The Dutch East India Company, the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie ) was founded in 1602 and was the first company with permanent capital, tradable shares and limited liability. Its aim was to... Show moreThe Dutch East India Company, the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie ) was founded in 1602 and was the first company with permanent capital, tradable shares and limited liability. Its aim was to monopolise the trade in valuable spices as nutmeg, mace and cloves found only in a remote part of the Indonesian Archipelago. This trade had been in the hands of the Portuguese. The first major steps were taken by Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587-1629) who founded Batavia on Java in 1619 and in 1621 seized the monopoly of nutmeg and mace in a merciless campaign in the Banda Archipelago. Antonio van Diemen (1593-1645) entered the service of the VOC under a false name after his bankruptcy as merchant in Amsterdam to escape his creditors. Under the protection of Coen, he quickly moved up the ranks. The tenure of Antonio van Diemen as governor-general (1636-1645) was decisive for the VOC. Before Van Diemen was appointed, the Company had been avoiding a direct confrontation with the Portuguese. In audacious campaigns the Portuguese were dealt a definitive defeat. It concluded the phase during which the Company established primacy over the sea trade in Asian waters. This state of affairs would continue until far into the eighteenth century. Show less
This dissertation is primarily based on the administrative documents of “the Kong Koan te Batavia” (吧城公馆, the Chinese Council of Batavia) and presents new insights into various aspects of the 19th... Show moreThis dissertation is primarily based on the administrative documents of “the Kong Koan te Batavia” (吧城公馆, the Chinese Council of Batavia) and presents new insights into various aspects of the 19th century Chinese society of this city. It focuses on the Kong Koan as an informal, collaborative semi-governmental organ during the chairmanship of Tan Eng Goan, the first Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, between 1843 and 1865. The crucial purpose of the research is to fill the existing gap within the historiography of the Chinese community in Batavia. Show less
This case study of the tea trade of the Dutch East India Company with China deals with its most profitable phase, when a direct shipping link was established between Canton and the Dutch Republic... Show moreThis case study of the tea trade of the Dutch East India Company with China deals with its most profitable phase, when a direct shipping link was established between Canton and the Dutch Republic in the second half of the eighteenth century. It focuses on the questions why and how the tea trade was taken out of the hands of the High Government in Batavia in 1757 and put under the supervision of the newly established China Committee in Amsterdam, and explains in detail what factors contributed to the phenomenal rise of this trade and its sudden decline in the 1780s. Show less
