A fun excursion is to flag down a canal taxi for a private boat tour of Delft. Canal sightseeing cruises are also available. But the canals are more than a quaint aspect of the city. They still play a critical role in commercial transportation as seen by the Linquenda barge pushing through the water. This continues a 900 year tradition. For centuries after the canals were dug, small cargo ships and barges were pulled by horses. A boom to shipping occurred in 1389 when the Delfshaven port was created (near Rotterdam). This gave the city access to the Nieuwe Maas river leading to the North Sea. From the mid-15th through early 17th centuries, the primary export was an unhopped beer created by nearly 100 breweries. As they declined, porcelain factories took over their warehouse along the quays through the 18th century.
