Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
served to coordinate and align interests at home. Emphasis on the antagonism between Amsterdam and Zeeland within the company is warranted, but this antagonism was a symptom of advancing centralization, rather than evidence for its failure. The Dutch Revolt made the state, both at home and abroad and, in this sense, the WIC was an important part of state-building in the Dutch Republic. Second, the States General played an active and important role in WIC management, in a fashion quite distinct from the VOC. This arose from the negotiations to create the company and, at least in part, drew inspiration from Willem Usselincx’s idea for a Raedt van Indien that would balance merchants’ interests in profit with the nobility’s traditional roles administering justice, governing territories, and commanding forces in war. The final charter did not include this proposal, but in accepting a prominent role for representatives of the States General in the meetings of the Heren XIX it created the opportunity for what amounted to a standing committee on West Indian affairs in The Hague staffed by noblemen and influential delegates at the States General. At the same time that the Prince of Orange, Frederik Hendrik, was centralizing power in his own hands and pursuing broader dynastic ambitions in Europe, the WIC and its friends in the States General worked in concert to conquer Iberian territories and exploit them to enhance the wealth, power, and prestige of the Republic. Here Spanish examples were of paramount importance, including to crucial debates over how to govern and populate colonies in the New World. The Dutch did not only steal Iberian colonies, they stole the institutional models on which these colonies were run. This is an important counterpoint to work on the influence of the image of Venice as a stable, commercial republic. At the same time, the States General and the ailing Prince were limited in what they could to do on the company’s behalf. The provinces, and especially Holland, provided crucial 265
support to the WIC, but they also imposed important political and financial constraints. Although on several occasions the company was promised annual subsidies, in practice these lapsed after 1633 and the company was left to cover the mounting costs of war, not least in Brazil. It did so by raising additional private capital in the form of new shares and, later, interest-yielding bonds. In effect, and from the very beginning, the entire project of New World conquest was to be funded by private investment, in return for the granting of monopoly rights by the States General. This took the form of a series of compromises, including the charter itself, the 1636 verhoging and subsequent decision to re-impose the company's monopoly on trade to Brazil, and the renewal of the VOC charter in return for 1.5 million guilders to fund the relief. On the one hand, the States General's limited ability to guarantee these monopolies in the face of private merchant interests left the company perpetually on the edge of bankruptcy. On the other, the opportunity for private initiative transformed the company’s conquests into a potential target for speculative capital. It is interesting in this context to consider that the height of enthusiasm for Brazil followed the Tulip Bubble by less than ten years, and popped just as quickly. One of the important consequences of this approach to colonial management was that the company's revenues from Africa, its most reliable area of operation, increasingly were used to fund riskier undertakings in the New World—just as the Amsterdam merchants trading to Africa had feared they would during the negotiations to create the WIC in the first two decades of the seventeenth century. We have been taught to think of Africa as a source of labor, but this is only part of the story. During the 1620s and early 1630s, the company derived considerable profits from gold, ivory, and pepper; after 1636 the focus shifted to the trade in slaves. The slave trade was initially conceived of as a means to populate Brazil and to offset the financial burdens of expanding and defending the colony. But after the revolt in Pernambuco, the slave trade became 266
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- Page 287 and 288: Jonge, J. K. J. De Oorsprong van Ne
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served to coordin<strong>at</strong>e and align interests <strong>at</strong> home. Emphasis on the antagonism between<br />
Amsterdam and Zeeland within the company is warranted, but this antagonism was a symptom<br />
of advancing centraliz<strong>at</strong>ion, r<strong>at</strong>her than evidence for its failure. The Dutch Revolt made the st<strong>at</strong>e,<br />
both <strong>at</strong> home and abroad and, in this sense, the WIC was an important part of st<strong>at</strong>e-building in<br />
the Dutch Republic.<br />
Second, the St<strong>at</strong>es General played an active and important role in WIC management, in a<br />
fashion quite distinct from the VOC. This arose from the negoti<strong>at</strong>ions to cre<strong>at</strong>e the company and,<br />
<strong>at</strong> least in part, drew inspir<strong>at</strong>ion from Willem Usselincx’s idea for a Raedt van Indien th<strong>at</strong> would<br />
balance merchants’ interests in profit with the nobility’s traditional roles administering justice,<br />
governing territories, and commanding forces in war. The final charter did not include this<br />
proposal, but in accepting a prominent role for represent<strong>at</strong>ives of the St<strong>at</strong>es General in the<br />
meetings of the Heren XIX it cre<strong>at</strong>ed the opportunity for wh<strong>at</strong> amounted to a standing committee<br />
on West Indian affairs in The Hague staffed by noblemen and influential deleg<strong>at</strong>es <strong>at</strong> the St<strong>at</strong>es<br />
General. At the same time th<strong>at</strong> the Prince of Orange, Frederik Hendrik, was centralizing power in<br />
his own hands and pursuing broader dynastic ambitions in Europe, the WIC and its friends in the<br />
St<strong>at</strong>es General worked in concert to conquer Iberian territories and exploit them to enhance the<br />
wealth, power, and prestige of the Republic. Here Spanish examples were of paramount<br />
importance, including to crucial deb<strong>at</strong>es over how to govern and popul<strong>at</strong>e colonies in the New<br />
World. The Dutch did not only steal Iberian colonies, they stole the institutional models on<br />
which these colonies were run. This is an important counterpoint to work on the influence of the<br />
image of Venice as a stable, commercial republic.<br />
At the same time, the St<strong>at</strong>es General and the ailing Prince were limited in wh<strong>at</strong> they<br />
could to do on the company’s behalf. The provinces, and especially Holland, provided crucial<br />
265
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