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was present at twenty-seven of these meetings and in 1636 he was present at thirty-three. 141 Given that Leiden was half a day's journey from Amsterdam, this is an impressive record of involvement. Equally important, by the mid-1630s, De Laet was in his mid-fifties, making him one of the more senior directors in the chamber. The significance of this is borne out by his selection to serve on the committee of rekenmeesters (accountants), one of eleven standing committees that were modeled on similar committees in the VOC. 142 Each committee had a specialized area of responsibility, such as handling trade goods, outfitting ships, procuring “dry” and “wet” provisions and medicines, recruiting soldiers, and overseeing the colonies of Curaçao and New Netherland, which together were administered by the Amsterdam chamber on behalf of the company as a whole. 143 The committee of rekenmeesters was responsible for keeping track of all the chamber's finances, including invested capital, obligations, operating expenses, and profits. This was challenging in its own right, and would have required both trust and considerable skills in mathematics and accounting. 144 But it also required diplomatic skills, since in order for the company to calculate profit and loss in general, the individual chambers needed to reconcile all their accounts with one another at the end of each year. The status associated with these activities is confirmed by two pieces of evidence: first, all five members of the committee of rekenmeesters were senior directors in the chamber. Second, the committee formed to manage the difficult problem of populating Brazil included all of its members, plus Albert Coenraeds Burgh, later burgemeester of Amsterdam and, together with De Laet, probably the most powerful person in the chamber.                                                          141 Ibid. De Laet's attendance does not include days on which he attended meetings of the Heren XIX on the chamber's behalf. He also wrote many letters to the chamber while he was in Leiden. 142 NA 1.05.01.01, inv.nr. 14, entry for June 30, 1636. Den Heijer, De Geoctrooieerde Compagnie. 143 Den Heijer, De Geschiedenis van de WIC; Jacobs, The Colony of New Netherland; Venema, Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1586-1643): Designing a New World. 144 See Donna Merwick, “A Genre of Their Own: Kiliaen van Rensselaer as Guide to the Reading and Writing Practices of Early Modern Businessmen,” The William and Mary Quarterly 65, no. 4, Third Series (October 2008): 669–712.   83
De Laet's substantive work in the Amsterdam chamber did not end there. Once again, the surviving sources provide only a very narrow window, but in the years 1635 and 1636 De Laet twice served on subcommittees charged with drafting the agenda for the meetings of the Heren XIX and was selected to represent Amsterdam three times, in March and September 1635 and then again in June 1636. 145 He also traveled regularly to The Hague to meet with representatives of the States of Holland and the States General. One example from 1636 is particularly notable: throughout the early part of the year, discussions had been ongoing to identify an individual (or individuals) to travel to Brazil to strengthen the company's colonial government. As late as August 4, the directors were instructed, “to consider capable people to serve on the secret council in Brazil.” 146 The following day, De Laet reported back from the meetings of the Heren XIX in The Hague that Johan Maurits had been asked to serve as “Governor, Admiral, and Captain General of the Conquests in Brazil,” and that he was likely to accept. 147 There is no evidence that De Laet himself identified Maurits for the position, and he was only one of five directors in the chamber that subsequently were tasked with identifying councilors to serve together with Maurits in Recife. But De Laet’s role in conveying this highly sensitive piece of information, as well as his subsequent work helping to draft the formal instructions and terms of Maurits’ contract, make clear that he was very close to the center of decision-making within the Amsterdam chamber. 148 As Ben Teensma has shown, De Laet also was responsible for drafting a lengthy manuscript roteiro (geographical and ethnological guidebook) for Maurits’ personal use                                                          145 NA 1.05.01.01, inv.nr. 14, entries for March 16 and September 13, 1635 and May 31, 1636. 146 Ibid., entry for August 4, 1636. “De heeren werden vermaent te dencken op capable personen tot secrete raeden in Brasil.” 147 Ibid., entry for August 5, 1636. 148 NA 1.01.07, inv.nr. 12564.20, no. 120. Benoemingsbrief van Johan Maurits, graaf van Nassau, tot Gouverneur Generaal en Admiraal van Brazilie, met ambtsbevoegdheden van graaf van Nassau als GG van Brazilie, en Voorwaarden aangeboden door de Heren XIX aan de graaf van Nassau.   84
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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’
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 and 86: were chosen from among the ranks of
Page 87 and 88: emphasized the considerable sums in
Page 89 and 90: 4. Johannes de Laet as “Informati
Page 91 and 92: devote myself to my books.” 129 A
Page 93: interests were adequately represent
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
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
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geographers whose works remain a tr
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important military, administrative,
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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
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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
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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
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Noorlander, Danny L. “Serving God
Page 291 and 292:
Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Na
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1624-1654, edited by Marianne L. Wi
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