VOC - Redenen door Bewindhebberen van de Oostindische Compagnie... - 1790
Nr. 90719833
Redenen door Bewindhebberen van de Oostindische Compagnie geallegeerd aan de Heeren van de Hollandsche Personeele Commissie, in July 1790, waarom het jongste subsidie aan de Compagnie toegestaan, niet voldoende zal zyn, wanneer het zal zyn genoten. [The Hague], [1790].
Folio. 15, [1 blank] pp. Unbound. In very good condition, untrimmed, preserving deckle edges.
This rare and comprehensive document prepared by the directors of the VOC outlines why a substantial subsidy of 30 million (!) guilders would fall far short of covering the company’s mounting expenses.
This document, still largely in the same condition as it left the printer's shop in 1790, offers a stark reflection of the VOC's dire financial state at the close of the 18th century. Once a symbol of immense wealth and economic dominance during its peak in the 17th century, the company faced a steady decline in profitability throughout the 18th century.
Several factors contributed to this downturn. Trade with Japan dwindled, Chinese communities in Java rebelled against Dutch rule, and the English overtook the lucrative opium trade. Meanwhile, profit margins across all sectors shrank, even as the costs of maintaining the VOC's extensive fleet remained prohibitively high. The final blow, however, was likely the financially devastating Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784), which drained the company's resources and further destabilized its operations.
References: ARA, Coll. Radermacher, 149: Landwehr, VOC, 1623.
Az eladó története
Redenen door Bewindhebberen van de Oostindische Compagnie geallegeerd aan de Heeren van de Hollandsche Personeele Commissie, in July 1790, waarom het jongste subsidie aan de Compagnie toegestaan, niet voldoende zal zyn, wanneer het zal zyn genoten. [The Hague], [1790].
Folio. 15, [1 blank] pp. Unbound. In very good condition, untrimmed, preserving deckle edges.
This rare and comprehensive document prepared by the directors of the VOC outlines why a substantial subsidy of 30 million (!) guilders would fall far short of covering the company’s mounting expenses.
This document, still largely in the same condition as it left the printer's shop in 1790, offers a stark reflection of the VOC's dire financial state at the close of the 18th century. Once a symbol of immense wealth and economic dominance during its peak in the 17th century, the company faced a steady decline in profitability throughout the 18th century.
Several factors contributed to this downturn. Trade with Japan dwindled, Chinese communities in Java rebelled against Dutch rule, and the English overtook the lucrative opium trade. Meanwhile, profit margins across all sectors shrank, even as the costs of maintaining the VOC's extensive fleet remained prohibitively high. The final blow, however, was likely the financially devastating Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784), which drained the company's resources and further destabilized its operations.
References: ARA, Coll. Radermacher, 149: Landwehr, VOC, 1623.