Overview

The end of the 16th century saw Dutch expansion in Asia, as The Dutch East India Company (the VOC) was fast becoming an Asian power, both political and economic. By 1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen. This landmark study looks at perhaps the most important tool in the Company’ trading - its ships. In order to reconstruct the complete shipping activities of the VOC, the author created a unique database of the ships' movements, including frigates and other, hitherto ingored, smaller vessels. Parthesius’s research into the routes and the types of ships in the service of the VOC proves that it was precisely the wide range of types and sizes of vessels that gave the Company the ability to sail – and continue its profitable trade - the year round. Furthermore, it appears that the VOC commanded at least twice the number of ships than earlier historians have ascertained. Combining the best of maritime and social history, this book will change our understanding of the commercial dynamics of the most successful economic organization of the period.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert Parthesius
Publisher:   Amsterdam University Press
Imprint:   Amsterdam University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 21.00cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 29.70cm
Weight:   0.645kg
ISBN:  

9789053565179

ISBN 10:   9053565175
Pages:   217
Publication Date:   11 February 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of print, replaced by POD  
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Table of Contents

Table of contents - 6 Foreword - 10 1. Introduction - 12 2. The database and methodology - 16 3. The Dutch expansion in Asia up to 1660 - 32 4. Connecting the Asian regions: The trading and shipping network in operation after 1620 - 52 5. The development of the VOC fleet - 66 6. The shipping and logistics in operation - 96 7. Knitting all the threads together: the logistics of the network - 114 8. An analysis of the development of VOC shipping in Asia until 1660 - 126 9. Fleets per region - 146 10. Conclusions - 164 Notes - 174 References - 180 List of vessels in service during the period 1596-1660 - 190 Index - 212

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Author Information

Robert Parthesius is a naval historian and director of the Centre for International Heritage Activities in Leiden.

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