Page 129 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

Europe, but already the importance of this area for voyages between Asian destinations is evi- dent. The most important objective of Dutch shipping during this period was to purchase pepper and spices. The destinations of the first voyages around Africa were the harbours of west Java that were, more or less, outside the Portuguese sphere of influence. The Dutch had hoped for an easy access to pepper and spices at this location that would make a quick and direct return to Europe possible. Problems with the purchasing of the Asian products soon led to expansion to alternative destinations in the region to collect cargo, after which the ships returned to Ban- tam to start their return voyage from there. From the earliest years of Asian trading, the city of Patani (at the eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, in Area , the Gulf of Thailand) was a frequent destination to purchase pepper ( visits). The pepper market of Sumatra was also potentially important, and various missions were sent to Banda Aceh (Atjeh), Area , to establish a relationship with the local ruler. During this period,  arrivals of VOC ships from other places in Asia were recorded to Atjeh. In , the ship Leeuw (ID:) stopped at Poeloe Weh – a visit that now provides an early example of Dutch ship building in Asia. With materials that they had brought with them, they built a small yacht to operate in the local trade (Unger : ). The pepper harbours on the Sumatran west coast, south of Atjeh (Area ), were not frequented by the Dutch as this point in time ( arri- vals in Area ). Only in  did the ships Verenigde Landen (ID:) and Hof van Holland (ID:) sail to this area specifically to search for pepper and a few other ships put in to these locations for refreshments. It is interesting to note that the first trade mission from Asia to the Nether- lands took place from Atjeh when, in , a trade mission from the ruler of Banda Aceh was sent to the Netherlands, facilitated by the VOC (NA VOC : fol. ). However, relations with the local rulers could not be sustained in the longer term. The  arrivals in the Straits of Malacca were the result of the conflict with the Portuguese. The purpose of these visits was primarily military action against the Portuguese, rather than trade. Although the Dutch had initially hoped to find all the products they sought in Bantam, spices were also purchased in the areas where they were produced. From west Java, ships sailed directly to the Spice Islands in the eastern parts of the archipelago. For the islands Ter- nate, Tidore (Area ,  arrivals), Ambon (Area ,  arrivals) and Banda (Area ,  arri- vals), a total of  arrivals of Dutch ships have been recorded for this period, which makes this region the second most important destination for the VOC. During this period, there was a consistent drive to develop trade with China. Every few years, ships were sent to China but were not successful in gaining entry into the Chinese mar- ket (Stapel :  & NA .. VOC : fol. , ). A total of  ships sailed to the coast of China on different occasions but could not get permission to trade. In , Admiral Matelief, who sailed to China with three ships, declared that it was impossible to trade in China since the Portuguese were obstructing him and his ships were too weak to resist them (Jonghe : p. ). In addition, alternative explorations to Cambodia ( arrivals) and Vietnam ( arrivals) to purchase Chinese products were not very promising because of the influence of the Portu- guese and the local political instability. However, since the VOC were not officially allowed to trade with the Chinese merchants, no regular shipping could be developed to this destination. For that reason, Patani, also an important port of call for Chinese ships, had to serve as a sub- stitute location for the purchase of Chinese products together with the pepper from the Malay Peninsula. An alternative (and, in one way, very successful) source of Chinese merchandise was the capture of Portuguese ships. In  and , three large Portuguese ships were captured. The auction of the cargo of two of these ships resulted in huge profits in the Netherlands (Pijl- Ketel , Jörg  & ). Initially, the Dutch followed the route to Asia that had first been developed by the Portu- guese. This route prescribed that, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, ships followed a northerly course along the east coast of Africa and crossed the Indian Ocean in the direction of India. The Portuguese had various strongholds along the way that became a target for the Dutch fleets when the VOC adopted a more offensive stance after . Subsequently, more ships visited the Portuguese areas. Table - shows visits to the Portuguese strongholds on the An analysis of the development of VOC shipping in Asia until  