In the second half of the eighteenth century, the island of Walcheren was the center of the Dutch Transatlantic slave trade. This dissertation focuses on the impact of this trade on the local... Show moreIn the second half of the eighteenth century, the island of Walcheren was the center of the Dutch Transatlantic slave trade. This dissertation focuses on the impact of this trade on the local economy during the peak years of 1755 to 1780. It contains a discussion of the slave traders and their business practices and traces the commodity chains of various goods exported to West-Africa for the trade in enslaved Africans. It finds that the trade was strongly embedded in local economic structures. Many slave traders – both merchants and investors – were able to circumvent the limited profitability of the slave trade by combining related economic activities. About 5 to 6 percent of the economy of Middelburg was connected to the slave trade during the peak years, while the Flushing economy was even more geared towards this trade in human beings (about 25 percent of all local income connected to this trade). While the slave trade had a positive impact on many tradition industries on the island, most notably gunpowder production, it did not lead to industrial or financial innovations on Walcheren. Show less
This thesis examines in comparative perspective the Dutch and the Portuguese Atlantic empires in the 17th century, using West Africa as a case study. The book is divided into two parts. In Part I,... Show moreThis thesis examines in comparative perspective the Dutch and the Portuguese Atlantic empires in the 17th century, using West Africa as a case study. The book is divided into two parts. In Part I, we study how the conditions in the home countries influenced the building of the empires. Here we examine the goals of the Dutch and the Portuguese States and of the mercantile elites and their strategies for the building of their empires. In order to do so, we analyse the transfer of institutions, the labour migration and the formation of colonial societies. Part II deals mainly with the economic strategies of the Dutch and the Portuguese in their Atlantic Empires. Here, we examine the way these two European sea powers and their private entrepreneurs organized the trade on both an international and local level, as well as the way in which they structured their commercial and business networks, our final goal being a discussion of their struggle for the control of the supply and the consumption markets in the Atlantic. Further, we debate the role of the States, the State-sponsored companies and of the private traders on the building of the Dutch and the Portuguese Atlantic economies. Show less
Op 3 juni 1621 verleenden de Staten-Generaal het octrooi aan de West-Indische Compagnie waarmee zij het alleenrecht verwierf op de scheepvaart en handel in het Atlantisch gebied. Dit... Show moreOp 3 juni 1621 verleenden de Staten-Generaal het octrooi aan de West-Indische Compagnie waarmee zij het alleenrecht verwierf op de scheepvaart en handel in het Atlantisch gebied. Dit handelsmonopolie werd periodiek verlengd en zou betreft de handel op West-Afrika tot 1730 onveranderd van kracht blijven. Overtreding van het octrooi werd zwaar bestraft, maar desondanks werd dit handelsrecht stelselmatig door schepen uit de Republiek geschonden. Vooral na de heroprichting van de WIC in 1674 hebben Zeeuwse smokkelschepen dit handelsmonopolie op grote schaal ontdoken. Deze lorrendraaiers, zoals ze destijds werden genoemd, zeilden met snelle en wendbare schepen naar de West-Afrikaanse kust waar zij Europese koopwaren tegen Afrikaanse producten en slaven verhandelden. Voor de bestrijding van deze illegale goederen- en slavenhandel rustte de WIC kruisers uit die op de West-Afrikaanse kust patrouilleerden. Gedurende de laatste octrooiperiode (1700-1730) wisten compagnieschepen ruim vijftig lorrendraaiers op te brengen. Dat ging niet altijd zonder slag of stoot en bij deze schermutselingen vonden vele tientallen zeelieden de dood. In dit boek wordt de illegale goederen- en slavenhandel tijdens de laatste octrooiperiode van de WIC behandeld. Uit de onderzoeksresultaten blijkt dat de omvang daarvan veel omvangrijker is geweest dat tot nu toe werd aangenomen. Show less
