknown original source.

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History of the Event

It was the decade of copious international exhibitions and Amsterdam was anxious to get into the act. Not anxious enough for the government to fund, however, even though the colonial exhibition, known as the Internationale Koloniale En Untvoierhandel Tentoonstellung in the Netherlands, was endorsed by the King. The city played its part by donating use of the grounds, but a private company was chartered to handle such things as money and building the temporary structures. As noted, there would be competition in London, whose series of 1880's exhibitions on specific topics was starting, Louisville, and Calcutta in 1883. The exhibition held a certain uniqueness in its theme. This was the first international exhibition devoted to colonialism. Many more would follow.

The fair was the idea of entrepreneur Edouard Agostini, banker A.C. Wertheim, and Chamber of Commerce head D. Cortes. Agostini had been involved in the Paris Universal Fair of 1878. They presented the plan to the city. It would be that first colonial fair, focusing on the Netherlands' substantial colonial empire. The buildings had a Moorish flare. There were national pavilions from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and other nations, plus colonial pavilions and a Javanese village. Yes, there were real natives, as impolite as that might sound today. The City of Amsterdam had its own pavilion. So did the King. There were new hotels built or expanded, including the Krasnapolsky. Public transport was expanded as well. The entrance to the exhibition was through the Rijksmuseum grounds, which was new at the time and able to be viewed for an additional 25 cent fee. It held a collection of Javanese art and manufactures plus the Indian collection of the Prince of Wales. The exhibition structures themselves were built one hundred yards from the museum.



On opening day, May 1, the King and Queen attended, under good weather, but not all of the buildings, temporary constructions of wood covered with plaster made to look like marble, were complete. Two weeks later, some were done, but the site was still in a state of chaos. By the time the courts were completed, many were well worth the visit, but a general impression had been sent. Highlights included Netherlands India and the Javanese Village surrounding it. The Dutch Court, 68,000 square feet large, and the British India Court, were lauded as well. There was a music pavilon, as well as a Japanese bazaar.

So, how did the exhibition do? It was a financial failure, although the exposition bug for Amsterdam was not completely curbed by its losses. They would host the world again at the 1887 Food Exposition and the 1895 Hotel and Travel-sector exposition. These two fairs were again held on the same site, behind the Rijksmuseum, but smaller in nature. Why didn't it do better? Not complete on opening day or for several weeks after. Unremarkable restaurants.

Above photo. Photo of a statue at the exhibition, 1883. Courtesy Pinterest. Below: Colonial natives at the Amsterdam International Colonial and Export Exhibition, 1883, Unknown Original source. Courtesy Pinterest.

Unsanctioned Expo

International Participants
Nations and Colonies

Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, British India, Siam, Dutch East Indies, New South Wales, Victoria, Persia, Turkey, Egpyt, Tunisia, Mauritius, United States, Canada, Jamaica, Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Congo, Transvaal, Indonesia, Suriname, Switzerland, Greece, Orange Free State, Natal, Western Australia, Portugal.

There may be some differences in the overall list here than were actually exhibiting at the exhibition. Various sources may indicate participation when participation did not occur. Use the above as a guide, not gospel.

Expo Tidbits
Americans won forty-five prizes, four diplomas of honor, and five gold medals.

Great Britain occupied 36,000 square feet of exhibit space, Germany 70,000, Belgium 90,000, and France 115,000 square feet. Despite its size, France made a poor impression as a colonial power at the Amsterdam 1883 world's fair. It would up its game by 1885 at the Antwerp, Belgium fair.

There was a free Teahouse, which was very busy. It was assumedly run by the Indian Tea Syndicate and subsidized by the British Government. The Dutch were suspicious because it was free.

The Wintertuin at Amsterdam's Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam was designed by G.B. Salm in 1880. Use of electrical lighting supposedly convinced Gerard Philips to start his lightbult company.

The Diplome d'Honneur awarded to the brewer Heineken at the colonial exhibition in 1883 still adorns its beer bottles.

Legacies
The site is now Museumplein square, home to various museums and a concert hall (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Concertgebouw). The Hotel Krasnopolsy was expanded for the 1883 exhibition year and still exists today. Various items remain, including the front gate of the Vondelpark, at the Tropenmuseum. Even more now are included in the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.


Those in Charge
Main building was designed by French architect Paul Fouquiau. Other buildings were designed by Ge'de'on Beordiau.

Sources: London Times; New York Times; Historical Dictionary of World's Fair by Alfred Heller; Ephemeral Vistas; World of Fairs; The Panoramic Dream - Antwerp & the World Exhibitions - "The Tradition of Expositions Universelles" by Paul Greenhalgh; Internet World Exposition.

Photo column top: Poster from the International Colonial and Export Exhibition, 1883, Unknown original source. Courtesy Pinterest. Middle: Drawing of the Internationale koloniale tentoonstelling, 1883, Johan Conrad Greive. Courtesy Stadssarchief via Wikipedia Commons. Bottom: Wintertuin at the Hotel Krasnapolsky, which was expanded for the exhibition, 2011. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.