Page 151 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

riers. Retourschepen rate  were not ideal for this purpose as long as they were employed on the route back to Europe since they could not arrive back in Batavia in time for the departure of the fleet to Europe around the turn of the year as the monsoon was only favourable from around April. Therefore, the older rate  cargo carriers from the early period or comparable old cargo carriers that were explicitly sent to remain in Asia played an important role in trans- port in the s. After  flutes and the older retourschepen that were no longer fit for a return voyage took over this role. The vessels that were only suitable for the transport of goods and cargo were dispatched around the change of the monsoon in order to avoid a long delay in the region while they waited for favourable winds. This also fits in with the ambition of the VOC to use their fleet all year round. For instance, flutes returning from the Spice Islands just after the turn of the monsoon in April could then still make a trip to the Far East. For multi-purpose vessels like the middle-sized yachts (rate ) the situation was the opposite: they had to stay in the region for as long as possible during the favourable monsoon season. Their main task was to secure the monopoly against private traders. So some middle-sized yachts arrived at the earliest possible time after the turn of the monsoon to prevent other ships from entering the region. They returned to Batavia at the latest possible time, or they stayed in the region. The activity level of the rate  vessels were stable at around  ship movements per -year period but reached a high in the s. Locally, most of these vessels operated between the destinations of Ambon, Ceram () and Moluccas () where many small islands produced the desired cloves. To protect the harbours and also ensure that the monopoly was not broken the VOC needed the smaller vessels of rates  to . During the period up to , small yachts like the fregats in rate  played an important role in the establishment of the VOC’s power base at a local level. Similarly to the situation in the Strait of Malacca, these vessels were well equipped to control the shipping. In the analysis of the activity level in the various destinations (Table -) in this region, it is clear that Ambon served as the central destination in the Spice Islands. After the situation had stabilised in this region there was little need to send militarily equipped vessels to destinations like the Banda Islands, far away from the mainstream of shipping. It is important to note that destinations on the route to the Spice Islands were visited as stopovers and to collect supplies, but they could also be independent destinations from Batavia. The "Far East" (Areas -) This region centres on Taiwan (Area ) and Japan (Area ) as the main destinations. China (Area ) and the Philippines (the islands at the Sulu Sea, Area ) were derivative destinations: the VOC was active in the waters of the Philippines in their attempt to frustrate the traditional trade between Chinese merchants and the Spaniards who exchanged the sought-after Chinese products like silk for silver from Mexico. So China was, in a way, the main reason for the VOC’s presence in the region but the actual amount of Dutch shipping to China was minimal due to the Chinese ban on the Dutch from landing on the Chinese coast. The VOC, therefore, found an alternative destination in Taiwan that they could control; firstly, as a regional emporium for the exchange of products, and later also for some local products like deerskins and sugar. Thailand (Area ), Cambodia () and Vietnam () were alternative destinations for the purchase of "Chinese" products en route to Taiwan and Japan. Thailand was also a trading source for food and wood for Batavia. Sarawak (Area ), the area on the north coast of Kalimantan was only visited by some wayward large ships from the Voorcompagnieën and very few small vessels in later years. All these areas are situated along the shores of the South and East China Seas, but are, for reasons of convenience, also often called by their traditional name "Far East" in this book. As the waters around China, Taiwan and Japan were considered dangerous due to the ty- phoons, strong well-built ships were required. The Chinese coast, although only visited occa- sionally for military reasons, demanded easily manoeuvrable vessels to negotiate the narrow channels between the many islands. Physical conditions in Taiwan also put severe limitations on visiting vessels. The entrance to this VOC post was so shallow that only vessels with a  Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters