Dutch East India Company

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This article is about the trading company. For the record label, see Dutch East India Trading.

Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic.

The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally "United East Indies Company") was established in the early 17th century, 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, its possessions and the debt being taken over by the government of the Batavian Republic.

[edit] Organization

The VOC consisted of six Chambers (Kamers) in port cities: Amsterdam, Delft, Rotterdam, Enkhuizen, Middelburg and Hoorn. 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 the 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 in particular had misgivings about this arrangement at the beginning. 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:

The raising of capital 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 the VOC. Under the first 358 shareholders, there were many small entrepreneurs, who dared to take the risk.

VOC logo in Tainan Old Fort of Anping

Among the early shareholders 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 ƒ 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 (see 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.

[edit] History

VOC headquarters in Amsterdam

By the end of the 16th century Dutch merchants had acquired large amounts of capital from their successful European trade, and were looking for new investment opportunities. The highly profitable sea trade routes between Europe and Asia had been established and dominated by the Portuguese, but in 1594 a group of Dutch merchants decided to try and circumvent the monopoly. They outfitted a small four-ship fleet to Asia, a dangerous expedition that ultimately failed to bring in a profit, but it showed that the Portuguese trade monopoly could be broken.

In the following years an increasing number of new fleets were sent out by a competing merchant groups from all around the Netherlands. Some fleets perished, but others were wildly successful. At the time, it was customary for a company to be set up only for the duration of a single voyage, and to be liquidated right after the return of the fleet. As the competition between companies intensified, the profitability of the new trade was threatened, but consolidation was not possible as the merchants of different provinces were unwilling to cooperate. In 1602 the Dutch government forced the issue, sponsoring the creation of a single "United East Indies Company" that was granted monopoly over the Asian trade.

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 bond issued by the Dutch East India Company, dating from 7 November 1623, for the amount of 2,400 florins

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, but then 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.

From 1720 on the market for sugar from Indonesia declined as the competition from cheap sugar from Brazil increased and European markets became saturated. Dozens of Chinese sugar traders went bankrupt which lead to massive unemployment; which in turn lead to gangs of unemployed coolies. The Dutch government in Batavia did not adequately respond to these problems. In 1740, rumours of deportation of the gangs from the Batavia area lead to widespread rioting. The Dutch military searched houses of Chinese in Batavia searching for weapons. When a house accidentally burnt down military and impoverished citizens started slaughtering and pillaging the chinese community. This incident was deemed sufficiently serious for the board of the VOC to start an official investigation into the Government of the Dutch East Indies for the first time in its history^[1].

During the 18th century, the possessions of the Company 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 States-General were replaced by the French supported Batavian Republic; which was soon to be replaced by French occupation. After the defeat of the French empire, the previously privately owned East Indie territories were granted to the newly created Kingdom of the Netherlands by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

[edit] In fiction

According to some, the history and exploits of the VOC were also an inspiration for the novel Dune^{[citation needed]}.

The first stock certificate, issued by the VOC, was the target of an elaborate burglary in the movie Ocean's Twelve.

[edit] Notable VOC ships

Replicas have been constructed of several VOC ships, marked with an (R)

1990 replica of the 1749 VOC Amsterdam

• Amsterdam (R)
• Arnhem
• Batavia (R)
• Braek
• Duyfken ("Little Dove") (R)
• Eendracht (1615) ("Unity")
• Galias
• Grooten Broeck ("Great Brook")
• 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 ("Knighthood of Holland")
• Rooswijk
• Sardam
• Texel
• Utrecht
• Vergulde Draeck ("Gilted Dragon")
• Vianen
• Vliegende Swaan ("Flying Swan")
• Wapen van Hoorn ("Arms of Hoorn")
• Wezel ("Weasel")
• Zeehaen ("Sea Cock")
• Zeemeeuw ("Seagull")
• Zuytdorp ("South Village")

[edit] See also

Indonesia Portal

• 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

[edit] External links

• 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)
• Manuscript chart of the Netherlands, VOC, ca.1690 (high resolution zoomable scan)
• Old print of headquarters of V.O.C. ca.1750 (high resolution zoomable scan)