Page 74 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
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VOC’s records to be lower than it actually was. It is remarkable that the dimensions of the vessels were mostly larger than the prescribed charter while the corresponding lastmaat, as per the egalisaties, was less. This deflated lastmaat value can be observed in the records of the ma- jority of the vessels that were meant to remain in Asia after (NA .., VOC , fol. ). In addition to building these ship-types, the VOC also started to buy medium-sized yachts. The first yachts which were sent out by the organisation were not designated for a specific route or purpose but simply for ‘sailing within Asia’. However, the VOC would soon pay atten- tion to the specific requirements for vessels in certain areas and modify the yachts accordingly. Eventually, medium sized yachts were the primary vessels in the VOC’s Asian fleet. After , these yachts would seldom sail back to the Netherlands since the task of the adviesjacht, that is. direct communication between the Netherlands and the VOC headquarters on Java, was absorbed by the regular retourvaart. The lifespan of most of these yachts was shorter than years although some of the purpose built yachts could be in use in Asia for as long as years. Some vessels captured in Asia from the Iberians and the English are placed in this rate be- cause of the similarity of their functional aspects to medium-sized VOC yachts. Although the majority of the many captured Portuguese vessels were smaller, some – mostly those captured in the period to – were between and last. These are called Portuguese or Span- ish navets in VOC sources that describe the taking of the vessels. While in use by the VOC they were simply called yachts most of the time. The VOC captured the navets from the Portuguese in the Strait of Malacca and on the coasts of India and used them in most regions except Japan and the Arabian Sea, but only for a few years. The VOC captured English yachts were only in service for a short period, with the exception of the yacht Supply, captured in and re- named Cabo Jasques after the location at the entrance of the Persian Gulf where it was captured. The medium-sized yacht developed as a very successful vessel type within the VOC’s fleet in Asia. If extensive military power was not needed in a certain region or when the organisation of trade did not allow large cargo carriers to operate, this type of yacht could be used efficiently on almost every route for almost every purpose. The prefix oorlogs (war) was often attached to the term ‘yacht’ for the vessels of this rate, but no yacht was exclusively called an oorlogsjacht (war-yacht). The designations for these yachts reflected their use, which was mainly a combina- tion of military and commercial applications. A selection of the medium-sized yachts in service by the VOC in Asia up to will be discussed in detail in this section to demonstrate the diversity of their use. Soon after the VOC’s decision to establish a permanent organisation in Asia, discussions started about the most suitable types of vessels for specific purposes in Asia. One of the first ships to show a degree of specialisation on a specific trading route in Asia is the Der Goes In the Supply/Cabo Jasques (ID:) was still used by the VOC in the Strait of Malacca From onwards the VOC also built yachts of these dimensions in Asia, for instance, on the Coromandel Coast and in Japara on Java. Most of these yachts were used on the coasts of India and Ceylon but they also sailed to the Spice Islands and the South China Sea. A multi-purpose vessel for Asian shipping (ID:) which sailed to Asia in . to be one of the prototypes for the ships for the VOC’s Asian fleet. After arriving at Bantam, the Der Goes made a trip to the Spice Islands in , after which it was reserved for the regular trade between Bantam and the Coromandel Coast (NA .., VOC , -). By , when the ship was worn out, she had made five trips to the Coast. The trips were scheduled with departure from Java at the end of the year and return to Java at the beginning of the following year. On her fifth trip in the Der Goes stayed in the Bay of Bengal and spent her last years in regional shipping; at this time the ship was probably unsafe for the longer journey to Java and back. The Der Goes was then replaced by the much larger Gouden Leeuw (ID:) on this scheduled service (MacLeod a, p. ). It is interesting to note that the Der Goes was one of the smallest vessels termed generically "ship" in VOC sources. This newly built vessel of feet might be considered The development of the VOC fleet .
