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created offices of president and councilor. 29 The reforms were subtle but important: Maurits simultaneously had held the titles of Governor-, Captain-, and Admiral-General, which meant that he was the senior representative of the company in the colony and commander of all land and sea forces. Maurits nominally shared this authority with three subordinate councilors, but a provision that gave him a double vote in case of a tie ensured that he could pass any resolution supported by at least one other member of the council. 30 The proposals circulated towards the end of 1643 were intended to curb this power, while at the same time institutionalizing important elements of the colonial government. One proposal, circulated by the Groningen chamber, recommended eliminating the existing structure entirely, and replacing it with a new council consisting of five members—each member nominated by, and responsible to, one of the company's five chambers. 31 This proposal would have ensured that the smaller chambers, Groningen included, would have an equal representation in the government of Brazil. The proposal clearly received little favor, however, and the reforms that ultimately were agreed to in Amsterdam on December 14, 1644 were considerably more modest. The position of Governor General was eliminated, but in its place the Heren XIX created the office of President, supported by four councilors and a secretary. Decisions were to be made by majority, with each of the five members of the council exercising only a single vote. At the same time, the Heren XIX strengthened the existing Councils of Justice and Finance. 32 Together these changes increased                                                          29 NA 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.17, Extract wt die secrete notulen der vergaderinge der Negentien t’ Amsterdam gehouden zedert de 22 April 1645. 30 Den Heijer, De Geschiedenis van de WIC, 43-44. Maurits' original instructions can be found in the archives of the States General: 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.20. 31 NA 1.10.78 inv.nr. 8, Verzameling stukken, afkomstig van Salomon Sweers (levensjaren 1611-1674), Jeremias van Vliet (levensjaren ca. 1602-1674), Jacques Specx en François Mannis, Project betreffende de regeering in Brazilie, ingeleverd door de kamer Groningen, fol. 160-167. 32 NA 1.01.07 inv.nr. 12564.17, Extract wt het register der resolutien van [de] Gecommitteerden wegen de Generael Geoctroyeerde Westind. Comp. ter vergaderinge van de XIX. Mercury den 14 Decemb. 1644. See also, Extract wt het Rapport van het gebesongeerde ende vergaderinge der negentien van de Westindische Compagnie t'Amsterdam   141
the council's size and authority, decreased the powers of its senior member, and more clearly delineated responsibility for administering justice, tracking money, and corresponding with the company at home. All these measures were implicitly intended to correct what the company's directors perceived to be the failures of the colonial government in Brazil under Maurits' direction. This was in fact only the latest stage in a longer history of Dutch efforts to govern the colony. The 1621 charter originally had envisaged a Governor General who would administer not only Brazil, but all of the company's territories and forts within the Western Hemisphere. It was no coincidence that this mirrored the administrative structure of the VOC, which had appointed Pieter Both (1568-1615) in 1610 to serve as Governor General at Batavia with responsibility for all of the East Indies. 33 A document drafted after the short-lived seizure of Bahia in 1624, however, sought to institute a significantly less centralized model. According to this document, Bahia would be governed by a council of nine members and a rotating presidency that followed the detailed representative formula and hierarchy of the Heren XIX itself. 34 The plan was never implemented, as the colony was lost to a joint Portuguese-Spanish fleet the following year, but it showed the degree to which at least some of the company's directors had been unwilling to establish a strong and independent central authority in Brazil. 35 Later, when the company captured Recife and Olinda in 1630, the Heren XIX experimented with a whole range                                                          gedaen inde vergaderinge van haer hooch Mogh. By de Heeren van der Capellen toe Ryssel, Vierssen, en van Santen de 27 Decemb: 1644. 33 Gaastra, The Dutch East India Company, 62; Schiltkamp, “Legislation, Government, Jurisprudence, and Law in the Dutch West Indian Colonies: The Order of Government of 1629,” 326. 34 Concept van Regieringe. soo in politie als justitie in de Bahia de todos los Sanctos, ende andere plaetsen noch te veroveren in Brasil. This document was drafted by Albert Coenraads Burgh, Simon van Beaumont, Philips Doubleth and Diderich Scherff in mid-September 1624. NA 1.01.04 inv.nr. 5751A. For the discussions within the Heren XIX, see NA 1.05.01.01 inv.nr. 1, entry for 13 September 1624. 35 See Stuart B. Schwartz, “The Voyage of the Vassals: Royal Power, Noble Obligations, and Merchant Capital Before the Portuguese Restoration of Independence, 1624-1640,” The American Historical Review 96, no. 3 (June 1991): 735–762.   142
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GOVERNING THE FREE SEA: THE DUTCH W
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Abstract This dissertation takes a
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IV. “In the Service of Merchants
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for making the archive such an enjo
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Institute for International and Reg
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List of Tables 1. Delegates to the
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Illustration 1. Het West-Indische H
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eported to have said; any money sen
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nexus of commerce and power for whi
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Europe the Dutch Republic is emblem
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Although the VOC frequently used vi
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Van Dillen argued that over time th
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the Western Hemisphere.” 46 Far f
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anxieties it generated, and what pl
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capital from Zeeland in the south a
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number of document series within th
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character of Dutch political instit
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Illustration 2. Vergaderzaal van he
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ecords must be traced backwards—a
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of note.” 93 But it is clear that
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formative periods in the company’
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enhance the role of central authori
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trade in which the company had only
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5. A Note on Sources This dissertat
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1645. 110 The manuscript is found i
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period 1620-1636. 115 For the remai
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at São Salvador da Bahia de Todos
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the revolt pushed the colony’s fa
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Amsterdam newspapers did publish st
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year by the Hoge ende Secrete Raad
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the Portuguese, had crossed the Rio
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ead aloud, two resolutions were pas
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On Wednesday, the same day the ship
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with subtle differences of fact and
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The group consisted of Henderick Sc
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XIX. Each chamber selected delegate
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Inden naeme den heeren amen Saturn.
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Middelburg’s decidedly incestuous
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Illustration 6. Portrait of Johanne
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crucial role that he played in its
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When the meeting resumed on Monday
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and to steer the discussion towards
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were chosen from among the ranks of
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emphasized the considerable sums in
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4. Johannes de Laet as “Informati
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devote myself to my books.” 129 A
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interests were adequately represent
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De Laet's substantive work in the A
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that, even at the beginning, De Lae
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De Laet’s presence at the meeting
Page 101 and 102: confessions under interrogation and
Page 103 and 104: Brazil this meant the Heren XIX, wh
Page 105 and 106: Illustration 7. Portrait of Willem
Page 107 and 108: peaceful settlement along the fring
Page 109 and 110: By analyzing the successive changes
Page 111 and 112: convene in Amsterdam; the following
Page 113 and 114: This formulation, which must previo
Page 115 and 116: Amsterdam or Middelburg. 29 In this
Page 117 and 118: (1566-1626), later burgemeester of
Page 119 and 120: placed next to his description of t
Page 121 and 122: That these two provisions remained
Page 123 and 124: provinces. The creation of the WIC
Page 125 and 126: The result was that the delegates f
Page 127 and 128: to the original charter gave the ch
Page 129 and 130: thus shows the political—as oppos
Page 131 and 132: 1/10 of the equipagie and two direc
Page 133 and 134: taken place. Once the draft letter
Page 135 and 136: Table 5. Seating for the delegation
Page 137 and 138: phase of the company’s Groot Dess
Page 139 and 140: to be understood the sending over o
Page 141 and 142: But by far the most important trans
Page 143 and 144: Illustration 8. Map of Mauritstad a
Page 145 and 146: geographers whose works remain a tr
Page 147 and 148: important military, administrative,
Page 149 and 150: noblemen played in overseas adminis
Page 151: good order, police and justice, and
Page 155 and 156: servants. These individuals may not
Page 157 and 158: At this point the election was comp
Page 159 and 160: (Receiver General) of the United Pr
Page 161 and 162: Why did these candidates all refuse
Page 163 and 164: Alexander's name was almost certain
Page 165 and 166: None of the remaining records indic
Page 167 and 168: would be profitable and that their
Page 169 and 170: Haecxs thanked them for the honor t
Page 171 and 172: On June 22, 1645—just a week befo
Page 173 and 174: 5. Wolter Schonenborch and the Ritu
Page 175 and 176: with the WIC presumably did not go
Page 177 and 178: Haecx recorded in his diary that on
Page 179 and 180: wavered, for De Laet, who was many
Page 181 and 182: privately to Brazil, legally or ill
Page 183 and 184: 1. Introduction Chapter Five Free T
Page 185 and 186: left relatively open. 6 Where monop
Page 187 and 188: community saw greater profits in pr
Page 189 and 190: and close trade to private merchant
Page 191 and 192: trouble paying its bills, especiall
Page 193 and 194: means to capitalize the company wit
Page 195 and 196: director than his trade to Brazil,
Page 197 and 198: With the verhoging stalled, and ani
Page 199 and 200: e handled without gloves.” 55 In
Page 201 and 202: “walking the land half-naked” f
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While the resolution as a whole sho
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along with the two powerful Amsterd
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Cornelis Melijn, of a patroonschap
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this measure, he said, “no one in
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maintaining the company's solvency,
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colony, overestimated the number of
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And Maurits offered another argumen
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Stellingwerf, who sat in the States
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Provinces, plus smaller fees of 3%
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exclude private merchants from the
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clamoring for slaves. 136 The probl
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expedition's success, along with de
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trading locations on the Gold Coast
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directly from New Netherland, and s
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over trade was simply the projectio
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the area in which the company was b
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had not yet been renewed. 4 As the
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to the Dutch state, and that this d
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ookkeeping from late-fifteenth cent
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ambitions. 21 Although neither Spec
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expenses at each of the company's c
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included. 34 In Specx’s estimatio
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calculations yielded a profit of 41
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notes on these documents, suggest t
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It was, of course, a fiction. With
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to hang from the body [...] This sh
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van West-Indien (New World, or a De
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title page of the revised edition a
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It occurred to me that these miracu
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third in the Kort Verhael. This rep
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This extraordinary conclusion might
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enemy” and the positive effects o
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appeared in the late 1630s in the c
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versus settlement. He was also more
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An exceptionally cold winter delaye
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failure of Dutch imperialism from t
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that focuses on political and imper
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support to the WIC, but they also i
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Maurits predicted and which was not
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British Library Additional Manuscri
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Burke, Peter. A Social History of K
Page 285 and 286:
Goffman, Erving. Frame Analysis: An
Page 287 and 288:
Jonge, J. K. J. De Oorsprong van Ne
Page 289 and 290:
Noorlander, Danny L. “Serving God
Page 291 and 292:
Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Na
Page 293:
1624-1654, edited by Marianne L. Wi
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