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Thorsteinson War, and called on the States of Holland to pay the balance of the subsidies they owed to the company. 106 Similar messages came from other sources: Jacob Cats (1577-1660), the poet and Raad Pensionaris, who served in the powerful position as chair in the States of Holland, delivered a letter from the company requesting financial assistance and on September 26 the States received a letter from the Prince of Orange lamenting the situation in Brazil and requesting prompt assistance to lift “the heavy burden hanging over the heads” of the company's directors and the colony. 107 The collective weight of these messages had some effect: according to Nicholas Stellingwerf, the delegate to the States of Holland from Medenblik, there was general agreement to provide the company with additional funds as quickly as possible. Only Amsterdam objected: although the city wielded but one of nineteen votes, its financial and political influence was such that no resolution could be reached without its support. 108 Cautious about irritating Portugal, Amsterdam repeatedly asked for additional time to consider the matter and effectively succeeded in blocking any support from the States of Holland. The delegation to the States of Zeeland was more successful. Led by Louys and De Laet, and joined by the other members of the sub-committee from Middelburg, along with the Zeeland chamber's lawyer, this delegation was given an audience on September 16. 109 Present were representatives of each of Zeeland’s seven cities, as well as Johan de Knuyt (1587-1654), representative of the Eerste Edele (First Nobleman), the Prince of Orange. 110 Again, the delegation closely followed their script, but rather than dwelling on Portugal's treachery, they                                                          106 Ibid., entry for September 23, 1645. During the Thorsteinson War (1643-45) the Dutch entered an alliance with Sweden to force Christian IV, King of Denmark-Norway, to abandon protectionist policies in the Baltic. A peace agreement was signed on August 13, 1645, freeing personnel for possible service in Brazil. See Israel, The Dutch Republic, 543–544. 107 Staten van Holland and Westvriesland, Gedrukt Resoluties, September 23 and September 26, 1645. 108 Westfries Archief, Medemblik 0715, inv. 131, entry for September 27, 1645. 109 Resoluties van de Staten van Zeeland, entry for September 16, 1645. 110 On De Knuyt, see J. H. Kluiver, De Souvereine en Independente Staat Zeeland (Middelburg: De Zwarte Arend, 1998), 116–118.   75
emphasized the considerable sums invested in the company and the potential repercussions for ordinary shareholders if the colony were to be lost. This was a message tailored to the cities of Zeeland, where anti-Iberian sentiment required little encouragement, and where public institutions and small shareholders may have made up a larger share of total investment. 111 The delegation warned that the company was in danger of going under completely: “We whole- heartedly cry out, ‘Help us,’” they apparently said, “‘or we shall perish.’” If no action was taken, all that would be left would be “the tears of widows, orphans, and other miserable, dejected persons” who had placed their faith in the company. 112 Immediately after the delegation departed, the States of Zeeland resolved—over initial opposition from the smaller, inland cities of Goes and Zierkzee—to fulfill their obligations for 1635, with monies collected by the 500 th penny. 113 A few days later, after receiving another delegation from the company and a letter from the Prince of Orange, the cities began negotiations to pay their respective portion of the subsidies for 1636 and 1637. 114 If the sum itself was small, it nevertheless represented an important vote of confidence. Scholars have long noted that Amsterdam was skeptical of the enormous costs of expanding and defending Dutch Brazil, and they have equally pointed to Zeeland’s continuing support for the company and its colony. 115 The analysis here, based on the circulation of information about the revolt, suggests that Amsterdam was in fact isolated in initially opposing                                                          111 Ibid., 181-182. 112 Resoluties van de Staten van Zeeland, entry for September 16, 1645. “Dogh over het geene voorby is, genoegsaem tot Onse descharge gebleken zynde, dat Wy allenthalven, met solicitatien, de gedreygende [threatened] swarigheden hebben voor d'oogen gestelt, zulcx, dat nu staende allenlyck te sien op 't gene voor de handt is, genootdruckt werden volmondigh uyt te roepen, helpt Ons, of Wy vergaen, ende dadelyck te bethoonen tot die perplexiteyt gebraght te zyn, dat, in plaetse van woorden, vreesen, voortaen niet zullen hebben uyt te storten, dan tranen van Weduwen, Weesen, ende andere miserable bedruckte Persoonen, Geinteresseerde in de Compagnie, en U Ed. Mog. Onderdanen.” 113 Ibid. 114 Ibid., entry for September 22, 1645. 115 Boxer, The Dutch in Brazil, 1624-1654; Van Hoboken, “The Dutch West India Company: the Political Background of Its Rise and Decline”; Van Dillen, “De West-Indische Compagnie, het Calvinism en de Politiek”; Kluiver, De Souvereine en Independente Staat Zeeland.   76
Page 1 and 2:
GOVERNING THE FREE SEA: THE DUTCH W
Page 3 and 4:
Abstract This dissertation takes a
Page 5 and 6:
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
Page 25 and 26:
the Western Hemisphere.” 46 Far f
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anxieties it generated, and what pl
Page 29 and 30:
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
Page 35 and 36: Illustration 2. Vergaderzaal van he
Page 37 and 38: ecords must be traced backwards—a
Page 39 and 40: of note.” 93 But it is clear that
Page 41 and 42: formative periods in the company’
Page 43 and 44: enhance the role of central authori
Page 45 and 46: trade in which the company had only
Page 47 and 48: 5. A Note on Sources This dissertat
Page 49 and 50: 1645. 110 The manuscript is found i
Page 51 and 52: period 1620-1636. 115 For the remai
Page 53 and 54: at São Salvador da Bahia de Todos
Page 55 and 56: the revolt pushed the colony’s fa
Page 57 and 58: Amsterdam newspapers did publish st
Page 59 and 60: year by the Hoge ende Secrete Raad
Page 61 and 62: the Portuguese, had crossed the Rio
Page 63 and 64: ead aloud, two resolutions were pas
Page 65 and 66: On Wednesday, the same day the ship
Page 67 and 68: with subtle differences of fact and
Page 69 and 70: The group consisted of Henderick Sc
Page 71 and 72: XIX. Each chamber selected delegate
Page 73 and 74: Inden naeme den heeren amen Saturn.
Page 75 and 76: Middelburg’s decidedly incestuous
Page 77 and 78: Illustration 6. Portrait of Johanne
Page 79 and 80: crucial role that he played in its
Page 81 and 82: When the meeting resumed on Monday
Page 83 and 84: and to steer the discussion towards
Page 85: were chosen from among the ranks of
Page 89 and 90: 4. Johannes de Laet as “Informati
Page 91 and 92: devote myself to my books.” 129 A
Page 93 and 94: interests were adequately represent
Page 95 and 96: De Laet's substantive work in the A
Page 97 and 98: that, even at the beginning, De Lae
Page 99 and 100: 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
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phase of the company’s Groot Dess
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to be understood the sending over o
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But by far the most important trans
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Illustration 8. Map of Mauritstad a
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geographers whose works remain a tr
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important military, administrative,
Page 149 and 150:
noblemen played in overseas adminis
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good order, police and justice, and
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the council's size and authority, d
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servants. These individuals may not
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At this point the election was comp
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(Receiver General) of the United Pr
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Why did these candidates all refuse
Page 163 and 164:
Alexander's name was almost certain
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None of the remaining records indic
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would be profitable and that their
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Haecxs thanked them for the honor t
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On June 22, 1645—just a week befo
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5. Wolter Schonenborch and the Ritu
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with the WIC presumably did not go
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Haecx recorded in his diary that on
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wavered, for De Laet, who was many
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privately to Brazil, legally or ill
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1. Introduction Chapter Five Free T
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left relatively open. 6 Where monop
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community saw greater profits in pr
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and close trade to private merchant
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trouble paying its bills, especiall
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means to capitalize the company wit
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director than his trade to Brazil,
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With the verhoging stalled, and ani
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e handled without gloves.” 55 In
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“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
Page 211 and 212:
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
Page 241 and 242:
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
Page 257 and 258:
title page of the revised edition a
Page 259 and 260:
It occurred to me that these miracu
Page 261 and 262:
third in the Kort Verhael. This rep
Page 263 and 264:
This extraordinary conclusion might
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enemy” and the positive effects o
Page 267 and 268:
appeared in the late 1630s in the c
Page 269 and 270:
versus settlement. He was also more
Page 271 and 272:
An exceptionally cold winter delaye
Page 273 and 274:
failure of Dutch imperialism from t
Page 275 and 276:
that focuses on political and imper
Page 277 and 278:
support to the WIC, but they also i
Page 279 and 280:
Maurits predicted and which was not
Page 281 and 282:
British Library Additional Manuscri
Page 283 and 284:
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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