Page 131 - Dutch Asiatic Shipping Volume 1

that a very thrifty stewardship was to be carried out. But the Cape was not expected to
show a profit. According to the Memorie van Mesnage, used by the directors around 1777
as guideline for income and expenditure of the overseas offices, an annual deficit at the
Cape of fl 233,907 was considered acceptable.
Even when this target was not achieved,
expenditure on the Cape, where around 50 ships with an average of 200 men stayed for
over a month, does not appear excessive.
45 The entry 'expenses: ships' was estimated in this memorandum from the Hoge Regering at
fl 107,250. Jeffreys (ed.), Kaapse Archiefstukken 1779, 497.
45