Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University

Although the VOC frequently used violence to gain access to Asian markets, including attacks
on Portuguese ships—for the defense of which the jurist Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) became
famous—it engaged primarily in trade. 31 Between 1602 and 1795, it was able to generate both
substantial profits and consistent dividends for its shareholders. The WIC, by contrast, was from
the outset designed to serve as an instrument in the war against Spain and to attack Spanish
settlements in the New World. Merchants immediately recognized the enormous risks involved
in this strategy and were slow to invest: it took almost three years to raise an initial capital of
seven million guilders, the same sum the VOC had raised in less than a month. 32 And merchants'
concerns were not without foundation. Despite the seizure of a Spanish treasure fleet by Piet
Heyn (1577-1629) in 1628 and a string of military successes in the late 1630s and early 1640s,
the WIC was chronically beset by financial problems; in 1674 it was finally declared bankrupt
and reorganized. The Second WIC, created the same year, never attempted to replicate the grand
designs of the first company and concentrated instead on the trade in gold and slaves. It was
finally dissolved in 1791. 33
Scholars disagree on the reasons for the WIC's failure. A generation of historians writing
in the late 1950s and early 1960s focused primarily on internal politics. W. J. van Hoboken
argued that, while the WIC proved a valuable military asset, “From an economic point of view it
was, on the contrary, a weak vessel and much under the influence of ancient provincial and
Geoctrooieerde Compagnie: De VOC en de WIC als Voorlopers van de Naamloze Vennootschap (Amsterdam:
Stichting tot Bevordering der Notariële Wetenschap, 2005).
31
Martine Ittersum, Profit and principle: Hugo Grotius, natural rights theories and the rise of Dutch power in the
East Indies, 1595-1615 (Leiden: Brill, 2006).
32
J. G. van Dillen, Van Rijkdom en Regenten: Handboek tot de Economische en Sociale Geschiedenis van
Nederland tijdens de Republiek (’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1970), 150. During the first half of the
seventeenth century 10 Dutch gulden— translated throughout the dissertation as "guilders," but in the literature also
commonly referred to as "Florins"—were equal to approximately 60 Flemish pounds or £1 sterling. Ordinary
soldiers in WIC employment received between 10-15 guilders per month in wages. Johan Maurits, Governor
General of Dutch Brazil from 1637-44, received 1,800 guilders per month, plus expenses. A good ship of 300 lasts
could be purchased for 25,000 guilders.
33
Den Heijer, De Geschiedenis van de WIC.
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