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 secured several military victories. He conquered Gaul, led expeditions to Britain, and spread the Roman language and culture.
Only from the second century AD did a small trading settlement arise along the Scheldt, where you now find Antwerp. A fully equipped port with docks and locks was not yet in place. Caesar therefore had nothing to do with the expansion of the port in Antwerp.
Not a Roman Caesar, but a French emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte recognised Antwerp as a strategic base from which to challenge the British fleet. Two centuries earlier, the city experienced its golden age. It therefore already had extensive experience in shipping and port operations. All of this took place along the Scheldt quays or in the vlieten, the city’s canals.
Napoleon wanted to turn the city into a military port. He thus laid the foundations for Antwerp’s modern port in the nineteenth century. He had two important docks constructed during his reign:
- The Bonaparte Dock (Le Petit Bassin).
- The Willem Dock (Le Grand Bassin).
In 1822, the expanded Bonaparte Lock, linking the Bonaparte Dock to the Scheldt, allowed ships to load and unload safely by controlling the water level.
Antwerp on the path to global success
After the Belgian Revolution in 1830, development of the port remained limited. Why? At the time, the Netherlands was still levying tolls on shipping traffic along the Scheldt. In 1863, Belgium, supported by other maritime nations, bought the toll rights.
New docks, hinterland connections, and railway lines to Germany and beyond drove rapid development. In the 20th century, Antwerp became a hub for international trade and entered a second golden age.
History in a nutshell? Napoleon Bonaparte, not Julius Caesar, drove Antwerp’s first major port expansion.
