This map of Leiden, or Leyden in its older spelling, was made by Pieter Bast around 1600 and shows the town as Grotius would have known it as a student. Leiden had flourished in the 16th century, especially thanks to its cloth industry. The university was founded in 1575 as – it is often said - a reward for the town’s loyalty and courage during the Spanish siege of 1573-74. However, the reasons for the foundation were mostly pragmatic: the revolting provinces needed lawyers, doctors and vicars. Grotius, who first lived on the Rapenburg and then the Hooglandse Kerkgracht, would have walked the streets on this map every day, on his way to tutorials and visiting friends.
Pieter Bast (Bastius) (c.1570-1605), Lugdunum Batavorum / Leyden in Hollant, map, 1600, [COLLBN 009-11-025].