IV - Civic Government and Businessmen in Rotterdam: Colonial Cross-Fertilization

Summary

In 1600, Rotterdam was a small harbour town from where ships sailed mainly to destinations in Europe; maritime travel to other continents was still in its infancy. More than four centuries later, Rotterdam has become a global port with connections to every continent. There were various reasons why Rotterdam grew from a minor harbour town to a global player, but one factor was the presence of a group of energetic merchants who invested in intercontinental trade and shipping, plus civic governors who supported these activities. The scope and complexity of Rotterdam's colonial network increased with the growth of colonial trade, shipping and industries processing plantation products. This chapter discusses how the city's businessmen and administrators collaborated closely over the centuries, building up and maintaining a network in and beyond Europe from their base in Rotterdam.

EAST INDIA COMPANY DIRECTORS AND CIVIC GOVERNORS (1602-1795)

Up until the end of the sixteenth century, Rotterdam's merchants purchased sugar, spices and other exotic products from ports in Europe. But the Dutch Revolt against Spain hampered these imports, so merchants started to trade directly with Africa, Asia and the Americas. This intercontinental trade depended crucially on the support of local, provincial and national governments. Around 1600, merchants and civic officials had close personal contacts with one another. The town government consisted of businessmen who in practice served their own interests as much as the public’s. Even when a fairly closed ruling elite of regents (men from wealthy families who held civic office) developed in the seventeenth century, those close links between administrators and businessmen remained intact. The regents came from merchant families and they continued to invest in the town's lifelines, including the trade in colonial products and the associated processing industries.

Entrepreneurs from the Southern Netherlands who settled in Rotterdam after Antwerp was recaptured by the Spanish in 1585 played an important role in setting up the intercontinental trade. The first Rotterdam ship to sail to Africa and America, for example, was commissioned by Johan van der Veken and Pieter van der Haghe, both from Antwerp, in 1597.