Page 103 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
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Specx, in particular was the driving force behind this development. Coen, however, saw in this a threat to the development of Batavia as the central point in Asia. In arguing against the devel- opment of Japan, he indicated that maintenance costs in Japan were too high and that there was too little control over expenses. In the ’s, the VOC had set up a ropewalk and even cast wheels for blocks in Japan (Colenbrander , p. ; Coolhaas , p. ). In , the VOC completely refurbished and refitted the Junk Fortuijn (ID:) with a Dutch rigging. Specx was aiming for a regular maintenance programme for VOC vessels rather than ad hoc repairs on passing ships. This would justify the available facilities and craftsmen (Coolhaas , p. ). The competition between Coen and Specx was dissolved by the political tension between the VOC and Japan over Taiwan. When the Dutch had regained a favourable position in Japan, Batavia was definitely established as the centre of all intra-Asian activities. Hemp from Bengal was shipped in large quantities to Batavia where in c. the VOC es- tablished a yarn spinning mill and a sailcloth-weaving mill. This project was not a success due to a lack of manpower and problems associated with the huge cargo capacity (volume) that was needed to ship over the raw materials from Bengal (Stapel , p. ). An attempt to establish a weaving mill in Bengal was also unsuccessful (Stapel , p. ). Nails for the sheathing and other maintenance work were annually requested from the Neth- erlands by Batavia. VOC posts requested barrels of nails, coils of rope and bundles of sailcloth from Batavia on a regular basis. These were intended for passing ships that had used their stock of spare materials. The production of ironwork was attempted in Coromandel but again dismissed due to the high costs and uncertain quality. The VOC was overall dissatisfied by the quality of the Asian products. It is unfortunate that they were unaware of some special qualities of the local products, such as locally used woods that had better resistance against shipworm attack. An awareness and understanding of local materials and their use could have helped solve some of the VOC’s logistical problems (Cool- haas , pp. , ; Coolhaas , p. ; NA .., VOC , fol. v). The spars and masts were essential parts of the VOC shipping machinery amd sourcing them locally caused specific problems. In times of distress, it was possible to retrieve a mast from a forest but, for common use, the Asian masts were considered unsuitable. Timber from Mauri- tius was too heavy, too ‘green’ and cracked when dried (NA .., VOC , fol. v). Although a mast from the Moluccas turned out to be satisfactory, in general, despite some experiments with jatti wood, most Asian timber was deemed to be useless (Coolhaas , p. ; Stapel , p. ). The bottleneck to the availability of European spars again lay with transport. The ships needed some special fittings to load and unload this cargo. Timber that would be long enough for spars and masts could only be loaded through a special hatch in the stern of the ship – the lastpoort. The normal hatch in the deck allowed loading of larger barrels, cannons and anchors, but were limited in size by the deck beams, which could not be more broadly spaced without undermining the integrity of the hull construction. The lastpoort was common in the stern of flutes with their big empty holds, they were however more difficult to include in the larger VOC ships with their various chambers for storage of weapons, bread and powder and other accommodation. In some instances, masts were loaed on the koebrug (the deck in the hold), but here they passed a danger to the stability of the ship due to the increased weight higher in the ship (Stapel , p. ; Witsen , p. ). For transport in Asia, older ships were some- times fitted with a lastpoort (NA .., VOC , fol. v). These ships were sent to destina- tions like Siam, Jappara, to the coast east of Batavia and to the Spice Islands. The timber col- lected there was also used in the construction of buildings at the VOC settlements. Loading the fleet: ballast and cargo in Asia Finding the balance between profitable cargo and necessary ballast was a complex issue in Asia. Many Asian products like spices and pepper were very light and could therefore only be shipped in combination with heavier cargo or ballast. The availability of profitable ballast was a constant concern, especially since the VOC was rather peculiar about the return they expected The shipping and logistics in operation
