Page 33 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

cause Chambers that built bigger ships than agreed would have been able to transport a larger quantity of cargo and earn more profit. The VOC was supplied with a considerable capital from large and small investors, the total investment being . million guilders. The VOC is often compared to a modern limited liability company; indeed, the shareholders were only liable for the amount of their investment. How- ever, unlike modern companies, the shareholders had little influence over management. The VOC directors had from time to time to deal with complaints and political opposition. With some material concessions and political support, this opposition could usually be overcome. The government had granted an official charter providing the new company with extensive powers. The organisation and the structure were outlined in  clauses. The States General transferred important rights to the VOC, basic to which was the sole right to fit ships for trade east of the Cape of Good Hope or through the Straits of Magellan. Some sovereign rights were also transferred. The VOC was authorised to make treaties with rulers and states in Asia, to build fortifications, and to undertake military operations, but they could not operate comple- tely independently from the Dutch government. VOC senior officials were obliged to swear their loyalty to the States General and on every return of the ships, a report was to be submitted about the state of affairs in Asia. The charter of  was granted for  years, thus in  the VOC had to apply for an extension. On this occasion, some changes were made to the clauses; as a result of complaints, the shareholders were granted more rights and some restrictions were imposed on the directors of the VOC. The internal structure with the division of assignments over the separate Chambers however, remained unchanged. Although every extension of the charter gave rise to negotiations with the States General, the VOC became a strong and perma- nent organisation, with a structure that was unprecedented at the time. Searching for a suitable organisation in Asia up to  The Dutch, more than their Portuguese, Spanish and English competitors, became deeply in- volved in the organisation and control of their trade and shipping in the Asian region. This development was based on the economic-political strategy followed by the Dutch. The VOC aimed for the control over purchasing of specific products in Asia, hoping to acquire a mono- poly on particular items such as spices. The general idea was that if they were able to prevent competition, mainly from the European traders, they would be able to dictate purchase prices, control the export and therefore also, to a certain extent, the selling prices in Europe. Another important objective of the VOC was to minimize the import of money from Europe into Asia, and to fund the operations in Asia and the purchase of the return cargo through intra-Asian trade. To meet these ambitions, it was essential to participate in the existing trade network in Asia. An essential pre-condition to this was the availability of local products for the Asian trade. Most European products, apart from money and bullion, were of minimal value on the Asian markets or could only be sold in small quantities. The main goal of the Voor-Compagnieën was purely commercial; nevertheless, they were also  equipped for confrontations with other European nations . They expected a strong Iberian in- fluence in Asia since the Spanish and the Portuguese controlled important strongholds on the traditional trading routes. By aiming for the commercial centre, Bantam, on the island of Java, the Dutch hoped to steer clear of the main Portuguese spheres of influence, like Goa and Ma- lacca. Bantam seemed to be the ideal place to set up trade because of its long history as a centre for pepper and spice trade and its international contacts, for example, with the Chinese traders. The Dutch, however, were misinformed and found out on arrival that Portuguese merchants were present in Bantam. But the Portuguese power in most places in Asia was not absolute, and in Bantam it was very limited; in fact they were just one of the trading nations in Bantam and in that sense were equal to the Dutch. Until the arrival of other European nations in Asia, there was no need for the Portuguese to establish a firm position there. As Spain and Portugal were the only nations already trading in Asia, they maintained strict control over their regional market. With the arrival of competition in that market their only recourse was to the strong political influence that they wielded in order to attempt to disadvantage the Dutch merchants. The Dutch expansion in Asia up to  