Page 61 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

Persian silk was shipped to Batavia in a fleet of war ships that had been in conflict with the Portuguese in the northern part of the Arabian Sea. The ships of this fleet arrived in Batavia in June . Part of their silk cargo was carried by the Hollandia. The saltpetre shipped as ‘useful ballast’ in the Hollandia most probably arrived in Batavia in September with the Medenblick (ID:) from the Coromandel Coast. The timely arrival of this ballast commodity was important; the VOC transport system relied on the availability of en- ough ballast goods when ships were loaded with lighter cargo. Some Chinese products like porcelain and ginger were also part of the cargo of the Hollandia. These items are reported as ‘captured’; it is known that VOC ships defeated at least four Portu- guese ships in  in the Strait of Malacca (Colenbrander , p. ; Heeres , p. ). Like some of the pepper, the precious stones and musk in the Hollandia’s cargo most probably ar- rived from Borneo on the Haan (ID:) in January . Chinese silk had been taken to Batavia from Taiwan on  January , too late to be shipped in the return fleet of . More silk was expected from Taiwan, but only arrived in December , again too late to be included in the cargo of the Hollandia. This consignment of Chinese silk was eventually shipped in the Vianen which left Batavia two months after the Hollandia.  Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters