Page 108 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
P. 108
A possible explanation of why the VOC relinquished the money can be found in a description by a th century VOC official of fishing pearl and chank shell (used in Hindu and Buddhist rituals) in the Gulf of Tutucorin. According to Joan Nieuhof, who was involved in the pearl fishing industry as a VOC merchant in the ’s, fifteen fathoms was the maximum depth the divers could reach. ‘The local divers are able to dive four times longer then our own people. They are able to dive to a depth of three to fifteen fathom but not deeper \[...\]’ (Nieuhof , p. ). According to another th century observer, the divers reached a depth of ten fathoms (Baldeus , p. ). The wreck of the Dolfijn at a depth of fathoms would have been too deep.
