Page 56 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

The special conditions prevailing in Taiwan meant that a great variety of VOC ships were dispatched to this region. The largest VOC ship type was sent to load large bulk cargoes from China and Japan. These ships arrived in the region in July/August, but had to leave before the end of October, for commercial rather than nautical reasons. Otherwise it was very difficult to get the cargo from China and Japan to Batavia in time for the return fleet that left around New Year. The Taiwanese port could however only be accessed by ships with a depth of less than  feet. In addition, the road in the Dutch settlement at Taiwan was dangerous because of foul weather during the part of the year when the ships were there. To overcome these difficulties, larger vessels were loaded with the cargo collected from the Chinese traders during the year in Taiwan and then transported during September-November to the roadstead near the Pisca- dores Islands. This transport system required a large number of cargo ships of different sizes. Some yachts assigned for military functions in this region could also carry cargo, but their armaments and construction hampered their usefulness. Captured Chinese ships were also pressed into service by the VOC, as were other Asian-built ships that were bought or hired in the region. In VOC correspondence they are all called jonken, which does not necessarily mean that they were all of the type now known as junks. It is remarkable that of a fleet of five VOC ships sailing together to the same destination near Taiwan, the three so-called jonken had pre- dominantly Chinese crews, whilst there were no Chinese crew on the other two (Blussé, Milde & Ts`Ao Yung-Ho ). Jonken/Junks sometimes carried cargo between Taiwan and Batavia or Siam, but were mostly utilised around Taiwan itself by the VOC. C t s a E Arabia Afrika Region Arabian Sea Region Bay of Bengal Region Sumatra Region Strait of Malacca Region Java Sea Region Route Spice Islands Region Route Far East Bengal Taiwan h i n a a t s a o C l e d a m o b a r r A n y o n h t a u B o M S i a n i S fC B e S e h n C a e g a a S l e a l a b a r S t r a i t oM f I o a l a c c a Malaysia Sumatra n S a B v a d a J a S a a i d n O e a e c e a a n Map .: Route to the Far East Persia India Sri Lanka The north-eastern route did not end at Taiwan but went on to Japan. Ships would sail on from Taiwan to Japan and return a few months later. Direct VOC trade between Batavia and Japan was rare until  when they lost Taiwan. However, the products in demand in Japan came for the greater part from the Asian mainland. In addition, trade with Japan was regulated very strictly by the Japanese authorities who not only controlled which goods could be imported and exported, but also in which period the sales could take place. On account of the variation between the Japanese and Europeans calendar years, this would be some time in October. The VOC skippers could not make their own decisions to take advantage of favourable conditions Connecting the Asian regions: The trading and shipping network in operation after   Vietnam Thailand (Siam) Cambodia China Kalimantan Java Spice Islands Sulawesi Lesser Sunda Island Philippines Japan