Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University

seating at the meetings of the States General, and mimicked that in the board of directors of the
VOC, clearly shown by Pieter Van Dam in his account of the company's management. 92 Once
everyone was seated, Van Goch confirmed that all present were familiar with the terms of the
charter. He then administered a “solemn oath” to each delegate, one at a time, to affirm their
commitment to abide by its terms, uphold the secrecy of the proceedings, and confine discussion
to the points outlined in the agenda. 93 Though by no means uncommon in official settings in the
Dutch Republic, this set of rituals established the formal character of the board and the
generative authority of the senior representative of the States General within it. 94
Throughout the remainder of the meeting, Van Goch pressed this role, guiding the
discussion, setting deadlines for the work of subcommittees, and responding to official
delegations from the church, Admiralty, and other institutions that called upon the Heren XIX to
address specific grievances. In addition, he undertook to relay the results of the delegates’
deliberations back to the States General, especially on issues that concerned them directly. These
issues included the continuing failure of the authorities in Zeeland and North Holland to publicly
display the terms of the charter; logistical and financial issues concerning the status of Fort
Nassau in Guinea; issues relating to the sale and authenticity of shares in the company; and, most
importantly, payment of the promised subsidy and allocation of ships and soldiers for the first
92 Van Dam, Beschryvinge van de Oostindische Compagnie, 250. For seating at the States General, see Van Vree,
Meetings, Manners, and Civilization, 150. That seating mattered to the delegates is evident from the fact that Killaen
van Rensellaer, a wealthy and influential investor, protested at being given the nineteenth place at the table when he
appeared as the representative of the hooftparticipanten of the Amsterdam chamber at the meeting of the Heren XIX
that began on March 16, 1624. NA 1.05.01.01, inv.nr. 1. "Behalve dat de heer Kiliaen van Renselaer verhaelde eer
hy gingen sitten, dat hy tegens de XIXde plaetse inde voorgaende vergaderinge voor hem ende synen assessor hadde
geprotesteert, ende acte van onprejuditie vercregen, de welcke hy ende synen assessor, noch in haer geheel waren
behoudende, terwyl haerluyden daer over noch geen contentement gedaen en was."
93 NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 1, entry for August 3, 1623.
94 See S. J. Fockema Andreae, De Nederlandse Staat onder de Republiek (Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche, 1969),
106-107.
125