Did Julius Caesar expand the port in Antwerp? Is a tug-boat as strong as 10,000 trained dockers? Does a container ship sail with a limited crew on board? In the new column 'What the Dock', we separate fact from fiction!
Julius Caesar ushered in significant change across Europe. But did this Roman general contribute to the growth of the Antwerp port area?
No docks for Caesar
In the first century BC, Julius Caesar secures several military victories. He conquers Gaul, leads expeditions to Britain, and spreads the Roman language and culture.
Only from the second century AD does a small trading settlement arise along the Scheldt, where Antwerp now stands. A fully equipped port with docks and locks is not yet in place. Caesar therefore has nothing to do with the expansion of the port in Antwerp.
©The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNot a Roman Caesar, but a French emperor
It is only in the nineteenth century that Antwerp grows into a true port city, during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. The French emperor recognises Antwerp as a strategic location to threaten the British fleet and wants to turn the city into a military port.
Napoleon lays the foundations for modern port infrastructure with the construction of Le Petit Bassin from 1807 and Le Grand Bassin a year later. Le Petit Bassin forms a complete lock complex and features two quays, allowing warships to dock with ease. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this dock is renamed the Bonaparte Dock, along with its accompanying Bonaparte Lock.
In 1812, Le Grand Bassin opens to shipping, though without quays. After Napoleon’s fall, William I, King of the Netherlands, grants the City of Antwerp and its Chamber of Commerce permission to complete the French ruler’s plans (at their own expense).
Thanks to the infrastructural works of Napoleon Bonaparte (and the support of William I), Antwerp’s trade flourishes and the city further develops into an economic (maritime) hub.
©Collectie stad Antwerpen, MASAntwerp on the path to global success
After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the development of the port slows down. Why? The Netherlands still levies tolls on shipping traffic along the Scheldt. In 1863, Belgium, supported by other seafaring nations, buys off the toll.
New docks, links to the hinterland and railway lines to Germany and beyond drive rapid progress. In the twentieth century, Antwerp grows into a major crossroads for international trade.
History in a nutshell? Napoleon Bonaparte, not Julius Caesar, has driven Antwerp’s first major port expansion.
