a fleet of five ships. On reaching Palembang in Sumatra he learned from
the Chinese crew of a trading vessel that a Portuguese fleet of eight
large galleons and twenty-two smaller ships, under André Furtado de
Mendoça, was besieging Bantam with a view of punishing its ruler for
having traded with the Dutch. Mendoça was a man of renown in the
East,[34] having been a successful commander in many wars, and his force
was apparently so enormous in comparison with that under Hermanszoon
that at first sight it would seem foolhardy to contend with it. But the
Sea Beggars were not given to be afraid of anything on their own
element, and they realised the importance of relieving Bantam and
establishing their reputation for valour in the eyes of the Indian
rulers. Accordingly Hermanszoon prepared his ships for action, sailed to
Bantam, and on the 25th of December 1601 boldly attacked the great
galleons.
It was soon seen that the battle was not such an unequal one after all.
Mendoça had eight hundred Portuguese soldiers in his fleet, but the
crews of his ships were all lascars or slaves, who were almost useless
in battle. Hermanszoon could choose his position, deliver his fire, and
then stand off and prepare for another attack. His ships, clumsy as they
would appear to our eyes, were to those of the Portuguese like what
modern gunboats under steam would be to three-deckers of the last
century. At nightfall Mendoça drew his ships close together under an
island, and arranged them to act as a great fort. On the 26th the
weather was stormy, so that nothing could be done. On the 27th
Hermanszoon attacked again, and succeeded in overmastering and burning
two of the smaller ships of war after nearly every one on board was
killed. Mendoça used three more of his frigates as fire ships, but the
Dutch vessels were too swift for him and were out of harm’s way before
they exploded. He did not wait to be attacked again, and on the morning
of the 28th his armada was seen to be in full flight and Bantam was
relieved.
[Sidenote: Success of the Dutch at Bantam.]
The Dutch were received with transports of joy by the ruler and people
of the place, and a commercial treaty greatly to their advantage was
entered into. At Banda also a similar treaty was concluded. When
returning home, a Portuguese carrack or freight ship of the largest
size, with a valuable cargo on board, was captured off St. Helena, so
that the voyage was a very profitable one.
Mendoça, after his flight from Bantam, directed his course to Amboina,
where he inflicted heavy punishment upon the natives for trading with
the Dutch, and cut down all the clove trees in the neighbourhood of the
principal town. He then placed a garrison in the fort there, and took
his departure.
Jacob van Heemskerk left Holland in company with Hermanszoon on the 23rd
of April 1601 on his second voyage to India as admiral of a fleet of
eight ships. In June 1603 he captured a carrack very richly laden with
silk, porcelain, and other Chinese productions, on her way from Macao to
Malacca. A few weeks later another carrack similarly laden was captured
at Macao without resistance by a fleet under Cornelis van Veen.
Altogether between 1595 and 1602 sixty-five ships sailed from Holland
and Zeeland for India, of which only fifty-four returned. By this time
it had become evident that large armed fleets were necessary to secure
safety and to cope with the Portuguese there if a permanent trade was
to be established. The rivalry too between the little companies was
raising the price of spices so greatly in the East and lowering it in
Europe that it was feared there would soon be no profit left. For these
reasons, and to conduct the Indian trade in a manner the most beneficial
to the people of the whole republic, the states-general resolved to
unite all the small trading associations in one great company with many
privileges and large powers. The first step to this end was to
amalgamate the various companies in each town, and when this was
effected, to bring them all under one directorate. The charter, or terms
upon which the consolidated Company came into existence, was dated at
the Hague on the 20th of March 1602, and contained forty-six clauses,
the principal of which were as follows:--
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
All of the inhabitants of the United Netherlands had the right given to
them to subscribe to the capital in as small or as large sums as they
might choose, with this proviso, that if more money should be tendered
than was needed, those applying for shares of over two thousand five
hundred pounds sterling should receive less, so that the applicants for
smaller shares might have the full amounts asked for allotted to them.
The chambers, or offices for the transaction of business, were to
participate in the following proportion: that of Amsterdam one-half,
that of Middelburg in Zeeland one-quarter, those of Delft and Rotterdam,
otherwise called of the Maas, together one-eighth, and those of Hoorn
and Enkhuizen, otherwise called those of the North Quarter or sometimes
those of North Holland and West Friesland, together the remaining
eighth.
The general directory was to consist of seventeen persons, eight of whom
were to represent the chamber of Amsterdam, four that of Middelburg, two
those of the Maas, two those of the North Quarter, and the seventeenth
was to be chosen alternately by all of these except the chamber of
Amsterdam. The place of meeting of the general directory was fixed at
Amsterdam for six successive years, then at Middelburg for two years,
then at Amsterdam again for six years, and so on.
[Sidenote: Charter of the East India Company.]
The directors of each chamber were named in the charter, being the
individuals who were the directors of the companies previously
established in those towns, and it was provided that no others should be
appointed until these should be reduced by death or resignation: in the
chamber of Amsterdam to twenty persons, in that of Zeeland to twelve,
and in those of Delft, Rotterdam, Hoorn, and Enkhuizen each to seven.
After that, whenever a vacancy should occur, the remaining directors
were to nominate three qualified individuals, of whom the states of the
province in which the chamber was situated were to select one.
To qualify an individual to be a director in the chambers of the North
Quarter it was necessary to own shares to the value of £250 sterling,
and double that amount to be a director in any of the other chambers.
The directors were to be bound by oath to be faithful in the
administration of the duties entrusted to them, and not to favour a
majority of the shareholders at the expense of a minority. Directors
were prohibited from selling anything whatever to the Company without
previously obtaining the sanction of the states provincial or the
authorities of the city in which the chamber that they represented was
situated.
All inhabitants of the United Provinces other than this Company were
prohibited from trading beyond the Straits of Magellan, or to the
eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, during the period of twenty-one
years, for which the charter was granted, under penalty of forfeiture of
ship and cargo. Within these limits the East India Company was empowered
to enter into treaties and make contracts in the name of the
states-general, to build fortresses, to appoint governors, military
commanders, judges, and other necessary officers, who were all, however,
to take oaths of fidelity to the states-general or high authorities of
the Netherlands, who were not to be prevented from making complaints to
the states-general, and whose appointments were to be reported to the
states-general for confirmation.
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
For these privileges the Company was to pay £12,500 sterling, which
amount the states-general subscribed towards the capital, for the profit
and at the risk of the general government of the provinces. The capital
was nominally furnished in the following proportions: Amsterdam
one-half, Zeeland one-fourth, the Maas one-eighth, and the North Quarter
one-eighth; but in reality it was contributed as under:--
£ _s._ _d._
Amsterdam 307,202 10 0
Zeeland 106,304 10 0
The Maas {Delft 38,880 3 4
{Rotterdam 14,546 16 8
The North Quarter {Hoorn 22,369 3 4
{Enkhuizen 47,380 3 4
------------------------
Total working capital 536,683 6 8
The share of the states-general 12,500 0 0
------------------------
Total nominal capital 549,183 6 8
The capital was divided into shares of £250 sterling each. The shares,
often sub-divided into fractions, were negotiable like any other
property, and rose or fell in value according to the position of the
Company at any time.
The advantage which the State derived from the establishment of this
great association was apparent. The sums received in payment of import
dues would have been contributed to an equal extent by individual
traders. The amounts paid for the renewal of the charter--in 1647 the
Company paid £133,333 6_s._ 8_d._ for its renewal for twenty-five years,
and still larger sums were paid subsequently--might have been derived
from trading licenses. The Company frequently aided the Republic with
loans of large amount when the State was in temporary need, but loans
could then have been raised in the modern method whenever necessary.
Apart from these services, however, there was one supreme advantage
gained by the creation of the East India Company which could not have
been obtained from individual traders. A powerful navy was called into
existence, great armed fleets working in unison and subject to the same
control were always ready to assist the State. What must otherwise have
been an element of weakness, a vast number of merchant ships scattered
over the ocean and ready to fall a prey to an enemy’s cruisers, was
turned into a bulwark of strength.
[Sidenote: Influence of Amsterdam.]
In course of time several modifications took place in the constitution
of the Company, and the different provinces as well as various cities
were granted the privilege of having representatives in one or other of
the chambers. Thus the provinces Gelderland, Utrecht, and Friesland, and
the cities Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden, and Gouda had each a
representative in the chamber of Amsterdam; Groningen had a
representative in the chamber of Zeeland; Overyssel one in the chamber
of Delft, &c. The object of this was to make the Company represent the
whole Republic.
Notwithstanding such regulations, however, the city of Amsterdam soon
came to exercise an immoderate influence in the direction. In 1672 it
was estimated that shares equal to three-fourths of the whole capital
were owned there, and of the twenty-five directors of the local chamber,
eighteen were chosen by the burgomasters of the city. Fortunately, the
charter secured to the other chambers a stated proportion of patronage
and trade.
Such was the constitution of the Company which set itself the task of
destroying the Portuguese power in the East and securing for itself the
lucrative spice trade. It had no difficulty in obtaining as many men as
were needed, for the German states--not then as now united in one great
empire--formed an almost inexhaustible reservoir to draw soldiers from,
and the Dutch seaports, together with Norway, Sweden, and Denmark,
furnished an adequate supply of excellent seamen. It sent out strong and
well-armed fleets, capable of meeting any force the enemy had to oppose
them, and of driving him from the open seas.
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
The first of these fleets was sent out in two divisions, one of three
large ships, under Sebald de Weert, which sailed on the 31st of March
1602, and the other of eleven large ships and a yacht, under Wybrand van
Waerwyk, which followed on the 17th of June. Sebald de Weert directed
his course to the island of Ceylon, and cast anchor in the harbour of
Batticaloa on the eastern shore. The maharaja of Kandy was then the most
powerful ruler in the island, and was at war with the Portuguese.
Spilbergen had been to visit him, and now De Weert followed, he and his
attendants riding inland on elephants. He was received with great state
by the maharaja and the people. An agreement was made of close
friendship and commercial intercourse, and a plan of operations against
the Portuguese was arranged. De Weert returned to Batticaloa, and
proceeded to Atchin for assistance, from which place he came back with
seven ships.
But now a great blunder was made. No meat was to be purchased, and as
some cows were seen a party of men went ashore and shot them, in
absolute ignorance of the Buddhist belief in the transmigration of souls
and the commandment not to take life.[35] Full payment was offered, but
was indignantly refused, and a complete revulsion of feeling towards the
Dutch took place. De Weert could not imagine the cause of this, but
prepared to give the maharaja, who was on his way to the coast, a
splendid reception on board his ship. Meantime four Portuguese vessels
were captured, and their crews were released and sent away. One of the
maharaja’s sons was a prisoner in the hands of the Portuguese, and he
thought to obtain his liberty in exchange for the Portuguese officers.
When the captives were released without an exchange having been effected
the prince’s rage knew no bounds. On the 1st of June 1603 De Weert and
forty-six others went ashore unsuspicious of danger, when they were
suddenly attacked by the maharaja’s order, and all were put to death.
This ended commercial intercourse for a time, but in 1610 another treaty
of friendship was entered into with the ruler of Kandy.
[Sidenote: Establishment at Bantam.]
Wybrand van Waerwyk with the principal division of the fleet cast anchor
before Bantam in the island of Java, and in August 1603 concluded an
arrangement with the sultan for the establishment of a permanent factory
or trading station in that town. A strong stone building was procured
for the purpose, goods were landed and stored, and an officer named
François Wittert was placed in charge with a staff of assistants. This
factory at Bantam was for several years thereafter regarded as the
principal establishment of the Dutch in India. Another, but much smaller
one, was soon afterwards formed at Grésik in the same island.
Though the Dutch were soon in almost undisputed possession of the
valuable Spice islands, they were never able to eject the Portuguese
from the comparatively worthless coast of South-Eastern Africa. That
coast would only have been an encumbrance to them, if they had secured
it, for its commerce was never worth much more than the cost of its
maintenance until the highlands of the interior were occupied by
Europeans, and the terrible mortality caused by its malaria would have
been a serious misfortune to them. It was out of their ocean highway
too, for they steered across south of Madagascar, instead of keeping
along the African shore. But they were drawn on by rumours of the gold
which was to be had, and so they resolved to make themselves masters of
Mozambique, and with that island of all the Portuguese possessions
subordinate to it. In Lisbon their intentions were suspected, and in
January 1601 the king issued instructions that Dom Alvaro d’Abranches,
Nuno da Cunha’s successor as captain of Mozambique, was on no account to
absent himself from the island, as it might at any time be attacked by
either the Turks or the Dutch.
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
On the 18th of December 1603 Steven van der Hagen left Holland for India
with a strong armed fleet, consisting of the _Vereenigde Provincien_,
_Amsterdam_, _Dordrecht_, _Hoorn_, and _West Friesland_, each of three
hundred and fifty tons burden, the _Gelderland_ and _Zeelandia_, each of
two hundred and fifty tons, the _Hof van Holland_, of one hundred and
eighty tons, the _Delft_ and _Enkhuizen_, each of one hundred and fifty
tons, the _Medenblik_, of one hundred and twenty-five tons, and a
despatch boat named the _Duifken_, of thirty tons burden. In those days
such a fleet was regarded as, and actually was, a very formidable force,
for though there were no ships in it of the size of the great galleons
of Spain and Portugal, each one was much less unwieldy, and had its
artillery better placed. There were twelve hundred men on board, and the
equipment cost no less than £184,947 6_s._ 8_d._
Van der Hagen arrived before Mozambique on the 17th of June 1604. Fort
São Sebastião had not at the time its ordinary garrison of one hundred
soldiers, owing to a disaster that had recently occurred. A great horde
of barbarians, called the Cabires by the Portuguese, had entered the
territory of the monomotapa, and were laying it waste, so the captain
Lourenço de Brito went to the assistance of the Kalanga chief, but was
defeated and lost ten or twelve Portuguese and part of his stores.
Sebastião de Macedo was then in command at Mozambique. He sent a vessel
with fifty soldiers to De Brito’s assistance, but on the passage she was
lost with all on board. None had yet arrived to replace them, but the
resident inhabitants of the island had retired to the fort with
everything of value that they could remove, so Van der Hagen considered
it too strong to be attacked and therefore proceeded to blockade it.
There was a carrack at anchor, waiting for some others from Lisbon to
sail in company to Goa. The boats of the Dutch fleet cut her out, in
spite of the heavy fire of the fort upon them. She had on board a
quantity of ivory collected at Sofala and other places on the East
African coast, but nothing else of much value.
[Sidenote: First Siege of Mozambique.]
On the 30th of June a small vessel from one of the factories, laden with
rice and ivory, came running up to the island, and was too near to
escape when she discovered her danger. She was turned into a tender, and
named the _Mozambique_. Then, for five weeks, the blockade continued,
without any noteworthy incident. On the 5th of August five pangayos
arrived, laden with rice and millet, and were of course seized. Three
days later Van der Hagen landed on the island with one hundred and fifty
men, but found no sign of hunger, and saw that the prospect of the
surrender of the fort was remote. He did no other damage than setting
fire to a single house, and as night drew on he returned on board.
He was now anxious to proceed to India, so on the 12th of August he set
fire to the captured carrack, and sailed, leaving the _Delft_,
_Enkhuizen_, and _Duifken_, to wait for the ships expected from Lisbon.
These vessels rejoined him, but without having made any prizes, soon
after his arrival at Amboina, which was assigned as the place of
meeting. He then attacked the Portuguese fort on that island, which was
surrendered to him on the 23rd of February 1605. Having placed a Dutch
garrison in the fort, and thus secured possession of this valuable
island, he sailed to Tidor, where the Portuguese had a fortress. This
stronghold he gained in May 1605, but in March 1606 it was recovered by
the Portuguese, who at the same time overran a great part of the island
of Ternate, where Van der Hagen had obtained trading privileges. In
1605 a factory was also established by the Dutch on the island of Banda.
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
On the 12th of May 1605 Cornelis Matelief sailed with eleven ships for
India. One of the most important strongholds of the Portuguese in the
East was Malacca, as it commanded the navigation of the strait of the
same name. Matelief entered into a treaty with the sultan of Johor at
the southern extremity of the Malay peninsula, and with his assistance
endeavoured to obtain possession of the stronghold, which was bravely
defended by André Furtado de Mendoça. The first blockade of Malacca
lasted four months, and ended by Matelief’s being obliged to retire from
a very superior naval force sent from Goa. The second blockade was
shorter, but though seven Portuguese ships were taken and five hundred
Portuguese soldiers were killed, it was unsuccessful. At Amboina,
Matelief strengthened the garrison of the Dutch fort, and gave the
soldiers and sailors there permission to marry native women. He did not
get possession of the Portuguese castle on Ternate, but he built Fort
Orange on another part of the island, and left an effective garrison in
it.
On the 28th of January 1608 Matelief sailed from Bantam in the _Oranje_
to return home. On the 12th of April he put into Table Bay, as he was
badly in want of meat, and hoped to obtain as much as he needed here. In
this he succeeded, for he bartered thirty-four oxen, five calves, and a
hundred and seventy-three sheep from the Hottentots for pieces of old
iron hoop and rings, valued at less than a halfpenny for each animal.
His description of the Hottentots is one of the best of that time, and
is accurate in all its details. The greatest plague in Table Valley he
found to be the flies, which from this and other accounts appear to have
been even more troublesome then than they are to-day. On Robben Island
he killed about a hundred seals for the sake of their skins, and as he
had more sheep than he needed, he left twenty there to breed. He
remained in Table Bay longer than two months, and with a crew thoroughly
refreshed he set sail for Holland on the 22nd of June.
[Sidenote: Second Siege of Mozambique.]
Another attempt to get possession of Mozambique was made in 1607. On the
29th of March of that year a Dutch fleet of eight large ships--the
_Banda_, _Bantam_, _Ceylon_, _Walcheren_, _Ter Veere_, _Zierikzee_,
_China_, and _Patane_,--carrying one thousand and sixty men, commanded
by Paulus van Caerden, appeared before the island. The Portuguese
historian of this event represents that the fortress was at the time
badly in want of repair, that it was insufficiently provided with
cannon, and that there were no artillerymen nor indeed regular soldiers
of any branch of the service in it, its defence being undertaken by
seventy male inhabitants of the town, who were the only persons on the
island capable of bearing arms. But this statement does not agree either
with the Dutch narrative or with the account given by Dos Santos, from
which it appears that there were between soldiers and residents of the
island one hundred and forty-five men in the fortress. It was commanded
by an officer--Dom Estevão d’Ataide by name--who deserves a place among
the bravest of his countrymen. He divided his force into four companies,
to each of which he gave a bastion in charge. To one, under Martim Gomes
de Carvalho, was committed the defence of the bastion São João, another,
under Antonio Monteiro Corte Real, had a similar charge in the bastion
Santo Antonio, the bastion Nossa Senhora was confided to the care of
André de Alpoim de Brito, while the bastion São Gabriel, which was the
one most exposed to assault on the land side and where the stoutest
resistance would have to be made, was entrusted to the company under
Diogo de Carvalho. The people of the town abandoned their houses and
hastily took shelter within the fortress, carrying their most valuable
effects with them. Van Caerden, in the _Banda_, led the way right under
the guns of São Sebastião to the anchorage, where the Sofala packet and
two carracks were lying. A heavy fire was opened on both sides, but,
though the ships were slightly damaged, as the ramparts were of great
height and the Portuguese guns could not be depressed to command the
Dutch position thoroughly, no one except the master of the _Ceylon_ was
wounded. Two of the vessels at anchor were partly burned, but all were
made prizes after their crews had escaped to the shore.
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
On the 1st of April Van Caerden landed with seven hundred men and seven
heavy guns, several of them twenty-eight-pounders, in order to lay siege
to Fort São Sebastião. The Portuguese set fire to the town, in order to
prevent their enemy from getting possession of spoil, though in this
object they were unsuccessful, as a heavy fall of rain extinguished the
flames before much damage was done. The Dutch commander took possession
of the abandoned buildings without opposition, and made the Dominican
convent his headquarters, lodging his people in the best houses. He
commenced at once making trenches in which the fortress could be
approached by men under shelter from its fire, and on the 6th his first
battery was completed. The blacks, excepting the able-bodied, being
considered an encumbrance by both combatants, D’Ataide expelled those
who were in the fort, and Van Caerden caused all who were within his
reach to be transported to the mainland.