Boekpresentatie Siebe Thissen

Long live Rotterdam! is a city story about the riots in the last week of October 1868. Thousands of Rotterdammers vented their anger on the police stations, the city hall and the tax office. The riots and the subsequent trial held the city and the whole of the Netherlands in their grip for months. Newspapers spoke of the trial of the century.

The urban commotion has gone down in history as the 'De Vletter Oproer', named after the alleged instigator Jacob de Vletter. Thissen places the troubles and the role of De Vletter in a new perspective: the transformation from merchant city to port city. In its desire for economies of scale and efficiency, the city government tried to curb street trading and the hustle practices of small independent entrepreneurs. To achieve this, a greatly expanded police force was unleashed on the city like a wild fury.

With this book, Siebe Thissen offers a new perspective on an important, but also tragic event in the city's history. The story has clear parallels with the present time. Themes such as polarization, exclusion, security of existence and gentrification appear to be timeless.