Besides trading, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and its Western Indian counterpart (WIC) also sought to expand their dominant position by establishing and managing colonies. Central to this... Show moreBesides trading, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and its Western Indian counterpart (WIC) also sought to expand their dominant position by establishing and managing colonies. Central to this strategy was to stimulate an orderly, self-producing colonial population, with a European elite at the top and a sharp distinction between free citizens and people in slavery. The reality was less orderly, however: in disparate colonial settlements such as Batavia, Cochin, Ceylon, Elmina, Suriname, Curaçao and Berbice, people from different backgrounds, religions, and social positions encountered one another and formed relationships – formal and informal, coercive and consensual – which could either challenge or reinforce the social divisions on which colonial hierarchies rested. Regulating Relations, focusing on the abovementioned settlements in the eighteenth century, investigates how norms around marriage, family, and sexuality formed in this complex world: how did colonial authorities attempt to regulate the intimate relations of populations under their control, and how did men and women of various backgrounds give shape to these norms through their own behavior and use of institutions? Show less
"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
The VOC received complaints of corruption about its officials in Bengal. Accordingly, they sent a special committee to investigate its factories in this region in 1684. The committee’s reports... Show moreThe VOC received complaints of corruption about its officials in Bengal. Accordingly, they sent a special committee to investigate its factories in this region in 1684. The committee’s reports exposed several illegal practices of the officials and the growth of Dutch nabobs who lived elite lifestyles under the Mughal administration in Bengal. Consequently, a few officials were charged with corruption and put to trial at the Company’s court. But instances of corrupt behaviour were not reduced in the subsequent years. What was the purpose of sending the committee then and what was the conduct that the VOC directors expected of their officials, both in the Dutch Republic and its factories in Mughal Bengal? This dissertation answers such questions by studying the committee’s operations in Bengal, located at the interface of two very different political settings: the Dutch Republic and the Mughal Empire. It concludes that the socio-political developments in the Dutch Republic and the regional politics in Mughal Bengal affected the situation in the VOC and its policies against corruption of its officials. Show less
To date, the Dutch East and West India companies’ involvement in litigation in the Dutch Republic has been ignored. Kate Ekama’s research highlights this side of company activity by delving into... Show moreTo date, the Dutch East and West India companies’ involvement in litigation in the Dutch Republic has been ignored. Kate Ekama’s research highlights this side of company activity by delving into company disputes in the High Court of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland (Hoge Raad). The VOC and WIC were involved in over 100 cases in the High Court. These cases were about company charters and contracts, private trade-related matters, wages, shares and property rights. This study shows that a wide range of litigants pursued cases against the companies, encompassing individual and corporate litigants, subjects of the States General and foreigners, men and women. The companies were not above the law; rather, both the VOC and the WIC were subject to the decisions of the High Court. Following recent developments in historiography, the cases are approached from the point of view of conflict management. This wider perspective brings into view the States General, who played an important role in connecting jurisdictions and managing company conflicts before, during and after litigation. Kate Ekama’s study fills a lacuna in the historiography of the Dutch East and West India Companies, and lays the foundation for future research on early modern company conflict management. 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
The thesis explores the nature of VOC diplomacy using the seventeenth century interaction between the Company and the sultanate of Makassar on the western coast of South Sulawesi as its case. I... Show moreThe thesis explores the nature of VOC diplomacy using the seventeenth century interaction between the Company and the sultanate of Makassar on the western coast of South Sulawesi as its case. I analyse the Directors’ reflections on diplomacy in the general and approach towards Makassar in particular as well as Batavian reports on relations with Makassar, and the treaties concluded between the Company and the Sultanate. Discussions within the Company on policy towards Makassar in Batavia, as well as reflections on policy by ‘the man on the spot’, Cornelis Speelman, who in his memorie van overgave of 1669 pondered how to maintain the hegemonic position created by the Bongaya treaty complex of 1667-68.. I argue that both the Director’s concerns and the determining factor in policy decisions in Batavia were predominantly based on contextual considerations. By its very nature such an approach begged for precise and accurate information about local conditions and affairs. This led to a constructivist perception of “treaty,” whereby treaties were particularly designed for the specific and particular context to which they were applied. Show less
Freemasonry is an initiation society, active in the Netherlands since 1735. This dissertation discusses the history, rituals, material culture and iconography of freemasonry in the Netherlands and... Show moreFreemasonry is an initiation society, active in the Netherlands since 1735. This dissertation discusses the history, rituals, material culture and iconography of freemasonry in the Netherlands and its trade posts in India, Ceylon, the Dutch East Indies, China and Japan. The membership had particular advantages for travellers, which explains why ca. 20-30% of the employees of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were members. They were involved in the trade in export art for the European and American markets, and also traded privately in goods for the masonic markets. The dissertation describes the daily routine in the lodges in the 18th and 19th centuries, the extraordinary ritual architecture and interiors of lodge buildings on Java, and the production of Chinese export porcelain and Japanese lacquer with complex symbolic decorations. The participation of women and (Eur)asians in lodges on Java is also briefly discussed. As such, the book offers those interested in art history, colonial history and/or the East India Company an introduction into a relatively unknown subject. It provides information for the identification and dating of relevant museum objects, and makes a large amount of material from lodge archives accessible. Show less
Op 12 mei 2010, precies 300 jaar na zijn geboorte, verschijnt de biografie van de kleurrijke Utrechter Joan Gideon Loten (1710-1789), een achttiende-eeuwse VOC-dienaar en liefhebber van... Show moreOp 12 mei 2010, precies 300 jaar na zijn geboorte, verschijnt de biografie van de kleurrijke Utrechter Joan Gideon Loten (1710-1789), een achttiende-eeuwse VOC-dienaar en liefhebber van wetenschappen die na zijn terugkeer uit Oost-Indi_ twintig jaar in Londen woonde. Daar werd hij gekozen tot Fellow van de Royal Society (FRS) en Fellow van de Antiquaries of London (FSA). Loten geniet enige bekendheid vanwege zijn natuurhistorische collectie aquarellen die wordt bewaard in het Londense Natural History Museum, de British Library in Londen en Teylers Museum in Haarlem. Joan Gideon Loten overleed op 25 februari 1789 in Utrecht en werd begraven in de Jacobikerk. De Engelstalige biografie van Joan Gideon Loten, geschreven door Lex Raat, is een persoonlijk verhaal over zijn leven en loopbaan in Java, Celebes en Ceylon (1732-1758). Loten bracht een collectie natuurhistorische aquarellen bijeen waarop vogels, zoogdieren, insecten en planten uit Azië natuurgetrouw zijn weergegeven. Een deel van deze platen is opgenomen in de biografie. De collectie werd gebruikt door Engelse natuuronderzoekers, die de afbeeldingen kopieerden in hun boeken. Lotens verzameling is belangrijk als referentie voor een aanzienlijk aantal vogels van Ceylon en Java. De bekende Zweedse natuuronderzoeker Carolus Linnaeus noemde een Ceylonese zonnevogel naar Loten. In 1758 repatrieerde Loten als een vermogend man. Hij was zijn vaderstad Utrecht ont-groeid en vestigde zich in Londen, waar hij deel uitmaakte van de elite. In zijn dagboek schreef hij in die tijd uitvoerig over zijn astmatische klachten en de medicatie met opium, teerwater en andere opmerkelijke middelen. De laatste jaren van zijn leven woonde Loten in zijn huis aan de Drift in Utrecht. Daar maakte hij de patriotse onlusten mee, waarin zijn broer Arnout een rol speelde als orangistisch burgemeester van Utrecht. De biografie van Joan Gideon Loten, waarin Loten zelf uitvoerig aan het woord komt, geeft een goed beeld van het dagelijks leven in de achttiende eeuw in Utrecht, Oost-Indië en Engeland. Loten komt hierin naar voren als een toegewijd liefhebber en verzamelaar - een achttiende-eeuwse 'virtuoso'. Show less
The relationship between the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and its servants fundamentally changed with its decline (1740-1796). The changing circumstances of the eighteenth century demanded too... Show moreThe relationship between the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and its servants fundamentally changed with its decline (1740-1796). The changing circumstances of the eighteenth century demanded too much of the VOC. The solution to these new demands was not sought in new capitalization from Europe, but in a combination of cutbacks on activities in Asia and augmented usage of servants’ fortunes. The domains the VOC retreated from were filled by privileges to the servants. As the VOC depended more on its servants during its decline, the balance of power between them shifted in favour of the servants. This change in balance demanded more of the servants, forcing them to organize themselves differently to meet the new challenges. In the end, this change of perspective makes the development much more comparable to the changes the English East India Company went through, and provides a new perspective on changes in the position of the EIC-servants in the period around Plassey (1757). Show less
This dissertation deals with four aspects of the Dutch East India Company’s (VOC) presence at the settlement of Ceylon in the eighteenth century. The net-profit of the island for the parent company... Show moreThis dissertation deals with four aspects of the Dutch East India Company’s (VOC) presence at the settlement of Ceylon in the eighteenth century. The net-profit of the island for the parent company in The Netherlands, the system of bookkeeping and the resulting insights in the proceeds of the company at the settlement, the private bills of exchange sent from Colombo to The Netherlands and an analysis of the VOC-employees at the offices in Ceylon constitute the four areas of research. The study is predominantly based on quantitative sources to be found in the archives in The Hague and in Colombo. The detailed results about Ceylon – signifying about one eighth of the Asian branch of the Company – can be used for a better understanding of the history of the VOC at all her settlements from The Cape to Japan. An important general conclusion is the complementary character of the East India Company on the one hand and the private business activities of her servants or employees on the other hand. Show less
The Arakanese kingdom (Rakhine state in modern Myanmar) grew from the fifteenth century AD from a small agrarian state with its nucleus in the hart of the Kaladan valley to a significant local... Show moreThe Arakanese kingdom (Rakhine state in modern Myanmar) grew from the fifteenth century AD from a small agrarian state with its nucleus in the hart of the Kaladan valley to a significant local power by the early seventeenth century. Arakan asserted its influence across the northern shores of the Bay of Bengal. In the first decades of the seventeenth century the Arakanese kings of Mrauk U received tribute from local rulers between Dhaka and Pegu, cities more than a thousand miles apart. The Mughal rulers of Bengal were even forced to build a string of forts to defend the areas around Dhaka and Hugli against Arakanese incursions. From the middle of the seventeenth century the Arakanese state was gripped by a seemingly sudden decline that would culminate in civil war at the end of the seventeenth century and the loss of control over south-eastern Bengal, followed by the conquest of Arakan by the Burmese in the eighteenth century. The rapid rise and decline of the Arakanese state between the early fifteenth and the end of the seventeenth century is the subject of this dissertation. Show less
=========ABSTRACT=========It is tempting to think of precolonial India as a harmonious society, but was it? This study brings evidence from new and unexpected sources to take position in the... Show more=========ABSTRACT=========It is tempting to think of precolonial India as a harmonious society, but was it? This study brings evidence from new and unexpected sources to take position in the sensitive debate over that question. From the investigation of six conflicts in the Deccan region it draws conclusions about group behaviour that put modern clashes in context. Some of the conflicts under investigation appear odd today but were very real to the involved, as the antagonism between Left and Right Hand castes was for about a thousand years. Other conflicts continue to the present day: the seventeenth century saw lasting changes in the relationship between Hindus and Muslims as well as the rise of patriotism and early nationalism in both India and Europe. This book carefully brings to life the famous and obscure people who made the era, from the Dutch painter Heda to queen Khadija and from maharaja Shivaji to the English rebel Keigwin=========NOTES=========First Leiden University Press edition, 2009. Entirely revised from the author’s dissertation Xenophobia and Consciousness in Seventeenth-Century India: Six Cases from the Deccan, 12-Mar-2008. Show less
This dissertation revolves around a long struggle of Malukan and Papuan rebels led by Prince Nuku of Tidore against the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) and its... Show moreThis dissertation revolves around a long struggle of Malukan and Papuan rebels led by Prince Nuku of Tidore against the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) and its indigenous allies c.a. 1780-1810. Assisted by the English, his Malukan-Papuan troops managed to conquer the Dutch-protected Sultanates of Bacan and Tidore in 1797 and the Dutch fort on Ternate in 1801. Widjojo elaborates the dynamics of alliance-making, the interests involved, and the actors (grandees of Tidorans, East Seramese traders, Papuans of Raja Ampat, and the fighters of Gamrange). This dissertation also shows intensity of the English involvement in the rebellion which was not discussed before in previous studies. Among others, the dissertation concludes that the success of the rebellion was not driven by prominent Malukan ideological constructs supposedly shared among Nuku and his adherents. The success was mainly because Nuku to a maximum extent successfully combined the strength of Papuan and Gamrange raiders as his warriors and East Seramese traders as the sources of the logistics for his campaign. Moreover Nuku also managed to keep attached to the English and exploit the presence of its country traders. Show less
Focussing on individuals and institutions, the economic and social condition of the people of Fort Cochin between 1781 and 1830 has been studied. This study of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC)... Show moreFocussing on individuals and institutions, the economic and social condition of the people of Fort Cochin between 1781 and 1830 has been studied. This study of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) establishment on the south west coast of India provides a detailed research into the functioning of the company and its personnel there. To begin the company's presence on the coast around the year 1750, after it had been defeated by the raja of Travancore, on whom it was dependant for purchasing pepper, is summarized. It places the VOC's Malabar Command on the larger web of the VOC network in Asia. The VOC strove hard to maintain its pepper monopoly on the coast, but non-VOC trade in pepper contined. Three consecutive commanders between 1751 and 1764 constantly strove to expand the company's territorial possesions on the coast resulting in a metamorphosis in the command's functioning. The components of the Fort Cochinsociety and the relations among the different communities that made up the social world of Fort Cochin receive attention in the book. Starting with the company men and analysing the recruitment pattern of the VOC in Malabar Command, one is faced with rather startling facts. The majority of the VOC personnel in the mercantile sections were locally recruited. European women were a rare sight in Fort Cochin. The European company men married mestizo women and through them became rooted in Cochin. Their sons joined the Dutch company thereby forming 'VOC-family'. While Dutch men were securing their future on the Malabar Coast, the EIC was expanding in India. During the 1780-1784 Anglo-Dutch war, many Dutch settlements were lost to the British. Fort Cochin evaded the fate as the EIC was yet to conquer Mysore, a formidable power in the south. When in 1795, the British forces conquered Fort Cochin, the servants of the Dutch company were forced to decide their future course of action. The social and economic condition of the people of Fort Cochin under the British administration has been analysed and lives of former VOC servants and their families after the transition has been portrayed Show less
This is a study of the colonial ‘civilizing process’ in Dutch Formosa (Present-day Taiwan) between 1624 and 1662. Drawing inspiration from Norbert Elias, this study stresses on ‘the colonial ... Show moreThis is a study of the colonial ‘civilizing process’ in Dutch Formosa (Present-day Taiwan) between 1624 and 1662. Drawing inspiration from Norbert Elias, this study stresses on ‘the colonial “civilizing process” ’ which is applied to the inexorable process of retreat from the era of ‘Aboriginal Taiwan’ under different schemes of ‘civilization’ brought by Western and Occidental colonizers since Taiwan’s early modern history. Contrary to the Dutch East India Company’s intention of carrying out a ‘colonial mission’, local Formosan inhabitants underwent their first profound colonial ‘civilizing process’. According to this study, this process moved in accordance with Dutch understanding of civilization embedded in the grid of State, capitalism, and Christianity. The focus of this thesis is to look at the Formosan agency in perception, participation, and practice in the Dutch-Formosan colonial encounters within the context of Chinese encroachment. The thesis introduces the scope and scene, documents the Dutch island-wide expansion in Formosa, analyses the phases of political empowerment, economic exploitation, and Christian missionary in Dutch Formosa, and re-asserts the changing image of Dutch rule for the Formosans which was revealed in the nineteenth century. Show less
This thesis investigates the structural changes in the agrarian society in Western parts of Sri Lanka as seen in the mid and late eighteenth century in the context of the encounter with the Dutch... Show moreThis thesis investigates the structural changes in the agrarian society in Western parts of Sri Lanka as seen in the mid and late eighteenth century in the context of the encounter with the Dutch United East India Company (VOC) administration. It attempts to understand the developments in the period from the vantage point of the peasantry, particularly by looking at the ways in which the peasants were affected by the Dutch colonial intervention and how they adjusted themselves to the changing economic and political reality. One of the characteristic features of the VOC rule was the higher degree of exploitation of peasant compared with the situation under pre-colonial rulers, because economic interests of the former was much higher than the latter. This situation brought about a break down of the structural equilibrium of the system of production and taxation. It is mainly within this context of structural break down that this study try to understand the long lasting changes in the social and economic setting. It discusses the changes in the production system with special reference to land utilization and labour organisation, changing aspects of the land tenure system, emergence of new class differentiations and new dynamics of caste formation. Show less
No European country enjoyed such long-standing relations with the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya like the Netherlands. This dissertation is a study of the cross-cultural interactions between the Dutch... Show moreNo European country enjoyed such long-standing relations with the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya like the Netherlands. This dissertation is a study of the cross-cultural interactions between the Dutch and the Thai in the 17th and 18th centuries. Based on Dutch sources, it investigates how the employees of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) perceived the court of Ayutthaya and its members in the context that it was most important for these men to maintain the balance between their ‘partnership’ with the Thai and their own ‘sense of differences’ from the Thai culture. The first part of the dissertation deals with the relatively equal positions of the VOC in relation to the Ayutthayan court in trade, politics, and diplomacy. In contrast, the fate of its men-on-the-spot and business in Ayutthaya was often subjected to local authorities. The second part shows how the VOC merchants evaluated the situation of different Thai Kings and how they dealt with the Thai elite. The analysis of the VOC sources shows how the positions of these Dutch merchants were dictated by local circumstances, thereby demonstrating the strength of early modern South-East Asia in the face of the rising of European power in the East. Show less
Against the background of a regional crisis caused by dynastic change in China and the closure of Japan in the middle of the seventeenth century, the Vietnamese kingdom of Tonkin rose to the fore... Show moreAgainst the background of a regional crisis caused by dynastic change in China and the closure of Japan in the middle of the seventeenth century, the Vietnamese kingdom of Tonkin rose to the fore as the major silk producing and exporting region in East Asia.Based on a wealth of so far unused primary sources from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) archives, this monograph explains how Dutch maritime traders played a critical role in Tonkin’s dramatic emergence as a trading power. The author examines the vicissitudes in political relations, the varying trends in the VOC-Tonkin import and export trade, and the Dutch influence on the seventeenth-century Vietnamese feudal society. Show less
Already in the 1590s the Portuguese in Asia looked upon the Dutch as a threat and most historiography has not been able to get away from the part that the Dutch played in the Indo-Portuguese drama.... Show moreAlready in the 1590s the Portuguese in Asia looked upon the Dutch as a threat and most historiography has not been able to get away from the part that the Dutch played in the Indo-Portuguese drama. The decline of the Portuguese-Asian empire was however the result of endogenous and extrageneous developments, in Asia as well as in Brazil, Africa and Europe. For an analysis of these developments a multi-linear approach has been chosen in the form of, what one could call, a revolving stage. Each scene, or rather each chapter, produces in the end a different answer to the same question. The first five chapters discuss the social and financial fundamentals of the Portuguese 'empire' overseas and the position of the Portuguese in Asia, in terms of population, trade and military power. Special emphasis has been laid on the relationship of the so called New Christian Portuguese with the Castilian crown and their particular role in the trade with India. It will be shown that, to them, satisfying the need for silver of the Habsburg monarchy became a more attractive proposition than investment in the Carreira da India. This and other developments in Asia undermined the position of the Estado da India and of the private Portuguese traders in Asia, before the Dutch became a serious threat to them. The next three chapters are concerned with the Dutch: it will be shown that their active role in the Iberian and the Luso-Atlantic trade did not exclude an aggressive mood in Asia, or vice-versa. Dutch aggression in Asia was in the first instance prompted and legalized by the States-General, but commercial considerations also caused the bewindhebbers of the VOC to adopt a bellicose way of thinking and writing. However, it will be shown that apart from some acts of piracy and privateering against Portuguese ships and attacks on the Portuguese forts on the Moluccan islands, Dutch violence was mainly directed against the Spanish in the Philippines and the Chinese trade with these islands. On the other hand, whereas the conquest of the Moluccan spice trade became a first priority, the VOC was unable to prevent the Spaniards from taking over many Portugue-se forts and even had to accept that the Portuguese spice merchants moved to Macassar, where for a long time they stayed out of reach of the Company. In the discussion of the Dutch commercial and military initiatives many of the paradigms around the rise of the Dutch empire in Asia will be punctured. In the first forty years of its existence the VOC was far from the effective business organization or war machine that many writers have made it to be. Many of the glorified feats of arms can only be described as defeats or a waste of manpower, ships and money. Finally, the ninth chapter concentrates on the Asian environment in which the Luso-Dutch confrontation took place. During the period under review, major shifts in the local political situation were caused by the southward expansion of the Moghul empire, the rise of the Nayaks of Ikkeri in Kanara, the expansion of Persia under Shah Abbas, the unification and state formation in Japan under the Tokugawas and finally, the Manchu conquest of China. As far as the Portuguese were concerned, all these developments, each in their own way, worked in the same, negative, direction. Show less
