Page 161 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

of the various VOC Chambers often also took liberties in the interpretation of the building charter that contained the main dimensions of the vessel and was intended to control the agreed division of cargo capacity between the chambers. The building and equipping of ships meant economic activity for the town so it is understandable that for many reasons it was tempting for the shipbuilder and local managers to push the boundaries. It is ironic that such an important element, shipbuilding, became subject to a game of cat and mouse between the Chambers and the Heren XVII, a game with a lot at stake. The VOC directors tried just about everything to keep the Chambers and their shipbuilders under control. They had to pledge to follow instructions; inspections and missions from other chambers were organised and penal- ties became heavier over time. In  a fine was set and in  the responsible shipbuilder had to put his hand on the written charter in order to declare solemnly that he would follow the instructions. The ultimate sanction then was that he would be removed from office. Directors were held personally responsible for all financial damage caused to the Company by the build- ing of vessels that were too large (Stapel , p. ). Regardless of these apparent limitations, Dutch shipbuilding became famous for adapting the design of vessels to changing requirements. During the studied period the VOC experimen- ted fully with the size and design of the vessels. The design of the Retourschepen in particular was almost constantly subject to small changes. It was only at the end of the th century that a serious attempt was made by the VOC to standardise their fleet. The performance of a specific vessel in relation to various features was often the subject of discussion with decisions to change the design resulting. It is however interesting that a number of ships criticised for their bad design were kept in service for many years. The VOC directors wanted an extensive fleet of VOC owned vessels in Asia for two impor- tant reasons relating to their general policy. The first factor was that the VOC strove for a monopoly over trade in a number of Asian products and did not leave transport in the hands of private local transporters. The second factor was the aim to finance the costs of acquiring products for the European market by intra-Asian trade. A substantial part of this fleet origi- nated from the Netherlands, however due to the means of acquiring vessels in Asia – including an active policy of capturing – many, mostly smaller ship types, came from another shipbuild- ing tradition. Small vessels were built by and for the VOC in many places in Asia. Judging from type-names these smaller vessels were of both European as well as local design. Unlike their Iberian competitors the VOC directors had a policy of homeland construction for most of the larger ships in their Asian fleet. This policy was partly based on practical considera- tions such as the problems the VOC experienced in finding good shipbuilding materials and ships’ carpenters in Asia. An important factor however was that the Bewindhebbers (local Direc- tors) of the Chambers wanted to control the shipbuilding themselves and keep the revenues of building and equipping ships in their own companies and cities in the Netherlands. The osten- sible reasons were their fear of exporting successful Dutch shipbuilding techniques abroad and the higher costs of shipbuilding in Asia – but this may simply have been a rationalisation of their wish to keep profits in the Netherlands. From a contemporary European perspective Asian shipbuilding techniques were considered to be of a poor standard. The military power of the ships was important and in this area most Asian ship-types were inferior to the European. Although there are examples where local rulers tried to build European ship-types, the VOC officials in Asia were not primarily concerned about the transfer of knowledge but more about the capacity of their craftsmen, the materials required and ultimately also their trade competitors. In the year  a yacht of around  last was built for the King of Siam: ‘\[in\] the Dutch manner, very strong and designed to carry  canons’. Van Goens was indignant about this development and advised that this should never be allowed. ‘The use of our excellent shipwright is already unacceptable but they would cer- tainly also get hold of our equipment and eventually try to send off these ships with our navi- gating officers to Japan’. (NA .., VOC , fol. v). Building ships in Asia for the VOC fleet was considered. In  it was suggested by Batavia that if vessels of  to  last were constructed in Japara and Siam, the VOC would not need to send this type of vessel from the Netherlands, which would result in substantial savings (Cool- haas , p. ). The VOC directors in the Netherlands believed that, on the contrary, the cost Conclusions 