Beurtvaart

thumb|Early 19th-century painting, showing beurtvaarders between Lemmer and [[Amsterdam]] thumb|Waterways in the Netherlands, 1878. In red, canals proposed in parliament, which rejected the proposal. Amsterdam's connection to the Rhine was improved much later and Rotterdam went on to dominate the trade on the German hinterland thumb|Some beurtships in the Singel in Amsterdam, around 1570 thumb|The 1911 beurtvaart ship Stânfries X thumb|Remnants of a beurtship that came to light in 1980. Pictures of various finds of the site were put on :c:Category:Shipwreck B71OFL|Wikimedia Commons Beurtvaart was a Dutch line shipping system for (mostly) inland navigation, that existed from the late 15th century. It was a form of packet trade and a precursor of public transport. The beurtships transported passengers, livestock and freight along fixed routes at fixed prices. Departures were scheduled, with ships even sailing when not fully laden, and local authorities took legal measures to rule out the competition.

==Background== The Netherlands is a country particularly rich in waterways. Next to many natural ones, a fair number of canals have been dug over the centuries. Between 1632 and 1665 alone, in the heyday of the Dutch Golden Age, 658 km of canal was constructed by cities and investors. Also, the Zuiderzee, a large body of water in the middle of the northern part of the country, was a major interchange for shipping. Roads on the other hand, were of poor quality if they existed at all. A road network of some significance wasn't constructed until the early 19th century. Consequently, all cities of any importance were on a waterfront and water transport between them grew with an expanding economy from the late 15th century.