De Eerste Schouwburg te Amsterdam c1770 Caspar Philips

The First Dutch Academy (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: ) was an institution set up by Samuel Coster (with the important support of

Bredero Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero (16 March 1585 – 23 August 1618) was a Dutch poet and playwright in the period known as the Dutch Golden Age. Life Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero was born on 16 March 1585 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic, where ...

and Hooft) in Amsterdam. The institution was set up to offer better theatre than the old rederijkerskamers could then manage. Another (perhaps more important) aim was to offer higher education to common people. The academy was inaugurated on 23 September 1617 with '

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

' by Suffridus Sixtinus, and the tragedy "" (the murder of William of Orange) by Gijsbert van Hoghendorp. This all occurred in a wooden building. The coat-of-arms of the academy consisted of a

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

under an eglantine with the word "IJver" ("zeal") as a motto.

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

ic preachers of that time put pressure on the new institution to close. The theatre did not give in, particularly since its first two professors were

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

s ( Sibrant Hanses Cardinael in Arithmetic and

Jan Thonis Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

in Hebrew). In 1631,

Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch-language literature, Dutch language as well as an important f ...

wrote his "" (Questions of the Amsterdam Academics to all poets), provoking further vehement Calvinist reactions. Finally the 'Oeffenschool', that was meant to go with the academy, was founded. The Athenaeum Illustre was later set up in the city, but here no teaching was presented in the native language. The main figures of the academy wrote comedy and farce: *Coster: Teeuwis de boer en Tysken vanden Schilde *Bredero: Lucelle, De Koe, Symen, De Meulenaer, Het Moortje, Spaansche Brabander *Hooft: Warenar

External links

Toneelagenda Amsterdam 1617-1665
{{Authority control Theatre in the Netherlands 17th century in Amsterdam Culture in Amsterdam 1617 establishments in the Dutch Republic Educational institutions established in the 1610s