Dutch East India Company
:
This article is about the trading company. For the record label, see Dutch East India Trading.The
Dutch East India Company (
Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or
VOC in
Dutch, literally "United
East Indies Company") was established on
March 20,
1602, when the
Estates-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in
Asia. It was the first
multinational corporation in the world and it was the first company to issue
stocks. It remained an important trading concern for almost two centuries, until it became bankrupt and was dissolved in 1798
(the possessions and the debt being taken over by the government of the Batavian Republic).
The VOC consisted of six Chambers (
Kamers) in port cities:
Amsterdam,
Delft,
Rotterdam,
Enkhuizen and
Hoorn in all in
Holland, and
Middelburg in
Zeeland. Delegates of these chambers convened as the
Heeren XVII (the Lords Seventeen).
To the counsel of
Heeren XVII, eight delegates were from the Chamber of Amsterdam (one short of a majority on its own), four from Chamber of Zeeland and one from each of the smaller Chambers, while the seventeenth seat was alternatively from the Chamber of Zeeland or rotated among the five small Chambers. Amsterdam had thereby the decisive voice. The Zeelanders were particularly suspicious at the start up of the VOC for this reason. The fear was not unfounded, because in practice it meant that indeed Amsterdam stipulated what happened.
|
Dutch and other European settlements in India. |
The six chambers raised the start up capital of the Dutch East India Company:
| Chamber | Capital (Guilders) | | Amsterdam | 3,679,915 |
| Zeeland | 1,300,405 |
| Enkhuizen | 540,000 |
| Delft | 469,400 |
| Hoorn | 266,868 |
| Rotterdam | 173,000 |
| Total: | 6,424,588 |
|---|
The capital raising in Rotterdam did not go so smoothly. A considerable part originated from inhabitants of
Dordrecht. Although it did not raise as much capital as Amsterdam or Zeeland, Enkhuizen had the largest input in the
share capital of VOC. Under the first 358 share holders, were many small entrepreneurs, who dared to take the
risk.
At the registration in the share register of the VOC, immigrants played an important role. Under the 1,143 tenderers were 39
Germans and no less than 301
Zuid-Nederlanders (then under Habsburg rule; roughly present
Belgium and Luxemburg); of whom
Isaäc le Maire was the largest subscriber with Æ' 85,000.
|
The logo of the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC. |
The logo of the VOC consisted of a large
capital 'V' with an O on the left and a C on the right leg. The first letter of the hometown of the chamber conducting the operation was placed on top (see figure for example of the Amsterdam chamber logo). The flag of the company was orange, white, blue (similar to the current
Dutch flag) with the company logo embroidered on it.
The
Heeren XVII met alternately 6 years in Amsterdam and 2 years in Middelburg. They defined the VOC's general policy and divided the tasks among the Chambers. The Chambers carried out all the necessary work, built their own ships and warehouses and traded the merchandise. The
Heeren XVII sent the ships' masters off with extensive instructions on the route to be navigated, prevailing winds, currents, shoals and landmarks. The VOC also produced its own sea charts.
In the context of the
Dutch-Portuguese War the company established its headquarters in Batavia on
Java (now
Jakarta,
Indonesia). Other colonial outposts were also established in the
East Indies what later became
Indonesia, such as on the
Spice Islands (
Moluccas), which include the
Banda Islands where the VOC forcibly maintained a monopoly over
nutmeg and
mace. Methods used to maintain the monopoly included the violent suppression of the native population, not stopping short of
extortion and
mass murder.
The VOC traded throughout Asia. Ships coming into Batavia from the Netherlands carried silver from Spanish mines in Peru and supplies for VOC settlements in Asia. Silver, combined with copper from Japan, was used to trade with India and China for textiles. These products, such as cotton, silk and ceramics, were either traded within Asia for the coveted spices or brought back to Europe. The VOC was also instrumental in introducing European ideas and technology to Asia. The Company supported Christian missionaries and traded modern technology with China and Japan.
A more peaceful VOC trade post on
Dejima, an
artificial island off the coast of
Nagasaki, was for a long time the only place where Europeans could trade with
Japan.
In
1640 the VOC obtained the port of
Galle, in
Sri Lanka from the
Portuguese and broke the latter's monopoly of the
cinnamon trade. In
1658 Gerard Hulft laid siege to
Colombo, which was captured with the help of King
Rajasinghe II of
Kandy. By
1659 the Portuguese had been expelled from the coastal regions, which were then occupied by the VOC, securing for it the monopoly over cinnamon.
|
A coin minted in 1735 by the VOC |
In
1652,
Jan van Riebeeck established an outpost at the
Cape of Good Hope (the southwestern tip of
Africa, currently in
South Africa) to re-supply VOC ships on their journey to East Asia. This post later became a fully-fledged colony, the
Cape Colony, when more Dutch and other Europeans started to settle there. VOC outposts were also established in
Persia (now
Iran),
Bengal (now
Bangladesh and part of
India),
Malacca (Melaka, now in
Malaysia), Siam (now
Thailand), mainland
China (
Canton), Formosa (now
Taiwan) and southern India. In
1662,
Koxinga expelled the Dutch from Taiwan (
see History of Taiwan).
By
1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private army of 10,000 soldiers, and a
dividend payment of 40%.
The company was in almost constant conflict with the English/British; relations were particularly embittered after the
Amboyna Massacre in
1623. During the
18th century, its possessions were increasingly focused on the East Indies. After the fourth war between the
United Provinces and
Great Britain (
1780–
1784), the VOC got into financial trouble, and in
1798, the company was dissolved, four years after the end of the Estates-General. The East Indies were awarded to the
Kingdom of the Netherlands by the
Congress of Vienna in
1815.
According to some, the history and exploits of the VOC were also an inspiration for the novel
Dune.
:
Replicas have been constructed of several VOC ships, marked with an (R)* Amsterdam
(R)
* Arnhem
* Batavia
(R)
* Braek
* Duyfken
("Little Dove") (R)
* Eendracht
(1615) ("Unity")
* Galias
* Grooten Broeck
* Gulden Zeepaert
("Golden Seahorse")
* Halve Maen
("Half moon") (R)
* Heemskerck
* Hollandia
* Klein Amsterdam
("Small Amsterdam")
* Leeuwerik
("Lark")
* Leyden
* Limmen
* Pera
* Prins Willem
(R)
* Ridderschap van Holland
* Rooswijk
* Sardam
* Texel
* Utrecht
* Vergulde Draeck
("Gilted Dragon")
* Vianen
* Vliegende Swaan
("Flying Swan")
* Wapen van Hoorn
* Wezel
("Weasel")
* Zeehaen
* Zeemeeuw
* Zuytdorp'' ("South Village")
*
Jan Pieterszoon Coen*
Chartered companies* The
British East India Company, founded in
1600* The
Danish East India Company, founded in
1616* The
Dutch West India Company, founded in
1621* The
French East India Company, founded in
1664* The
Swedish East India Company, founded in
1731*
Oldest share — the oldest share in the world (VOC 1606)
*
A taste of adventure — The history of spices is the history of trade,
The Economist,
December 17,
1998.
*
Dutch Portuguese Colonial History*
Voyages by VOC ships to Australia*
Why did the Largest Corporation in the World go Broke?*
The history of the Dutch East Indies Company (Lectures at
Gresham College,
1 March and
8 March 2006)
