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| Industry | Whaling |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 27, 1614; 411 years ago (1614-01-27) inVlieland,Netherlands |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | 1642 (1642) |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters |
TheNoordsche Compagnie (English:Northern Company) was a Dutch cartel in the whaling trade, founded by several cities in the Netherlands in 1614 and operating until 1642. Soon after its founding, it became entangled in territorial conflicts withEngland,Denmark-Norway,France, and other groups within theNetherlands.
It was also known as theGroenlandse Compagnie (English:Greenland Company), but the name is misleading today since the "Greenland" referred to isSvalbard, previously thought to either be identical or connected to the island ofGreenlanddiscovered andcolonized by the Norse.
In 1598, a whale beached atWijk aan Zee. The animal was sold for 126guilders and the jaw was transported toDillenburg and given toJan van Nassau as a gift.[1]
In 1612, the first mention is made of a commercial expedition toNovaya Zemlya after it was concluded that whaling at theCape of Good Hope in the southernAtlantic offered little prospects of profit.Willem Cornelisz. van Muyden was one of the first skippers to set sail to the North. In 1613, he was the commander of theNeptunus and theFortuyn, two ships that were sent toSpitsbergen (modern Svalbard, then considered part of Greenland) to hunt for whales. On board were twelve or thirteen FrenchBasques.[2] The remaining crew of 48 men came fromNorth Holland.
On 27 January 1614, the Noordsche Compagnie was founded for a period of two years on Vlieland.[citation needed]Tymen J. Hinlopen andJacques Nicquet were amongst the original investors.[citation needed] In 1617, the charter was renewed for another four years and, in 1622, for another twelve.
Whaling was done in the summer months. Ships and crew left the ports of theDutch Republic in May or June. After a three-week journey they arrived at the coastal waters ofSpitsbergen,Jan Mayen, orBear Island. In August, September, or October the ships returned to the Republic. Soonwhaling stations were established on Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen, the best known of these beingSmeerenburg. These stations saved much space in the cargohold of the ships, and also held relieve the stench. For years the Noordsche Compagnie controlled the monopoly forwhale oil. For every expedition, participants would invest capital. When the expedition had returned, the profit would immediately be divided amongst the investors.
The administration of the Noordsche Compagnie was divided into five chambers. These were relatively independent and located inAmsterdam,Hoorn,Enkhuizen,Rotterdam, andDelft. Each city had its own installations on the polar islands. In 1616 the ZeelandicLampsin family took part in the company. From then onVlissingen,Middelburg andVeere also had a chamber. In 1634 the charter was renewed for another eight years. In 1636 two Frisian chambers were created:Harlingen andStavoren.
The trading area of the Noordsche Compagnie stretched from theDavis Strait toNovaya Zemlya, north ofRussia. The company did not make any claims to the territory, they were only concerned with their trading-monopoly.
Initially the company made much use ofBasqueharpooners and navigators. Aside fromwhales,walrus andseals were also hunted. Thepolar bear hunt resulted in skins and fur. Whalebaleen was used to makepicture frames for paintings,walking sticks and knifehilts.
Michiel de Ruyter, the most famous Dutch admiral, served as pilot on a ship of the Noordsche Compagnie from 1633 to 1635. He was probably familiar with the route from the time that he was still a sailor.
The company was dissolved in 1642. The company had started receiving intense competition from Dutch interlopers andDanish whalers. Whaling was privatized, and taken over by the private sector.
The participation of the population of theWest Frisian Islands to whaling is evident from the tombstones of the ship-captains buried there, which were made from whale jawbones.
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