"Onder faveur van ’t canon" VOC – Artillerie 1602-1796 studies the development and the VOC’s use of a policy that creates additional advantages for its own military means and opportunities on the... Show more"Onder faveur van ’t canon" VOC – Artillerie 1602-1796 studies the development and the VOC’s use of a policy that creates additional advantages for its own military means and opportunities on the one hand, and simultaneously weakens potential opponents on the other hand. This resulted in important advantages in terms of effectiveness and firepower for the VOC compared to local opponents. Because of this artificial balance, the VOC could economise the military budget without negatively impacting its own power. The policy is analysed by studying the most effective weapon: the artillery. The artillery was utmost complex in terms of management, organisation, administration, and required knowledge and skills. The policy was succesful, but had limitations: it could not be applied against contractor states and in areas where potent local states had access to the weapon’s market. Furthermore, the defense against European opponents during the 18th century became increasingly important. Although the VOC developed in its final days good concepts, the realisation of these concepts was could not be achieved by the VOC nor the Dutch Republic, as this would exceed the existent financial means. Show less
