Voorwoord: Dossier 1747-1748

In 1973, a group of UvA-researchers examined the role of the crowd in the riots in Amsterdam between 1747 en 1748, focusing on issues such as class-consciousness and the socio-economic structures surrounding these riots. This article focuses on the same riots, but from a more modern perspective. The authors argue the influence of such factors as personal interests versus idealism, the place of individuals in social movements, the role of symbolism and the way popular orangism can be seen as an assemblage of differing motives.