Dutch
This database details the orders sent out by the Dutch East India Company to its principal commercial. These orders were conveyed to the Governor-General and the High Government in Batavia, who after discussing them in their council, send them centre in Asia – Batavia– between 1707 and 1757.1 onwards to the different VOC trading settlements in Asia.
The orders contained in this database can be found in the National Archives series (‘VOC resoluties’). Specifically, the spreadsheets have been compiled from the ‘Eisen der Retouren’ or demands for returns in books NA/VOC/159-173. The spreadsheets list the amount, different types and qualities of goods ordered from the Dutch Republic over this period. In the original source, these figures are accompanied with textual information. This information was so extensive that it was impossible to include it in this database.
The attached material explains the format of the database and provides some historiographical background and relevant contextual information related to the Dutch East India Company’s system of trade in the eighteenth century.
