Page 21 - Kraak Porcelain, Jorge Welsh

Kraak porcelain ware salvaged
from shipwrecks of the
Dutch East India Company (voc)
Christine van der Pijl-Ketel
Fig.
Drawings from the Logbook of the
Gelderland
© Nationaal Archief, Haia, Holanda,
Archieven van de Compagnieën op
Oost-Indië, nummer toegang . . ,
inventarisnummer
The establishment of the Dutch East India Company ( )
and the beginnings of the porcelain trade
During the th century, European merchants were able to buy products from the Far East
in the market cities of Lisbon and Antwerp. Exotic imports such as spices and silks import-
ed by Portuguese traders were available, but scarce and therefore very much in demand.
The demand for these exotic imports became even more intense a er when the Dutch
were at war with the Spanish. In , King Philip II of Spain permanently closed Portu-
guese ports to Dutch ships and traders. Consequently, the supply of precious merchandise
from the East was cut o .
By this time, the sea route to the East had been documented by the Dutch voyager, Jan
Huygen van Linschoten and so several Dutch merchants and ship owners decided to join
forces and embark on their own voyages to the East. Nine Amsterdam merchants, united as
the Compagnie van Verre (Far Distant Lands Company), raised , guilders from vari-
ous investors which provided the necessary trading capital as well as funds for fitting out
four ships. In this first fleet sailed to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope. Following
this, traders established several private companies (Voorcompagnieen) in other cities and
more fleets were dispatched for direct trade with Asia. Between and no less than
fourteen fleets ( ships in all) made this journey, sparking a th century version of a ‘gold-
rush’. Consequently, the price of pepper and spices in Asia increased dramatically, whilst
in Europe their price dropped because of larger supplies. This development was most un-
welcome for the Staten Generaal (States General), the highest body of the then Netherlands
Republic. Therefore in , it decided to establish a single company: the Dutch East India
Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, ).
The majority of the ’s profits derived from spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves and
mace. A prolific inter-Asiatic trade developed so that the could acquire all the goods
desired in the Netherlands. By about there was a thriving industry with the number
of outgoing ships totalling about , however, the number of ships that actually success-
fully made the return voyage is much lower, only ships, as the voyage was extremely
dangerous and a number shipwrecked.
In addition to spices, there were a limited amount of ‘luxury’ items that made up the
cargo of the ships returning to the Netherlands. Porcelain was one of these luxury
cargoes. Initially, the did not make any specific orders for porcelain; instead traders
bought what was available in the market city of Bantam on the island of Java in Indonesia.
By the time the Dutch arrived, Bantam was a well-known trading post in Southeast Asia.