In 1777, the American commissioners in Paris, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, contractedwith French naval captain Jacques Boux to design two frigates for theRevolutionary cause. The design was... Show moreIn 1777, the American commissioners in Paris, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, contractedwith French naval captain Jacques Boux to design two frigates for theRevolutionary cause. The design was the first of a new concept of very large frigates,able to outgun anything they could not outrun. The ships were to be built at a privateyard in Amsterdam. One of these vessels, laid down as L’Indien, would ultimately servethe American cause in the South Carolina State Navy under the name South Carolina.This article examines the Dutch period of the two ships built at the yard of ArieStaats in Amsterdam in 1777–1781. Despite the attention given to South Carolina inthe historiography, the Dutch sources have not yet been studied. The case of L’Indienand Tijger, her sister ship, illustrates the continuing importance of private contractorsto navies in the late eighteenth century. Show less
How did individuals advance to the highest ranks in the Dutch colonial administrations? And how, once appointed, was this rank retained? To answer these questions, this book explores the careers of... Show moreHow did individuals advance to the highest ranks in the Dutch colonial administrations? And how, once appointed, was this rank retained? To answer these questions, this book explores the careers of Dutch colonial governors in the 17th century with a focus on two case-studies: Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, governor of Dutch Brazil (1636-1644) and Rijckloff Volckertsz van Goens, Governor-General in Batavia in the 1670s.By comparing a Western (Atlantic, WIC) and an Eastern (Asian, VOC) example, this book shows how networks sustaining career-making differed in the various parts of the empire: the West India Company was much more involved in domestic political debates, and this led to a closer integration of political patronage networks, while the East India Company was better able to follow an independent course. The book shows that to understand the inner workings of the Dutch India companies, we need to understand the lives of those who turned the empire into their career. Show less
How could an individual attain high rank in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch colonial empire and once appointed, how could one retain high office? This dissertation seeks to answer these... Show moreHow could an individual attain high rank in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch colonial empire and once appointed, how could one retain high office? This dissertation seeks to answer these questions by means of a detailed case-study of the careers of two colonial governors: Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679)and Rijckloff Volckertsz. van Goens sr. (1619-1682). By following their careers through the rise to high office and the appointment procedures, their time in office and finnaly their fall from power, this dissertation shows how different interests could align to further careers or to break them. By comparing a case from the history of the West India Company with a case from the East India Company, this dissertation shows how the internal workings of both companies actually differed in practice. Both governors spent most of their overseas career in what were atypical colonies: Brazil and Ceylon. Close examination of the policies they proposed not only sheds light on the reasons for their eventual fall from power, it also shows that the assertion that the Dutch companies were mostly interested in trade over territory does not hold true. This suggests that empire is a proper frame for studying the Dutch Republic and its colonies. Show less
