I was reading the published letters of John Francis Gemelli Careri in which he describes Amsterdam to an Italian friend. Writing on June 22, 1686 he says that in Amsterdam "... the streets are long, spacious, well-paved, and straight...and along their sides long rows of spreading trees. Between these trees, at convenient distances, there are lights at night, at the charge of the inhabitants, for the conveniency and safety of the people passing to and fro, but at some distance from the houses for fear of fire."
So, question one is: how common were lighted streets in early modern Europe? Were these likely oil lanterns?
Then my confusion grows:
"The excessive care of the streets degenerates into extravagancy, for to preserve them, they allow no coaches upon wheels, but drawn on sledges."
Was it actually true that there were no wheeled carriages on the streets of Amsterdam? I looked through the National Gallery of Art's exhibition catalogue on Dutch genre painting but couldn't find evidence one way or the other.
So please tell me, what was it like on an early modern street?
John Francis Gemelli Careri was partially right. Wheeled carriages were allowed, but they were taxed. To evade the tax, sledges were used.
In Dutch they were called "sleepkoets" or "toeslede". It was the actual body of a carriage but set on sledges.
From 1736 all inhabitants of Amsterdam were allowed to drive around the city in carriages. This was allowed provided people drive slowly and orderly. However, there was a lot of traffic and very little regard for the rules, and big traffic jams started forming. The city council decided to tax carriage wheels. A carriage without wheels was not taxed, so starting around 1760 the first mentions of sledges are made.
It was a pretty bumpy ride on sledges. Drivers would use a rag on a rope (a 'smeerlap', still in use in Dutch language but now used to describe a filthy person) to grease the sledges. They would throw the rag in front of the sledge so that it would slide over the rag and get greased in the process, thereby making it easier to slide around the street. Drivers also had a special instrument made from wood by which they could push and pull the sledge to direct it. Drivers would never ride on the sledge but instead walk on the left side.
In one of the images listed below you will see the house of a sledge boss. Sledge drivers were united in a guild, where both drivers of carriages and of cargo had to be registered. There were strict rules for sledge drivers. They had to be over 21, weren't allowed to sit on their cart, and weren't allowed to smoke.
Even though the tax was charged until 1820, even at a later date sledges could still be seen on the streets, see below.
Some pictorial examples:
This etching shows wheels on a carriage: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Ets_van_de_gevelwand_met_voorgevels_van_de_Hand_Booghs_Doelen%2C_het_Stads_Magazyn_en_de_Voet_Booghs_Doelen_-_Amsterdam_-_20011137_-_RCE.jpg
The street Nes, a print from 174, showing a sledge https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Hermanus_Petrus_Schouten_005.jpg
Nieuwmarkt 1764, showing wheels https://alleamsterdamseakten.nl/workspace/uploads/riu-res-800_b146aaf6-105a-56b3-bf4a-ae587657c34b-1476969959.jpg
A painting from 1672 showing sledges: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-34
This is an actual sledge carriage, the oldest and the only known one in baroque style: https://www.nationalemuseumweek.nl/pronkstukken/sleepkoets/
A print from the Smithsonian: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/toeslede-traineau-en-usage-amsterdam-9592
A very late example 1860 - 1870 https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/toeslede-met-paard-op-het-thorbeckeplein-anoniem-andries-jager/GAGbN4L6nXOo9g
The house of sledge boss Peter van Hoek showing an ornamental sledge stone: https://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/binnenstad/281/gevelstenen.html
Fun fact:
The sledge was also used in more tropical places, here's a picture of a Dutch couple in Madeira: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-F-F00999-R
Sources:
LIT. Peter-Paul de Baar, Vijf eeuwen strijd tegen verkeersoverlast, O.A. 1991, 68
https://alleamsterdamseakten.nl/artikel/239/een-gevaar-in-het-verkeer/
