 Company flag | |
Native name | Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie |
|---|---|
| Company type | Chartered company |
| Founded | 3 June 1621 (1621-06-03) |
| Founder | Joannes de Laet  |
| Defunct | 1 January 1792 (1792-01-01) |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 5 (Amsterdam,Hoorn,Rotterdam,Groningen andMiddelburg) |
Key people | Heeren XIX |
| Products | Shippingslaves, administrators, farmers, and soldiers, and returning with salt, beaver skins, silver, sugar, tobacco, coffee,cochineal,campeche, andletterwood |
TheDutch West India Company (Dutch:Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie) was a Dutchchartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders wereReynier Pauw,Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), andJessé de Forest (1576–1624).[1] On 3 June 1621, it was granted acharter for a trademonopoly in theDutch West Indies by theRepublic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in theAtlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.
The area where the company could operate consisted of West Africa (between theTropic of Cancer and theCape of Good Hope) and the Americas, which included thePacific Ocean and ended east of theMaluku Islands, according to theTreaty of Tordesillas. The intended purpose of the charter was to eliminate competition, particularly Spanish or Portuguese, between the various trading posts established by the merchants. The company became instrumental in the largely ephemeralDutch colonization of the Americas (includingNew Netherland) in the seventeenth century.
From 1624 to 1654, in the context of theDutch–Portuguese War, the GWC held Portuguese territory in northeast Brazil, but they were ousted fromDutch Brazil following fierce resistance.[2] After several reversals, the GWC reorganized and a new charter was granted in 1675, largely on the strength in the Atlantic slave trade. This "new" version lasted for more than a century, until after theFourth Anglo–Dutch War, during which it lost most of its assets.
.jpg)
When theDutch East India Company (VOC) was founded in 1602,[3] some traders in Amsterdam did not agree with its monopolistic policies. With help fromPetrus Plancius, a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer, and clergyman, they sought for a northeastern or northwestern access to Asia to circumvent the VOC monopoly. In 1609, English explorerHenry Hudson, in employment of the VOC, landed on the coast ofNew England and sailed up what is now known as the Hudson River in his quest for theNorthwest Passage to Asia.[4] However, he failed to find a passage. Consequently, in 1615,Isaac Le Maire andSamuel Blommaert, assisted by others, focused on finding a south-westerly route around South America'sTierra del Fuego archipelago in order to circumvent the monopoly of the VOC.
One of the first sailors who focused on trade with Africa wasBalthazar de Moucheron. The trade with Africa offered several possibilities to set up trading posts orfactories, an important starting point for negotiations. It was Blommaert, however, who stated that, in 1600, eight companies sailed on the coast of Africa, competing with each other for the supply of copper, from theKingdom of Loango.[5]Pieter van den Broecke was employed by one of these companies. In 1612, a Dutch fortress was built inMouree (present day Ghana), along theDutch Gold Coast.
Trade with the Caribbean, for salt, sugar and tobacco, was hampered bySpain and delayed because of peace negotiations. Spain offered peace on condition that the Dutch Republic would withdraw from trading with Asia and America. Spain refused to sign the peace treaty if a West Indian Company would be established. At this time, theDutch War of Independence (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic was occurring.Grand PensionaryJohan van Oldenbarnevelt offered to suspend trade with the West Indies in exchange for theTwelve Years' Truce.[6][7] He took the proposal of founding a West-India Company off table. The result was that, during a few years, the Dutch sailed under a foreign flag to South America. However, ten years later,StadtholderMaurice of Orange, proposed to continue the war with Spain, but also to distract attention from Spain to the Republic. In 1619, his opponent Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was beheaded, and when in April 1621 the truce expired, the West Indian Company could be established.
The West India Company received its charter from the States-General in June 1621, granting it a 24-year monopoly on trade and colonization that included the American coast between Newfoundland and the Straits of Magellan.[8] One of the promotors wasReynier Pauw, who went on to appoint two of his sons as the first managers in 1621; both Pieter andMichiel Reyniersz Pauw were in place for fifteen years.[9] Reynier Pauw II,Cornelis Bicker, andSamuel Blommaert were appointed in 1622.[10]
._Koopman_en_stichter_van_de_West_Indische_Compagnie_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1675.jpeg)
TheDutch West India Company was organized similarly to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Like the VOC, the GWC had five offices, called chambers (kamers), in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hoorn, Middelburg, and Groningen, of which the chambers in Amsterdam and Middelburg contributed most to the company. The board consisted of 19 members, known as the Heeren XIX (the Nineteen Gentlemen,[11] as opposed to the Heeren XVII who controlled the East India company.) The institutional structure of the GWC followed the federal structure, which entailed extensive discussion for any decision, with regional representation: 8 fromAmsterdam; 4 fromZeeland, 2 each from theNorthern Quarter (Hoorn andEnkhuizen), the Maas (Rotterdam,Delft, andDordrecht), the region ofGroningen, and one representative from theStates General. Each region had its own chamber and board of directors.[12] The validity of the charter was set at 24 years.
Only in 1623 was funding arranged, after several bidders were put under pressure. TheStates General of the Netherlands and the VOC pledged one millionguilders in the form of capital and subsidy. Although Iberian writers said thatcrypto-Jews orMarranos played an important role in the formation of both the VOC and the GWC, research has shown that initially they played a minor role, but expanded during the period of the Dutch in Brazil. EmigrantCalvinists from theSpanish Netherlands did make significant investments in the GWC.[13] Investors did not rush to put their money in the company in 1621, but the States-General urged municipalities and other institutions to invest. Explanations for the slow investment by individuals were that shareholders had "no control over the directors' policy and the handling of ordinary investors' money", that it was a "racket" to provide "cushy posts for the directors and their relatives, at the expense of ordinary shareholders".[14] The VOC directors invested money in the GWC, without consulting their shareholders, causing dissent among a number of shareholders.[15] In order to attract foreign shareholders, the GWC offered equal standing to foreign investors with Dutch, resulting in shareholders fromFrance,Switzerland, andVenice. A translation of the original 1621 charter appeared in English,Orders and Articles granted by the High and Mightie Lords the States General of the United Provinces concerning the erecting of a West-Indies Companie, Anno Dom. MDCXII.[16] By 1623, the capital for the GWC at 2.8 million florins was not as great the VOC's original capitalization of 6.5 million, but it was still a substantial sum. The GWC had 15 ships to carry trade and plied the west African coast and Brazil.[17]
Unlike the VOC, the GWC had no right to deploy military troops. When the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621 was over, the Republic had a free hand to re-wage war with Spain. AGroot Desseyn ("grand design") was devised to seize thePortuguese colonies in Africa and the Americas, so as to dominate the sugar and slave trade. When this plan failed,privateering became one of the major goals within the GWC. The arming of merchant ships with guns and soldiers to defend themselves against Spanish ships was of great importance. On almost all ships in 1623, 40 to 50 soldiers were stationed, possibly to assist in thehijacking of enemy ships.[18] It is unclear whether the first expedition was the expedition byJacques l'Hermite to the coast ofChile andPeru, set up by Stadtholder Maurice with the support of the States General and the VOC.
The company was initially a dismal failure, in terms of its expensive early projects, and its directors shifted emphasis from conquest of territory to pursue plunder of shipping. The most spectacular success for the GWC wasPiet Heyn's seizure of theSpanish silver fleet, which carried silver fromSpanish colonies to Spain. He had also seized a consignment of sugar from Brazil and a galleon from Honduras with cacao, indigo, and other valuable goods. Privateering was its most profitable activity in the late 1620s.[19] Despite Heyn's success at plunder, the company's directors realized that it was not a basis to build long-term profit, leading them to renew their attempts to seize Iberian territory in the Americas. They decided their target was Brazil.[20]
There were conflicts between directors from different areas of The Netherlands, with Amsterdam less supportive of the company. Non-maritime cities, includingHaarlem,Leiden, andGouda, along with Enkhuizen and Hoorn were enthusiastic about seizing territory. They sent a fleet toBrazil, capturingOlinda andPernambuco in 1630 in their initial foray to create a Dutch Brazil, but could not hold them due to a strong Portuguese resistance.[21] Company ships continued privateering in the Caribbean, as well seizing vital land resources, particularly salt pans.[22] The company's general lack of success saw their shares plummet and the Dutch and The Spanish renewed truce talks in 1633.[23]
In 1629, the GWC gave permission to a number of investors inNew Netherlands to foundpatroonships, enabled by theCharter of Freedoms and Exemptions which was ratified by theDutch States General on 7 June 1629. The patroonships were created to help populate the colony, by providing investors grants providing land for approximately 50 people "upwards of 15 years old", per grant, mainly in the region of New Netherland.[11][24] Patroon investors could expand the size of their land grants as large as 4 miles, "along the shore or along one bank of a navigable river..."Rensselaerswyck was the most successful Dutch West India Company patroonship.[11]
The New Netherland area, which includedNew Amsterdam, covered parts of present-day New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey,[11] with Manhattan andFort Amsterdam serving as the first capital.[25] Other settlements were established on theNetherlands Antilles, and in South America, in Dutch Brazil,Suriname and Guyana. In Africa, posts were established on theGold Coast (nowGhana), theSlave Coast (nowBenin), and briefly inDutch Loango-Angola. It was a neo-feudal system, where patrons were permitted considerable powers to control the overseas colony. In the Americas,fur (North America) and sugar (South America) were the most important trade goods, while African settlements traded the enslaved (mainly destined for the plantations on the Antilles and Suriname), gold, copper, and ivory.
In North America, the settlersAlbert Burgh, Samuel Blommaert,Samuel Godijn, andJohannes de Laet had little success with populating the colony of New Netherland, and to defend themselves against local Amerindians. OnlyKiliaen Van Rensselaer managed to maintain his settlement in the north along the Hudson. Blommaert secretly tried to secure his interests with the founding of the colony ofNew Sweden on behalf of Sweden on theDelaware in the south. The main focus of the GWC now went to Brazil.
The GWC managed toconquer parts of Brazil from Portugal in 1630. That same year, the colony ofNew Holland was founded, with a capital inMauritsstad (present-dayRecife). In the meantime, the war demanded so many of its forces that the company had to operate under a permanent threat of bankruptcy.[26] In fact, the GWC went bankrupt in 1636 and all attempts at rehabilitation were doomed to failure.[27] In 1636, the GWC took possession ofSint Eustatius,Sint Maarten, andSaba which all fell under Dutch control. A commander was stationed on St. Eustatius to govern all three islands by 1678.
Because of the ongoing war in Brazil, the situation for the GWC in 1645, at the end of the charter, was very bad. An attempt to compensate the losses of the GWC with the profits of the VOC failed because the directors of the VOC did not want to.[28] In 1645, the main participants in the GWC were members of theTrip family.[29] Merging the two companies was not feasible. Amsterdam was not willing to help out, because it had too much interest in peace and healthy trade relations with Portugal. This indifferent attitude of Amsterdam was the main cause of the slow, half-hearted policy, which would eventually lead to losing the colony.[30] In 1647, the company made a restart using 1.5 million guilders, capital of the VOC. The States General took responsibility for the warfare in Brazil.
Due to thePeace of Westphalia, the attacks on Spanish shipping were forbidden to the GWC. The Portuguese succeeded in therecapture of Angola. Many merchants from Amsterdam andZeeland decided to work with marine and merchants from theHoly Roman Empire,Denmark–Norway,England, and other European countries. In 1649, a competingSwedish Africa Company was founded; the GWC obtained a monopoly on gold and enslaved Africans with the kingdom ofAccra (present-day Ghana).Elmina Castle was the main port. In 1654, the Dutch were thrown out ofBrazil after therecapture of Recife. In 1656, the company signed theTreaty of Butre (Dutch Gold Coast). In 1659, theDanish West India Company, an undercover Dutch enterprise, was founded.[31] In 1660, theRoyal African Company was founded, led by theDuke of York.
In 1662, the GWC obtained severalasiento subcontracts with theSpanish Crown, under which the Dutch were allowed to deliver 24,000 enslaved Africans.[32] The GWC madeCuraçao a centre of theAtlantic slave trade, bringing slaves from West Africa to the island, before selling them elsewhere in the Caribbean andSpanish Main.[33] The influence of the GWC in Africa was threatened during theSecond andThird Anglo–Dutch Wars, but English efforts to displace the Dutch from the region ultimately proved unsuccessful.[34]
The first West India Company suffered a long agony, and its end in 1674 was painless.[35] The reason that the GWC could drag on for 27 years seems to have been its valuable West African possessions, due to its slaves.[36]
%2c_Afb_010055000280.jpg)
When the GWC could not repay its debts in 1674, the company was dissolved. But due to continued high demand for trade between West Africa and the Dutch colonies in the Americas (mainly slave trade), a second West India Company known as the New West India Company was chartered that same year.[37] This new company controlled the same trade area as the first but privateering was no longer an asset. All ships, fortresses, etc. were taken over by the new company. Nobody was fired, but the number of directors was reduced from 19 to 10, and the number of governors from 74 to 50. By 1679, the new GWC had slightly more than6 million guilders which was largely supplied by the Amsterdam Chamber. In 1687, due to theasiento possessed byBalthasar Coymans, the company paid the highest dividend.[38]
From 1694 until 1700, the GWC waged a long conflict against theEguafo Kingdom along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. TheKomenda Wars drew in significant numbers of neighbouring African kingdoms and led to the replacement of the gold trade with enslaved Africans.Calabar was the largest slave trading place in Africa.Sint Eustatius (Dutch Caribbean) became the most profitable asset of the GWC and a transit point for enslaved Africans in the Atlantic slave trade. After 1734 the GWC was primarily engaged in facilitating the slave trade,[39] and only responsible for the supply of slaves until 1738.[40][41] The company then began to outsource the slave trade and left it toprivate enterprise, especially inMiddelburg, Zeeland.[42][43]
In 1750,Thomas Hope was elected to the board of the company, but preferred theHeren XVII after two years; he was succeeded byNicolaas Geelvinck in 1764. In 1773, when drinking coffee and cocoa was popular almost everywhere, the familyVan Aerssen van Sommelsdijck sold its property in thecolony of Surinam. The GWC participated in a bigger share together with theSociety of Suriname. Many planters in Surinam and the Caribbean came into financial trouble because of the mortgages (crisis of 1772); the demand for slaves dropped.[44][45] In 1775, the last slave ship entered the port ofWillemstad.[46] From 1780 on the company made losses and paid nodividend.
After theFourth Anglo-Dutch War, it became apparent that the GWC was no longer capable of defending its own colonies, as Sint Eustatius,Berbice,Essequibo,Demerara, and some forts on the Dutch Gold Coast were rapidly taken by the British. In 1791 it was decided not to renew the patent to the GWC and to dissolve the company. All stocks were sold and territories previously held by the GWC came under the rule of theStates General of the Netherlands. A directorate Ad-Interim took over the administration. A Council of Colonies was established as administrator over the affairs of the GWC until 1795.[47] Around 1800, there was an attempt to create a third West India Company, but without success.
{{cite book}}:Check|isbn= value: checksum (help)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
