The VOC was the first multinational in the world. He sailed the world's seas between 1602 and 1798 and kept a detailed administration about this. A new exhibition in the National Archives shows that this is less dusty than it sounds. Kennislink follows the VOC servants on the basis of personal stories, recorded during the months-long journey or the years in the East.
The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie was founded in 1602 to join the forces of Dutch traders and take on Spain and Portugal, the major powers of the world's seas at the time. The exhibition in the National Archives (The Hague) takes Portuguese nautical charts from the sixteenth century as a starting point. “These maps clearly show that ships still sailed along the coast as much as possible, where they orientated themselves on recognizable landmarks, such as church towers,” explains Arjan Poelwijk. He is a historian of the National Archives and shows me around the exhibition space.
Join forces
The first Dutch explorers had sailed on Spanish and Portuguese ships to the spice islands in the east and to America. But after the Netherlands revolted against their Spanish king in 1568, they had to find sea routes themselves. Private individuals paid for these explorations, but many ships were wrecked or lost and profits were low.
In 1602 the States General, consisting of the representatives of the Dutch provinces, issued a patent. The original patent is part of the exhibition in the National Archives. This sheet of paper with a whopper of a seal reads that the VOC is given the exclusive right to trade on behalf of the Republic of the United Netherlands, to conclude treaties with local princes, to wage war and to build forts. This enabled her to compete abroad.
The VOC was governed by the Heeren Zeventien, with members from the six VOC cities of Amsterdam, Middelburg, Rotterdam, Delft, Enkhuizen and Hoorn. The VOC officials in the East maintained a detailed correspondence with the Lords about the gains and losses as well as the goings on in their area. The part of the correspondence that has been preserved now fills 1.2 km of VOC archive.
Reading ancient manuscripts
An important reason for making the exhibition was the completion of the digitization project of this archive, which makes research into the VOC history a lot easier. Some of these digitized archive documents can also be consulted during the exhibition. Because the manuscripts from the seventeenth century are difficult to read, a transcription program has been designed. On the screens you can scroll through the exhibited texts, which show you what it says in modern letters, including a translation into contemporary Dutch.
Researchers, both nationally and internationally, are familiar with the VOC collection. “Most research into the VOC archives is institutional, focused on trade and financial success. With the exhibition we try to show the general public the personal stories behind trade and money. However, it does not change the history of the VOC”, according to Poelwijk.
The makers want to show what the impact of the VOC has been on life on board or on the new locations in the East, where you as a Dutchman had to make do. They do this, among other things, by means of the design:the room has been kept dark with semi-transparent curtains on the side, which should give the impression that you are looking out from the hold of a ship. This plan has not been entirely successful. It seems as if the exhibition builders have compromised between recreating a VOC ship, which will appeal to young visitors, and the more conservative wishes of an older audience.
Details in the books
In terms of content, the makers are more successful in bringing the world of the people behind the VOC to life. A good example is the surgeon's book that was kept by the doctor during the trip. Crew members did not have to pay for care, as long as it concerned industrial accidents. When it was their own fault, such as injuries after quarrels or venereal diseases, the costs of their pay were deducted.
The rules on board a VOC ship are written down in quite detail in the so-called Article letter. Penalties for violations are also included. “Every two to three weeks the entire crew had to come on deck and the skipper read this Article letter aloud. Many people could not read and so it was and remained clear what the rules were.”
In addition to the dangers such as deadly diseases, the makers also show the difficulties that the skippers encountered during the journey. Or where they ran into… A tricky point was the passage near the Cape of Good Hope. This route was called the wagon road. If you didn't exactly follow this narrow route, you drifted into South America or entered windless territory. “When a ship passed through it, the whole crew would gather to thank God on the deck. We show that prayer, it makes history tangible.”
Profit at any cost
With the growth of the VOC, the need arose for institutionalized trading posts, which are partly discussed in the exhibition. For example, Jan van Riebeeck founded the first exclusive trading post with the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 1652, so that the VOC ships could safely stock up on fresh food for the rest of the journey. Before that time, the ships also stopped on the island of Mauritius. An easy-to-catch flightless bird roamed here, which was used as food by the Dutch. Within a few years, these birds were extinct. A drawing from a ship's log from 1601 is the only one that shows a living dodo and is therefore unique in the world. Other drawings show dead or stuffed dodos.
Trade was the starting point of the VOC, but with profit optimization at any price. To achieve this, the company pursued monopolies in sought-after spices. This was far from gentle, as in the Banda Islands (Moluccas). Governor-General Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1588-1629) had most of the residents killed when they continued to sell nutmeg to the Portuguese and English. “De Heeren Zeventien were not in favor of this violent approach, but since Coen eventually got their hands on the nutmeg monopoly, he did receive a bonus,” says Poelwijk.
Because of his bloody performances in the East, Jan Pieterszoon Coen only recently moved from the list of Dutch heroes to the black page of our history books. The exhibition also shows this side of history, as well as the participation in slavery in the east. “We don't just want to show the success story behind the VOC, but also add a nuance to it. In the available tablet tour in particular, we will discuss the dark sides of the VOC in more detail.”
Social ladder
The opportunity to climb the social ladder at the VOC is extensively discussed. Ship boys were able to report for their maiden voyage around the age of ten. The exhibition follows an orphan from Alkmaar who escaped from the orphanage at the age of fifteen and signed on. He made it to deputy director of Baruch, a trading post in India. Here he did sociological research on the local population, which he described in his reports.
Poelwijk:“You don't expect this kind of anthropological information in a company archive. What we also want to show is that not only in the East did you encounter all social classes, looking for fortune. The register of registrations for VOC shares is also a cross section of the population. Of the registers we show, 85,000 guilders is the highest deposit and 50 guilders the lowest, although there was no minimum. Still a lot of money, think of several thousand euros now, but it could be paid in installments."
Diplomacy in Japan
Trade in Asia itself will also receive attention in the exhibition. The VOC not only sailed twice a year with a fully loaded fleet from Batavia to Holland, but also largely took over the inter-Asian trade. For example, the Dutch of the VOC were the only non-Japanese power allowed to enter that closed country because they showed the respect that the commander-in-chief, the Shogun, expected. This is in contrast to other Europeans. In this case, diplomacy prevailed rather than violence. This personal relationship is not only highlighted, the makers also show the Dutch influences that still affect the countries with former VOC fortifications. Deshima, an island near Nagasaki where the Dutch were allowed to stay, is now a tourist attraction in Japan. There is a museum about the VOC period and the old stone warehouse has been rebuilt for this reason.
All in all, the exhibition offers a special insight into the world of the VOC. Exciting stories, with discoveries of new countries and animals such as Tasmania and the dodo, and the extremely rapid development of Dutch cartography. Personal stories are written and recorded by writers Nelleke Noordervliet and Ramsey Nasr. The texts are fictional, but based on facts and stories from the archive. A successful attempt to bring the lives of the people behind the multinational to life.
Would you have liked to travel with the VOC?